THE B1G GADOWSKY
- Head Coach Guy Gadowsky ranks 29th all-time and 8th among active coaches with 406 career victories and sits just two shy of former Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota Bench Boss, Dean Blais for 28th.
- Following Jeff Jackson’s retirement, Gadowsky is now the longest tenured coach in the Big Ten and the 13th longest tenured in the nation in his 14th season in Hockey Valley. He has led Penn State to six 20+-win seasons, all within the past 10 years, and four NCAA Tournaments (five if you include 2020) and the 2025 Frozen Four.
NITTANY LION SPECIAL
- Penn State has opened the season with strong special teams play going 3-for-8 (37.5 percent) on the man-advantage with at least one PPG in each contest.
- The PK unit is also off to a hot start going 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) against ASU and have killed off nine-straight including an extended 5-on-3 in the third period last Saturday.
- The unit also has one shorthanded goal after finishing the 2024-25 season with a Big Ten best eight, the third most in a single-season in program history.
THIRD PERIOD THEATRICS
- The Nittany Lions scored eight of their 10 goals last weekend over the final 20 minutes of play with back-to-back four-goal third periods.
- Penn State entered the third period trailing by one goal on Friday night and a pair on Saturday before using four-unanswered goals each night to complete the comeback and earn the series sweep.
- Last season, the Nittany Lions trailed entering the third period on 12 occasions and could not muster a comeback going 0-10-2 in such games. This season they begin the year 2-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play.
- Penn State has yet to surrender a first period or third period goal with all five of its goals against being allowed in the second period this season. The Nittany Lions themselves have failed to light the lamp during the middle 20 minutes over the first two games.
THE BIG SWEDE
- Nebraska-Omaha transfer, Kevin Reidler impressed in his Nittany Lion debut last weekend stopping 80-of-85 shots for a .941 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average against the Sun Devils. He backstopped a PK unit that went 6-for-6 on Saturday including an extended 5-on-3 in the third period while making a career-high 45 saves.
FROM THE HAT TO HOCKEY VALLEY
- Gavin McKenna had the eyes of the entire hockey world fixated on him last weekend and he delivered with a pair of primary assists in his first game Friday followed by an absolute clapper on the powerplay late in the third period of game two for his first collegiate goal, breaking a tie and finishing off the series sweep.
- McKenna, the fourth youngest player in the nation this season, became the third-youngest CHL Player of the Year behind NHL greats Sidney Crosby and John Tavares a season ago after leading the Medicine Hat Tigers to the WHL Championship and a Memorial Cup Finals appearance.