Andrew Sturtz ‘20 enters his third season as assistant coach at his Alma Mater in 2025-26 after joining Guy Gadowsky’s staff in July 2023. Sturtz helped guide Penn State to one of the most successful seasons in 2024-25 with a 22-14-4 record, the sixth 20-win season in program history, with the 22 wins tying for the second-most in a single season all-time. The Nittany Lions advanced to their first-ever Frozen Four after winning the Allentown Regional and finished the year with the highest final ranking in program history at No. 5 in both polls.
Sturtz was once again vital in rejuvenating the Nittany Lion man-advantage in 2024-25 increasing the unit’s success rate by another four percent as at 23.6 percent the unit ranked third in the Big Ten and 16th nationally while the 33 powerplay goals tied for the second-most in a single-season in program history and ranked first in the Big Ten and tied for fifth nationally. Sophomore Aiden Fink tied his own single-season record and ranked in the top-10 nationally with eight powerplay goals while freshman JJ Wiebusch added five to lead all Big Ten rookies while ranking tied for eighth in the nation among first-year players.
Sturtz helped guide the Nittany Lions to an unprecedented second-half turnaround as the Nittany Lions went 13-4-4 down the stretch advancing to the fourth NCAA Tournament in program history. The 2025 NCAA Tournament marked the first for Sturtz as a coach and his third overall as he was a member of both the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Tournament teams as a player.
Sturtz saw Aiden Fink set new single-season records for points (53) and assists (30) while tying the single-season goal mark at 23. The unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection became Penn State’s first-ever Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist while being named the third All-American in program history. Fink finished the year as the Big Ten leader in points and assists while ranking third in goals. After leading the nation in scoring for most of the second half, Fink’s 53 points ranked fourth at year’s end while his 1.33 points per game average was good for second in the Big Ten and third in the nation and is the second-best Nittany Lion mark all-time.
As a team, Penn State averaged 3.48 goals per game, a mark good for third in the Big Ten and eighth nationally as the 139 goals scored rank as the fourth-most all-time and most since scoring a program record 177 during the 2018-19 campaign.
Sturtz also saw a pair of freshmen burst onto the scene and become the second-highest rookie scoring duo in program history as both Wiebusch and Charlie Cerrato combined for 75 points on 29 goals and 46 assists. Cerrato was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team while Wiebusch earned himself Big Ten All-Tournament Team and Allentown Regional All-Tournament team honors. Cerrato led the Big Ten and ranked second nationally for points by a freshman with 42, the second-most in Penn State history, while ranking tops in the Big Ten for rookie goal scoring and assists with 15 and 27, respectively, marks that placed him third and tied for second in the nation among freshmen.
In his first season back in Hockey Valley in 2023-24, Sturtz improved the Nittany Lion powerplay by nearly four percent as the 19.7 percent success rate was the best in three seasons with the 26 powerplay tallies ranking as the most in a single season since 2019-20. Sturtz helped Penn State to a trio of top-15 victories including the 200th win in program history at No. 12 Michigan in November.
Sturtz helped guide freshman Aiden Fink to the single season powerplay goals record with eight, a mark good for second in the Big Ten and 14th in the nation. Fink was also the only unanimous selection to the B1G All-Freshman team and the first Penn State representative in eight seasons, his 34 points ranked as the third most by a Nittany Lion freshman all-time while his 19 assists and 15 goals were good for second and fifth, respectively.
Sturtz also saw junior Dylan Lugris earn the 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award as college hockey’s finest citizen. Lugris became just the second Nittany Lion to receive a national award joining PJ Musico, the 2015 Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award winner.
The Buffalo, New York native played for the Nittany Lions from 2015-18 leading Penn State to the 2017 Big Ten Tournament Championship, its first in program history, and its first two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2017 and 2018 before signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators following his junior season.
Sturtz left Hockey Valley in 2018 as Penn State’s all-time leading goal scorer and just the second Nittany Lion ever to eclipse 100 career points. He currently ranks first all-time in shorthanded goals (9), second in goals (54), seventh in points (104) and 10th in assists (50) while his 0.94 points per game in 111 total games played is good for fourth all-time.
Prior to signing his NHL entry-level contract at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, he registered 40 points on 14 goals and 26 assists as a junior making him one of just seven players all-time to register a 40-point season as a Nittany Lion. His 22-goal sophomore campaign remains tied for the second-most goals in a single-season all-time while his 26 assists from 2017-18 are tied for the seventh-most in a single-season.
Sturtz completed his bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management in the summer of 2020 while playing professionally in the ECHL.
Sturtz battled through injuries during the majority of his five-year professional career and officially announced his retirement following the 2022-23 season. Over parts of three seasons in the American Hockey League, Sturtz played in just 35 games with the Belleville Senators scoring four goals while adding seven assists for 11 points.
Sturtz entered the 2020-21 season with the Rapid City Rush in the ECHL registering 28 points (10 G, 18A) in 33 games before suffering another debilitating injury that sidelined him for nearly 18 months before he made a comeback for the 2022-23 campaign.
Sturtz began the year with the Orlando Solar Bears before a trade sent him to Toledo leading the Walleye on a deep playoff run. In 64 total games during the 2022-23 season, Sturtz scored 27 goals while adding 14 assists for 41 points.
