Nov. 13, 2013
By Michael Renahan, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky knows all about the UMass-Lowell River Hawks, the Nittany Lions opponent this weekend.
He knows they started the season ranked No.1.
He knows about the huge win they posted at then-No. 4 Michigan and how effective they have been on the power play.
He knows the coaching staff has a knack for putting together a solid roster year after year.
Gadowsky and his team are well aware that this will be the toughest opponent they have faced in the early going of the 2013 season.
But they aren't changing the brand of hockey they want to play for any opponent.
"They are a great opponent," Gadowsky said. "The coaching staff does an awesome job and they've had a ton of success. They were the preseason No. 1 team and they've had big wins against good Big Ten opponents. They're an excellent opponent. It's a great opportunity for us to find out where we're at."
Gadowsky and his team aren't throwing out the game plan, the practice strategy or their goals for this game. Instead, they have continued to work on building the right foundation going forward in 2013-14.
The Nittany Lions are still looking for the right line combinations. They're still focusing on getting their power play to an elite level. And while they continue to work on those areas in practice, they know they have to start getting them down pat on game day.
"We were hoping that we would have maybe one thing to be addressing this week going into [our game against] UMass-Lowell.," Gadowsky said. "That's sort of what we were hoping, but there is a number of things that we're working on, which isn't a great feeling.
"We would rather be lot more systematic in building certain blocks to the foundation one at a time. We don't feel that we have established a good foundation in a number of areas, but we're still working on it."
The Nittany Lions are entering their weekend showdown against No. 11 UMass-Lowell after winning their last two games. They defeated Sacred Heart, 2-1, at home after topping Robert Morris, 5-4, in Pittsburgh. Add in the success they had last season against Big Ten opponents like Ohio State and Wisconsin, and suddenly the team no one expected to be competitive can start turning heads.
Wins like the 3-2 overtime game against Wisconsin to end last year and the 5-3 win over Ohio State last December have given this team the confidence they needed to prepare for a team like the River Hawks.
"I would like to think the Big Ten teams we played last year and had success against turned out to be huge for our program, but no one expected anything from us," Godowsky said. "Right now, because of the early success we had people are looking at us to see if we're a legitimate contender."
For the players on the team, they also feel more confident after having success against big time opponents last season. The Nittany Lions feel that they can compete with anyone, but they understand the importance of building the right foundation and sticking with it.
"For me personally, I think it gives us confidence," forward David Glen said. "We proved that we can play at that level and that we can compete with the best teams. If we stick to our foundation and game-plan, we can play with those teams and it does give us confidence going into a game against a team like UMass-Lowell."
The team had a good week of practice, and although it's a shorter week, the players feel good about where they are at entering Thursday and Friday night's games.
"We're working on what we need to improve and fine tuning what we do well," forward Dylan Richard said. "We're not changing anything. We're going to play our game and we're going to focus on doing that better than anyone else."
Gadowsky and his team are ready for the challenge UMass presents. They continue to work hard at all aspects of their game and are focused on improving every night. They have to stay out of the penalty box and play tough, hardnosed hockey.
"We're really hungry to get tested like we will this week," Gadowsky said. "We want to find out where we are at, because this is a legitimate, marquee team. If we have success, I'm not talking on the scoreboard, but on certain items that we control, whether we win or lose, if we can have success in those areas I think that will give us a lot of confidence."
The River Hawks are in town for a two-game series starting Thursday night, marking the third and fourth games the River Hawks have played in six nights.
This is the first time the two programs are squaring off at the Division I level. The puck drops at 7 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday night in Pegula Ice Arena.