UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On Sunday evening inside Value City Arena, Dylan Lugris received a crisp pass from captain Paul DeNaples and fired the puck into Jakub Dobes' net, putting the Nittany Lions ahead 2-1 and clinching a quarterfinal series victory against Ohio State.
The night prior, Lugris opened the scoring in the first period with 29.8 seconds remaining in the frame to give Penn State the lead, setting the tone for the Nittany Lions' 3-2 victory over the Buckeyes.
Having been a Nittany Lion for just over three months now, Lugris said it's still "surreal," to be playing at Penn State.
"Top to bottom, I personally think it's the best program in all of college hockey, and I've loved it ever since I stepped foot on the campus… it's been a dream come true," he said.
Head coach Guy Gadowsky and staff have been continually impressed by Lugris, especially during the start of the playoffs.
"For a guy to come in and play so well in two games that we were facing elimination and to come up with huge plays, – and it's not just the goals he scored, he played well – he's been excellent," Gadowsky said. "He's been a great addition."
Adjusting to collegiate hockey is difficult for most players. The pace of the game is faster, and getting used to a new system and program can take some time. But, Lugris came into the program during the middle of the season. He didn't get to experience the typical preseason that gets new players acclimated to the program. He didn't get to experience the typical team bonding exercises that freshmen undergo. His introduction to college hockey has been anything but normal.
Lugris, however, has risen to the challenge.
Because of his great attention to detail and high hockey IQ, the New York native has adapted to the speed of Big Ten play and Gadowsky's style of play at a rapid pace.
"He fits in, and that's sort of why we finally settled on him, because of what his coaches said about him as a person and how'd he fit in with our culture, and they were 100 percent correct… The team has gravitated towards him really quickly and he's playing great," Gadowsky said.
After beating the Buckeyes this past weekend, Lugris and the team are looking forward to facing off against Minnesota on Saturday.
Lugris believes the key to success is putting in the work consistently, not letting up in any area, and keeping a positive mindset. Playing short shifts, getting pucks behind defensemen and playing a fast game are all things he believes the team needs to focus on.
The team is continuing to train as they have been and focusing on a couple crucial areas before the puck drops at Mariucci.
"We're really trying to focus on it as we have been down the stretch," Gadowsky said. "There's a lot of inexperience, so we had to be very selective of what we were working on, but I think over the past three weeks we've dialed in a little bit more on our game and what we've been doing."
While the team faltered against Ohio State on Friday evening, the Nittany Lions were able to play their game late in the third period of that first game and run with it during the next two matchups.
Gadowsky and Lugris believe that the team's energy in the third period of Friday's game carried over into Saturday's game. After seeing what they were able to do when they put the pedal to the metal Friday night, that vigor carried over into the following two evenings.
And if the team plays true Penn State hockey like they did last weekend, then losing is not an option come Saturday night.
"If we play like that all the time...when we're going on all cylinders and everybody's buying in and staying positive and playing our way, then I don't think there's any team that can beat us," Lugris concluded.
