{"id":100680,"date":"2019-11-07T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=100680"},"modified":"2020-08-24T11:20:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T16:20:54","slug":"as-offense-coming-together-penn-state-looking-to-tighten-up-on-back-end-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2019\/11\/07\/as-offense-coming-together-penn-state-looking-to-tighten-up-on-back-end-too\/","title":{"rendered":"As offense coming together, Penn State looking to tighten up on back end, too"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Denis<\/a>
Denis Smirnov is averaging a point per game for Penn State this season, collecting two goals and six points in six games (photo: Omar Phillips).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scoring 10 goals in one weekend is nothing new for Penn State.<\/p>\n

Giving up only three, as the Nittany Lions did against Wisconsin last weekend, is.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be better defensively is a goal of ours this year and to be able to give up just three goals against such a great offensive-talented team like Wisconsin obviously is a nice early sign for us,\u201d head coach Guy Gadowsky said.<\/p>\n

The Badgers, who are still the 12th-highest scoring team in the nation after last weekend, had their opportunities against Penn State. Peyton Jones made 38 saves during Thursday\u2019s contest to help his team to a 6-1 blowout victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that worked was we head great goaltending,\u201d Gadowsky said. \u201cNo matter how well you play defensively against a team like Wisconsin with such talent, you\u2019re going to need excellent goaltending to have a chance and we had exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, a senior, has handled most of the starting goaltender duties since his freshman year. The Nittany Lions ranked 24th in goals allowed during his freshman year, 42nd his sophomore season and 56th last year, allowing an average of 3.16 goals per contest over the three seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeyton is exactly the same in every situation, he seriously is,\u201d Gadowsky said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know if you\u2019re winning 10-0 or losing 10-0, you don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a preseason exhibition game in October or a Big Ten tournament playoff game in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Penn State is allowing two goals per game, which is good enough to be tied for ninth in the nation. Jones currently has a 6-0-0 record with a 1.67 GAA and one shutout. Along with his goaltender, Gadowsky gave credit to his defensive-corps, saying they\u2019ve improved from the second-half of last season into this season.<\/p>\n

Even with the improved-defensive numbers, don\u2019t think that Penn State has abandoned its bread and butter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our goal, to improve defensively, but it\u2019s not just that,\u201d Gadowsky said. \u201cIt\u2019s to improve defensively without sacrificing any of the offense, which is something that is part of our identity and something we believe in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s not just to improve one aspect of our game, it\u2019s to improve that aspect without taking away from the other. Look, it\u2019s really early. We\u2019ve liked what we\u2019ve seen so far but we still have a lot of work to do, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penn State is averaging 4.57 goals per game, which puts them behind conference foe Notre Dame and two other schools that have played a combined three games.<\/p>\n

Senior forwards Nate Sucese and Brandon Biro have got off the starting blocks well this season. Sucese has four goals and nine assists and Biro has five goals and seven helpers. Both are in the top-five nationally in terms of points scored.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of it is the exact same for both of them is the fact that they work so hard, not only in the season but in the summer,\u201d Gadowsky said about the pair of seniors. “They both really take their preparation seriously, both in terms of conditioning in the weight room, their skills, they\u2019re two of the hardest working players that I\u2019ve coached. It\u2019s nice to see guys like that get off to a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penn State continues its Big Ten schedule this weekend at home against Michigan State before leaving the friendly confines of Pegula Ice Arena for the first time this season to face Minnesota next weekend. Gadowsky said he noticed that the intensity an energy levels were higher for their first conference series and that he expects the same going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the quickest and highest-paced weekend that we\u2019ve had, and I\u2019m sure we can expect in conference play that\u2019s not going to change at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Minnesota sees itself when looking at Michigan<\/h4>\n

Both Minnesota and Michigan roll into this weekend\u2019s series at Yost Ice Arena with 3-4-1 records, but, according to Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko, the similarities don\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I looked at their stat page, when I looked at their team, I saw some real similarities,\u201d Motzko said. \u201cThey had a 2-0 lead, their freshman took a penalty, Ohio State scored to get back in the game, Ohio State wins 3-2. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

\u201cMel Pearson and I are singing the exact same tune the week after a series, where they were in control of a game and it didn\u2019t work out right.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gophers are coming off dropping four of six possible conference points to Notre Dame at home. Junior forward Brannon McManus sees this weekend as an opportunity to get back to winning ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just getting confidence back, just getting back into the win column,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good weekend to do that. We\u2019ve gotten better every week and we\u2019ve made a lot of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend will also be a homecoming for freshman defenseman Matt Staudacher and junior goaltender Jack LaFontaine. Staudacher hails from Fenton, Mich., which is a 40-mile drive from Ann Arbor. LaFontaine played his freshman season at Michigan and is in his first season with the Gophers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to games there since I was young, so having the opportunity to play against them is going to be really special,\u201d Staudacher said. \u201cI\u2019m obviously happy the be (in Minnesota), so it\u2019s going to be super cool to play in that rink and hopefully get a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan State seeks continued growth on PK<\/h4>\n

Michigan State gave up five power-play goals last weekend against Cornell. Against high-flying Penn State this weekend, head coach Danton Cole knows the penalty-kill unit needs to be better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing a lot of work and there have been some good signs,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need a few more timely saves from our goalies, if we go 1:50 and don\u2019t give up a shot and then they get one shot and score that\u2019s a tough penalty kill. It\u2019s demoralizing in a sense that, you\u2019ve done a good job for that long and then you have a quick breakdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, are coming off a weekend where they scored five power-play goals of their own. Penn State\u2019s sixth-ranked unit is 11-of-35 this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a big part of the game this weekend,\u201d Cole said. \u201cThe way they play, you\u2019re going to be shorthanded four, five or six times a game and we have to be better at that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohio State and Notre Dame headline the weekend<\/h4>\n

With No. 9 at No. 5 with conference points on the line, it\u2019s not hard to sell the series between Ohio State and Notre Dame this weekend.<\/p>\n

Still, Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik knows it\u2019s important to not overthink the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be structured in our system and not make the mistakes,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the big key, not giving up the easy goals and the big breakdowns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rohlik also showed a lot of respect to the team that finished runner up to his squad in the Big Ten last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a team that doesn\u2019t beat themselves,\u201d Rohlik said. \u201cUsually they try to keep the score down and it\u2019s OK to win 2-1, 3-2 and a lot of times, games dictate that. It seems every time we play Notre Dame it\u2019s been that kind of game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scoring 10 goals in one weekend is nothing new for Penn State. Giving up only three, as the Nittany Lions did against Wisconsin last weekend, is (photo: Omar Phillips).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":108530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[855],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAs offense coming together, Penn State looking to tighten up on back end, too - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scoring 10 goals in one weekend is nothing new for Penn State. 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