With a new season comes a new-look Penn State men’s hockey team.
The Nittany Lions open the 2026-27 campaign on the road this weekend at the Ice Breaker Tournament, facing UConn on Friday evening before traveling to Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Ahead of the opening weekend, head coach Guy Gadowsky and several Nittany Lions met with the media to discuss a roster filled with new faces, maintaining the identity of Penn State hockey, a deep goaltending room and the development of sophomore defenseman Jackson Smith.
Same Stripes, New Faces
Penn State enters the season tasked with replacing a significant amount of offensive production from a season ago.
Gavin McKenna, Matt DiMarsico, Aiden Fink and Charlie Cerrato combined for 158 points last season, creating opportunities throughout the lineup for both returning players and newcomers.
Despite the turnover, Gadowsky does not expect Penn State to change the style that has defined the program.
“I think we’re going to keep our stripes the way we play,” Gadowsky said. “I think what you’re going to see is scoring by committee.”
Last season, Penn State leaned heavily on two highly productive lines. This year, Gadowsky expects the Nittany Lions to create offense with more depth throughout the lineup.
“Our goal is to score through tempo and committee, not just two top lines,” Gadowsky said.
Returning captain senior forward Dane Dowiak echoed that message. While many of Penn State’s top offensive contributors from a season ago are no longer on the roster, Dowiak believes the system itself remains unchanged.
“That’s Penn State’s identity,” Dowiak said. “We want to play fast off the rush. We want to defend the rush, and we want to create transition and go play offense. That’s been a thing since the start of the program, and that’s one thing we’re going to continue doing.”
The Nittany Lions will incorporate that style with one of the youngest rosters in the country, as 18 of Penn State’s 25 players are freshmen or sophomores.
Newly promoted captain, senior forward Reese Laubach, however, does not view integrating the newcomers as a major concern.
“I don’t think it’ll be too much of a challenge,” Laubach said. “We got a great group of older guys.”
With the group already spending much of the preseason together, Laubach believes the newcomers are settling in quickly.
“They’re already figuring it out,” Laubach said. “They know what’s going on, and I think they’re ready to get going.”
Harder to Play Against
While Penn State intends to maintain its fast-paced offensive style, the Nittany Lions also enter the season with an increased emphasis on becoming more difficult to play against.
Sophomore defenseman Jackson Smith said that has been a focus throughout the preseason after a skilled Penn State team occasionally got away from that part of its game a season ago.
“Years before, guys would say that Penn State hockey was really hard to play against,” Smith said. “I think last year we kind of got away from that a little bit. So that’s something that we’re going to bring back, while still having offense.”
For Dowiak, that starts with what Penn State does without the puck.
“When a team is coming at you, being relentless on the backcheck and doing everything you can to take the puck away from them and quickly transitioning and going on offense, it’s hard to play against,” Dowiak said. “That’s something that’s part of our identity, being a team that nobody wants to play against.”
That defensive commitment does not mean sacrificing the creativity Penn State has become known for offensively.
Asked to describe Penn State hockey at its best, Gadowsky kept his answer simple.
“Extremely fast, aggressive,” Gadowsky said. “We play to score, and we’re very creative.”
That mentality has influenced the team’s offseason work as the Nittany Lions prepare to blend their offensive style with a more complete approach.
“Playing fast consistently in all zones,” Gadowsky said of the offseason emphasis. “That’s probably the broadest way of answering that.”
Strength Between the Posts
As Penn State integrates new pieces throughout the lineup, the Nittany Lions enter the season with plenty of options in net.
Sophomore Josh Fleming returns after posting a program-record .924 save percentage during his freshman campaign. He is joined by freshmen Ryder Fetterolf and Crew Petty.
Fetterolf comes to Hockey Valley after earning both CHL and OHL Goaltender of the Year honors with the Ottawa 67’s, while the 6-foot-4 Petty adds another young option to the group.
For Gadowsky, the depth of the room has created both competition and confidence.
“From a group of three goalies, from a goaltending team perspective, I put them up against anybody in the nation,” Gadowsky said.
Fleming now finds himself as the goaltender with college experience after being the newcomer just one year ago.
“It’s kind of weird to be in that position where I’m the old one, and I guess I’m not even that old yet,” Fleming said.
While each goaltender is competing for time in net, Fleming said that competition has helped the group develop together.
“They’re both really competitive, which I think makes us all better as a group,” Fleming said. “We’re just pushing each other day in and day out.”
Each newcomer also brings a different style.
“Ryder is such a good goalie on his feet. He’s really good at tracking the puck,” Fleming said. “Crew is a bigger goalie, so he’s really good at using his size. They both bring different aspects to the game.”
For Gadowsky, the relationship among the three is just as important as the competition.
“There’s three of them, but they’re a team,” Gadowsky said. “How they support each other is extremely important for the team as a whole and also individual performances.”
Smith Takes the Next Step
Smith made an immediate impact during his first season in Hockey Valley, leading all Big Ten defensemen with 11 goals while finishing second among conference blueliners with 26 points.
His 11 goals established a Penn State single-season record for a defenseman and helped earn him All-Big Ten Second Team and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. Entering year two, Smith was also named to the 2026-27 Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team.
His sophomore season, however, will involve more than building on those offensive numbers.
Smith has embraced a larger leadership role with a roster featuring numerous players making the same transition from the CHL to college hockey that he made one year ago.
“I think I can just bring a lot to the table, especially with the new CHL guys,” Smith said.
That transition from newcomer to returning player has also required Smith to mature quickly.
“I think just being a bit more of a veteran, especially with not a lot of our junior class being here, I definitely had to make a step and mature a lot,” Smith said.
Gadowsky said he and Smith discussed that responsibility following last season and again during the summer.
“He’s Penn State through and through, which is fantastic,” Gadowsky said. “He knows what it was like coming in the first time.”
Senior defenseman Mac Gadowsky has already noticed another step in Smith’s game during preseason practices.
“He obviously had such an impressive first year, and it’s almost hard to think that he can grow more,” Mac Gadowsky said. “I think early on here in these practices, he’s looked awesome. I think that he’s learned to well-round his game a little bit more and still is elevating that offensive talent he has.”
After weeks of preseason preparation, Penn State will get its first opportunity to see how its new-look roster comes together when the puck drops against UConn on Friday.
“I think it’s been a long preseason,” Smith said. “It’s just time to get going and excited to play some games.”
With new faces throughout the lineup, increased competition in net and a renewed emphasis on playing fast in all three zones, the Nittany Lions will begin finding out what this year's version of Penn State hockey looks like when the 2026-27 season gets underway this weekend.