“Gads always says consistency is better than greatness, which is true, but in our case, our consistency is what has led us to greatness,” said senior Ben Schoen.
As a team that struggled to muster up a complete 60-minute game to start conference play, now preparing for their first Frozen Four appearance in program history, speculators throughout the collegiate hockey world have questioned what clicked for this Nittany Lion group over that holiday break.
Most teams would have crumbled at the task of remaining optimistic to follow an 0-9 start in conference play, but not Penn State. The Nittany Lions used this as fuel to ignite a historic comeback, one that nobody believed would be possible.
Since the calendar turned, head coach Guy Gadowsky has accredited this universal success to one thing: Identity.
Since taking the reins for the Nittany Lions 13 years ago in their inaugural Division 1 season, head coach Guy Gadowsky has prioritized this “Penn State Culture” that has become deeply embedded amongst the players, staff and fanbase in Hockey Valley. According to Gadowsky, this unique team identity had fueled the historic success of the program thus far.
While Penn State’s identity has evolved throughout the season, the consistency in the team's identity is what has carried them through this historic run. Since finding their groove as a unit, the Nittany Lions have been red-hot on the tail end of their season, recording groundbreaking success and national accolades.
“One aspect of our identity that has always been a staple, but has really been enhanced this year, is our value of compete,” said Gadowsky. “We’re a pretty competitive bunch to begin with, but when you add guys like Arsenii Sergeev, Charlie Cerrato, Cade Christensen and Nic DeGraves, those guys have brought the competitiveness of this team to another level, and we saw that play out last weekend, where our success came because our guys just refused to get out-competed by their opponents.”
Any good program will have big-name players who light up the scoresheet, but the great teams that are still playing in April, must have indefinite production from all four lines. According to Gadowsky, having a deep roster and players that understand their identity, is what has catapulted this Penn State locker room to new heights.
In a team that has seen a variety of players step up and net the puck to get the Blue and White to the national tournament, the unsung heroes on the “Identity Lines” are the ones who punched the ticket to St. Louis.
Throughout their appearance in Allentown, against both Maine and Connecticut, the “Identity Line”, composed of Dane Dowiak, Tyler Paquette, Keaton Peters and Carson Dyck caught national attention for their outstanding contributions and leadership on the ice.
“We had a meeting mid-season where we challenged everybody, and told them that if they wanted to be an identity guy, they have to be 100 percent committed to doing anything and everything out there on the ice, not just 80 percent in, and 20 percent just wanting to score,” said Gadowsky. “I’ll tell you, that line of Dane, Keaton, Tyler and Carson, they’ve really adopted that and led the way this entire stretch, and it’s been catalytic to the on-ice performance we’ve had.”
Praised for their competitive edge, their reputation for being tough competitors, and their gritty mentality, this line has dedicated the season to embodying that ‘Penn State Tough’ mentality that the program thrives on. A line that helped create opportunity for this team in the early months, are now reaping the tangible accolades of their hard work.
Despite only being a sophomore, Dowiak has been the leader of this line in terms of his grit, strength and skill as a skater, but more so for the identity he brings. The Pennsylvania native entered the postseason with just nine goals and eight assists, and in just two games of the regional tournament, Dowiak notched three goals in their historic run, to send the Nittany Lions to the Frozen Four, and earned MOP of the Allentown regional.
“We know what we have to do, and it might not always be the prettiest or most attractive on the scoresheet, but as identity guys we've really taken the ‘whatever it takes’ stance, especially in this second half,” said Dowiak. “Everybody wants to win, that’s why you come to Penn State. We’ve got a job to do, and the top lines have been out there doing their job all year, and now it’s on us to go out and deliver in the best way we can.”
Following the 2023-24 season where the Blue and White fought off the ‘injury bug’ for the duration of the year, leaders and coaches have emphasized the importance of the ‘Next Man Up’ mentality, after seeing how important it was in years prior. In a situation that bred heroic stories in players like Casey Aman last season, to John Seifarth earlier this year, and all the unsung heroes in between, this mentality has become crucial for the Nittany Lions.
This mindset has infected the Penn State locker room, even down to the rookies. Freshman Nick Fascia and Nic DeGraves were the two to get their name called for the postseason due to unexpected injuries within the locker room. As guys who haven’t seen the lineup card too often, they were faced with the daunting task of stepping up to the hottest team in college hockey, on the biggest stage, and handled it with grace.
Nick Fascia had to step into a vacancy left by an injured Carter Schade, and DeGraves at forward with veterans Ben Schoen and Dylan Lugris. Riding the high of their first taste of NCAA hockey, each had pivotal plays in the overtime period that were credited by teammates and coaches as ‘the play that sent us to the Frozen Four’; DeGraves an incredible backcheck, and Fascia a big hit to Connecticut’s Tristan Fraser, that eliminated a key scoring opportunity for the Huskies.
“When you can get that depth from your younger guys, it makes you that much better. And DeGraves and Fascia, they’re not your average freshmen, they’re strong, tough and able to perform at any level,” said Gadowsky. “To be an identity guy in the Big Ten, it’s not an easy thing to do at all. You have to be physically tough, conditioned, and consistently play at a high level, and the fact that they’re able to do that as freshmen, it’s extremely impressive.”
From the freshmen finding their footing to the seniors buying into new roles, Gadowsky persists on the role of “Identity” being the pivotal point of this team’s success. Seniors like Dylan Lugris, Ben Schoen and Tyler Paquette have also experienced an identity rebrand in their final season.
Despite producing on the scoresheet almost immediately upon their arrival in Happy Valley, these veterans have had to embrace new roles, ones that impact off of the scoresheet.
“The older guys have really adopted a role of playing smarter, higher-level hockey, and this has transitioned them to being overall more aggressive, tough players, rather than being the ones to put the puck in the net. They’re more mature, they make smarter choices, and they’re doing whatever it takes to help us win,” said Gadowsky.
For a team that has long been on the brink of greatness, the growth and on-ice evolution of this senior class has been the final brace that elevated an already talented Nittany Lion squad. From designated leaders in the locker room to veteran players taking on behind-the-scenes roles, it was the selfless willingness of these seniors to prioritize the team- especially in their final games- that brought this group into perfect alignment.
Ben Schoen is the highlight of this matured senior class, as someone who had astounding numbers through his first two seasons before sustaining an injury that would have him sidelined indefinitely. Making his senior season debut this past October, Schoen had to alter his game from being a play finisher, to being a playmaker on his line.
“The coaching staff has been so impressed with Ben’s ability to change his game, and become an all-around positive player, and he’s playing his best hockey by miles right now,” said Gadowsky. “Because of his injury, he’s been studying the game for over a year and a half before even putting skates on again. Because of this, he’s really studied the game and developed such an understanding of what you need to do as a teammate that makes the team successful, and really, I think he has a better understanding of hockey in general.”
With his newfound development as a player, Schoen emphasized the universal positivity of the senior class who could recognize the potential of this group, and were willing to do whatever it took to reach that in such a tight turnaround.
“Our struggles started this year because we were a super young team with a lot of talent, but nobody really knew their roles yet,” said Schoen. “Once we got that figured out, it’s been a lot easier to go out and do our job, and is a huge reason why we’re in this position now.”
Unlike his classmates, Schoen went into the Allentown regional without the experience of having played on the national stage beforehand, as his injury sidelined him for the second half of the 2022-23 season that resulted in an NCAA regional final appearance.
Although missing that historic tournament run and the entirety of the 2023-24 season, Schoen promised himself that once he was able to play again, he would do everything in his power to capitalize on the opportunities that were stripped of him before. Knowing his main goal was to get back to that NCAA tournament and make an impact, he took it upon himself to find a way back to a contributing role within this lineup.
“I remember it to this day, sitting up in the handicapped section in Allentown in 2023, watching the guys playing Michigan and being so close, and seeing all the seniors so emotional in the locker room after that loss, it hit me that if I ever got a chance to come back, I’d do anything to rewrite that memory,” said Schoen. “Having the opportunity to be back in Allentown, I knew going into that overtime that there was no way we were going to lose that game. Everything felt too full-circle, and we’d come too far to go down that easily, and once we scored that goal it was just euphoric.”
In getting to see the results of the hard work, culture and identity of this group, it’s easy to recognize the highlights that jump off of the scoresheet. The real work that has gotten this team through the stretch, comes from years of identity building, which the Hockey Valley culture prides itself on.
Without those identity players, and players being willing to make selfless choices to better the team, this team has reached new heights, now preparing for their first Frozen Four in program history, despite sitting at 33rd in the pairwise after the first half of the season.
Looking back on their final season in the Blue and White, the class of 2025 will get to look back and note that their relentless positivity and vocal leadership helped mount one of the most historic comebacks in college hockey history.
“A lot of our success is reflected by the positivity we talk about. At the start of the year, we didn’t embrace each other as much as we should have, but remaining positive as leaders, we’ve been able to translate that to success on the ice,” said alternate captain Carson Dyck. “We’ve really started to embrace each other, and that trust and positivity has helped us all learn how to move as a unit, rather than individual players, and right now, the sky’s the limit.”
Penn State will take on Boston University in the Frozen Four semifinal at 8:30 on Thursday, April 10th.