Three things to keep your eyes on vs. No. 8 Quinnipiac

After a series sweep at Alaska-Fairbanks, Penn State men’s hockey will travel to Hamden, Connecticut, to take on No. 8 Quinnipiac.

The Bobcats won the NCAA Championship in 2023 and are coming off a second-round loss to eventual runner-up Boston College. Head coach Rand Pecknold is still manning the team, and his squad plays a heavy game.

Here are three things to keep your eyes peeled on during the contest:

Special teams:

After emphasizing the importance of specialty teams in the offseason, Guy Gadowsky’s squad showed huge signs of improvement in Alaska.

The team went a perfect 13-for-13 on the penalty kill, and Braedon Ford and Dane Dowiak scored shorthanded goals. Additionally, Reese Laubach netted a goal on the man advantage.

Penn State’s powerplay unit clicked at a 19.7% rate – last in the Big Ten – and opposing squads converted at a 23.4% clip against the Nittany Lions. The almost 4% disparity caused many problems for Gadowsky’s group last year. Laubach netted the only shorthanded goal for the Nittany Lions last season.

The Bobcats succeeded on 21.5% of their powerplays in 2023-24. With ample firepower within their lineup, that number could see improvement this year.

Penn State needs to aim to stay out of the sin bin. When they’re man-down, they need to play the way they played in the Last Frontier against this tough Quinnipiac group.

Penn State's style of hockey:

Gadowsky has noted that the team has been working on getting back to playing the Penn State style of hockey, and that’s the mindset the team has to have at Quinnipiac.

The Nittany Lions need to play their brand of hockey; they cannot adapt to Quinnipiac’s game and expect a win to come out of the road trip.

The Penn State style of play – playing physically, putting pucks on net and being heavy on the forecheck – will have to prevail in Hamden.

“If we go to Quinnipiac and we expect to take nine penalties and come out of there with the win, we’re crazy,” Gadowsky said.

Expect the team to play with grit and determination, with a focus on defense. Veteran blueliners like Jimmy Dowd Jr., Carter Schade and Jarod Crespo, need to continue to lead by example on the back end.

All three new blueliners played in Alaska, and two of them, Cade Christenson and Nick Fascia, received at least two penalty minutes in the series. Watch for the three new guys back on defense to play a tough sixty minutes.

Both freshmen classes

Each team’s roster features nine freshmen, and the Bobcats added five transfers. The Quinnipiac newcomers are looking forward to continuing the team’s dominant stretch of seasons.

Former Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) associate captain Chris Pelosi and USHL Second-Team All-Rookie nominee Eliott Groenwold join the Bobcats as players to watch out for.

Charlie Cerrato, J.J. Wiebusch and Ford have already been outstanding for Penn State, and this game can be an opportunity for them and their classmates to continue right where they left off in Alaska.

Puck drop is slated for Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. with the game streaming on ESPN+.

To keep up on Penn State men’s hockey, follow the CommRadio insiders Adrianna Gallucci (@agallucci17), Josh Bartosik (@Josh_Bartosik) and Giustino Racchini (@GRacchini) on X.

Adrianna Gallucci is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.