On the heels of a historic regular season comeback, with hopes of making a storied postseason run, there’s just one thing in the way: the Michigan Wolverines.
This is a story all too familiar for the Penn State Nittany Lions, as they faced a familiar foe in the regional final of the 2023 NCAA tournament, where they lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Wolverines, falling one overtime goal away from their first Frozen Four appearance in program history.
Since starting 0-8 in conference play this season, the Nittany Lions have sought redemption in the Big Ten standings, as well as the pairwise rankings in hopes of cementing themselves as a true contender for the NCAA tournament. With a win over Michigan in the first round of the conference tournament, these two hypotheticals could become reality, and give Penn State a true shot at a national championship, one that was robbed of them by these same Wolverines just two seasons ago.
Now just hours away from another opportunity for a storied postseason campaign, the Nittany Lions are faced with another do-or-die scenario with Michigan, this time across enemy lines at Yost Ice Arena.
“One thing that has prepared these guys well is going through the peaks and valleys that we did this season, because we had to stay very mentally tough when things didn’t come easy. We had to learn how to stay positive and improve in those tough times, and I think we did both of those things,” said head coach Guy Gadowsky. “Mentally tough teams tend to have the advantage in the playoffs because of the intensity alone. But because of what we went through this season, that absolutely contributes to how far we’ve grown in that aspect.”
In evaluating the 2022-23 and 2024-25 campaigns for the Blue & White, they each tell a unique story that goes beyond the record and analytics; rather a story of triumph, perseverance and grit.
The graduating class of 2025 played a key role in the latter success during that 2022-23 campaign, and swallowed the pain of losing in such a devastating fashion. Now faced with the same challenge, the Nittany Lions, and graduating seniors, have one final shot to rewrite the past.
“Obviously, there’s still that sting from that tournament loss to them, but I think we also learned from it, and we know how those little details can contribute to the result,” said captain Simon Mack. “It’s business as usual for us, we’re focused more on playing our game to the best of our ability.”
In their regular season matchups against Michigan, the Nittany Lions went just 1-3, dropping two contests on home ice, as the team was in the trenches of the ‘injury bug’. One of these losses being a 10-6 defeat where the Wolverines scored the most goals against the Nittany Lions in program history, and the other being a tight one-goal loss.
When traveling to Yost, Penn State split the series 1-1, earning a big 5-4 win in night one, a much-needed victory that added fuel to this team’s second-half comeback. In earning their lone win over the Wolverines on the road, this team has proven itself to have what it takes to win in a high-pressure environment, in a high-stakes situation.
“I feel like we’ve been playing do-or-die hockey the last two months, quite honestly, so nothing feels different going into this weekend,” said freshman Charlie Cerrato, who has tallied three goals and two assists against the Wolverines, two goals of which came at Yost.
Despite the rich history between these two teams, Michigan historically prevails, holding the all-time series lead, 31-18-1, winning seven of the last 10, and only dropping five of the 21 matchups at Yost.
Luckily, Nittany Lions are no stranger to the underdog story, as they’ve been battling the entirety of their season to get to such a point of success.
Since their last matchup with the Wolverines, Penn State has been nearly unstoppable, posting a 6-1-1 record, including a sweep over Wisconsin on the road, and Notre Dame at home. The Blue & White earned a regulation and shootout win over No. 1 Michigan State on the road, and split a home series with No. 2 Minnesota to close out the season.
Now looking ahead to a rematch, this time with a red-hot full-strength roster, the Nittany Lions have exemplified a poised confidence in getting another opportunity to even the score with the Wolverines.
Graduate student and assistant captain Jimmy Dowd Jr. became noticeably emotional when discussing his potential last time suiting up in the Blue & White, emphasizing his excitement to get another opportunity at greatness with this program.
“Playoff hockey is the best time of year, and I’m grateful I get one last chance to experience it,” said Dowd. “We know what it takes to win in these environments, we’ve shown we can do it, and we’re going into it ready to empty the tanks.”
A message that was praised to the Nittany Lions following last Saturday’s loss, and reinforced by Gadowsky, was, “We might’ve lost the fight but the battle is still on. We’re preparing for a three-day battle, not a one night fight, so we’ve got to have mental toughness and stay focused for three games.”
Penn State travels to Yost for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in a best-of-three format, with their season on the line. With one final opportunity, the locker room looks to unify behind their seniors and prepare for battle, in an attempt to rewrite the script once again. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night and once again on Sunday, if necessary.