M: Penn State 4 at Fredonia State (NCAA DIII) 0

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // FredoniaBlueDevils.com recap

Guy Gadowsky postgame video // Jake Friedman postgame video

In a rescheduled (from October 30th, due to Hurricane Sandy) Tuesday night game nearly as awkward as Carly Szyszko, Allie Rothman, Mary Kate Tonetti and I in the same room at the same time, the Nittany Lion men dominated NCAA Division III Fredonia State at FSU's Steele Hall by a 4-0 count to improve to 8-8-0 (5-6-0 NCAA DI).

Because, in the words of the legendary Carl Spackler, I was unavoidably detained, I'm turning over recap duties on this one to Justin Grady, aka IcersGuy from Black Shoe Diaries. Enjoy your brief reprieve from mediocre writing, and be sure to check out Grady's stuff on BSD as well.

---

With Penn State having to make the midweek trip to New York, just days after returning from Massachusetts, there were sure to be questions about the energy levels for the team. Luckily for Penn State, any lack of energy was countered by Fredonia State's own seemingly lethargic attitude towards this Tuesday night game - perhaps a result of being 1-5 over their previous 6 games. If Penn State couldat least match Fredonia's energy, the Nittany Lions were, on paper, in a solid position to snap their 4-game losing streak (or 3-game losing streak, depending on if you count the ACHA Arizona State games).

The first period opened with each team getting some light scoring opportunities, with no major offensive chances coming for either team. A delayed penalty early in the period gave Penn State their first set of real offensive chances, but nothing came from it except for the ensuing penalty. On the first power play of the night, the inconsistent man-advantage play reared its head. The Nittany Lions struggled to put together any consistent attack time until later in the power play, but credit to the Fredonia defense for blocking shots and goalie Mark Friesen kept it a scoreless game.

Fredonia would get a great scoring chance following the power play, as Matt Skoff would let a FSU shot slip past him, only to have it be swept away by his defense, averting any chance of weak goal. As both teams would continue to try to gain some sort of offensive momentum, a penalty to Luke Juha gave Fredonia their first power play of the night. The Blue Devils had a few good chances early in the power play, but the Penn State penalty kill would find their groove and keep the Blue Devils from getting any more quality chances.

David Glen and his teammates pressured Fredonia State goalie Mark Friesen all game long. Photo: Jerry Reilly/Fredonia State athletics

The quality PK for Penn State turned into positive momentum for the team, as the Nittany Lions started to dominate offensively. After a few good chances were turned away by Friesen, Connor Varley would take a shot from the point, which found its way through a number of bodies in front and past the Blue Devils' goalie,giving Penn State the 1-0 lead at the 17:55 mark of the first period. The goal is Varley's third on the season. Penn State would continue their offensive onslaught, but have to settle for the 1-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. Penn State outshot Fredonia in the first period by a 23-9 margin.

Penn State kept their offensive momentum going into the second period, with seemingly everybody geting a scoring chance. Shots from Bailey, Saad, Loik, and Friedman were all quality chances that only were foiled thanks to the continued quality showing from Friesen. Fredonia would weather the storm and eventually come back with their own chances, but Skoff was up to the task of matching his goaltending counterpart. A couple of Penn State penalties slowed down the Nittany Lions' offensive attack, but the penalty kill made sure the Blue Devils found very few opportunities to tie the game with the man advantage.

With just over a minute left in the 2nd period, Penn State would get their second power play opportunity. Max Gardiner would take a wrist shot from the top of the circle, and Taylor Holstrom would put home the rebound, only to have it waved off as it was ruled that Holstrom's hand knocked the puck into the net. But with 30 seconds left in the period, the PSU power play would make one more rush. This time, it was Casey Bailey putting home a Peter Sweetland rebound with just fourseconds left in the period, giving Penn State a 2-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

The third period saw a return of the lethargic play that seemed to creep into both teams' play throughout the game. While each team would eventually get a round of scoring chances, it was the goalies and the defense/backchecking that dominated play to open the third period. It would take some quick thinking to break the defensive pressure, and so David Glen would make a sweet backhanded pass to Jacob Friedman in the slot, who skated in a snapped a shot past the Fredonia goalie, giving Jake his first goal of the season, and Penn State the 3-0 lead.

Back-to-back penalties against Penn State gave the Blue Devils a handful of chances to break the shutout. But the Nittany Lion penalty kill was up to the challenge, completing a perfect 5-for-5 penalty kill on the night, and nearly extending the lead - unfortunately, Lordo's shot from the blue line rang off the iron. Following the end of the second of the two penalties, both teams returned to the stagnant offenses from the start of the period. Fredonia State would eventually pull their goalie late in the game, and Curtis Loik would deposit his third goal of the season, with help from Jensen and Matt Skoff - Skoff's first point at Penn State. Skoff's assist would be a nice addition to his first shutout of the season, turning away all 18 shots he faced in the 4-0 victory for Penn State. In the end, it was a complete domination by Penn State, controlling much of the play, and outshooting the Blue Devils by a commanding 50-18 advantage.

A Long-Awaited Return Game

As I'm sure most of you know, I take great issue with the handling (or, more to the point, lack thereof) of Penn State hockey history through official outlets. So I can't help but laugh at the irony when a small piece of that history is acknowledged, yet part of me wishes it wasn't.

The Penn State club team defeated Fredonia State, 5-4, in come-from-behind fashion Nov. 5, 2011. Penn State fell behind, 4-2, in the second period before scoring three straight goals, including George Saad's game-winner, to secure the victory. Current Nittany Lions Justin Kirchhevel (twice) and Jacob Friedman also scored.

In case you're skimming, note the date there: November 5, 2011. Several hours before the game, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were charged in relation to the Jerry Sandusky scandal (Sandusky himself was indicted the day before and arrested that day).

I was at the Ice Pavilion to cover the match, and rather than enjoy what really was a fantastic comeback (Steve Edgeworth scored the tying goal on the power play, have to work him in for a mention since he no longer exists on any official level), I spent most of it wrestling with a question: should I ask Guy Gadowsky about the situation after the game? Anyone who fully understood where the next 13 months would take us, to be clear, is lying. But still, it was pretty obvious that this was a big deal - I mean, Gadowsky's boss had just been very publicly implicated in a child sex abuse scandal. How many times has that happened to you? I stood to gain something as well, since as the first person to connect the whole thing to hockey, that post probably would have received a fair amount of traffic.


Safe to say that the guy on the right had a better day last November 5th than the guy on the left.

That night, I decided that I was a blogger, not a journalist. I didn't ask, and I'm glad I arrived at that decision. Gadowsky's a smart guy and undoubtedly would have refused comment, meaning that I would have trashed a fair amount of goodwill points for no good reason beyond journalistic principle and page clicks worth about $16,000 in internet money.

So that's what Fredonia State means to me - that internal struggle and, in my pre-video camera, pre-Quality Inn wifi days, joylessly transcribing quotes at a Starbucks the next morning while taking frequent breaks to attempt to figure out what, exactly, the whole thing meant for Joe Paterno.

Good times.

Needless to say, six weeks later than planned - thanks so much, Hurricane Sandy - I'm ready to re-wire my associations with Tuesday night's deceptively important return trip by the Icers Nittany Lions to Fredonia's Steele Hall at 7:00 p.m.

While this season isn't about wins and losses, the odd weeknight night road game comes at a vital time in the schedule. Somewhat quietly, Penn State (7-8-0, 5-6-0 NCAA DI) has lost six of eight. The last three in that string have been particularly brutal: a home loss to ACHA team Arizona State and two losses at Holy Cross, one despite holding a two-goal lead with 5:17 remaining, the other a 4-1 disaster that ended with the home team's student broadcasters questioning the maturity of the Nittany Lions and their fans.

A tough home game with Robert Morris awaits on Saturday, followed by a rematch with the Colonials on December 28th at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, with either Ohio State or Miami on tap for the tournament's second day. Simply put, there's not a lot of breathing room built into the schedule, which adds a great deal of importance to Tuesday night's clash as a "get healthy" type situation. However, according to assistant coach Matt Lindsay, and as reported by StateCollege.com's Ben Jones, the losing hasn't hurt the program's progress.

"It's a learning experience," assistant coach Matt Lindsay said Monday following practice. "You've got a lot of guys playing their first year of Division I college hockey, so again it's an experience.

"I don't know that it feels like a grind at all. With exams coming up and a lot of hockey in a short amount of time, I think our guys have so much energy and enthusiasm being our first year that I don't think that, at least mentally, that the grind comes into play. I think they're just excited about playing the next game and showing people what they've got. I don't get the sense at all that they're struggling to get up for games by any stretch."

Given Lindsay's track record, it's pretty hard to question his assessment. And given the admittedly shorter track record of his Penn State team, there's no reason to think things are an issue at this point - guys like Curtis Loik and Tommy Olczyk work hard regardless of game situations, so why wouldn't that extend to the bigger picture?

Believe it or not, this isn't the first time this season the Blue Devils have hosted a team in its first NCAA year of a transition from ACHA Division 1. Canton, 7-3 losers to the Icers at the 2010 ACHA championships, lost to Fredonia 5-2 in their first NCAA Division III game on October 19th. According to a puck I bought on eBay a while back, former Icers ICHL rival and current-season Nittany Lions opponent Buffalo State played their first home game after elevating to DIII against the Devils as well. I guess Fredonia likes their name in other people's record books. Hey, whatever it takes to get the word out, I guess.

Speaking of the Devils, they're undoubtedly looking at results like Buff State's 3-0 win over PSU that same night as the Fredonia-Canton game and thinking "hey, maybe we can get healthy here." While head coach Jeff Meredith's crew is 5-7-0 overall (3-5-0 SUNYAC), the team has lost five of its last six (including a 7-3 home loss to BSC, in case you're one of the six people who believes in the transitive property in sports). It's fair to say that it has struggled to find offense in the wake of the graduation of Bryan Ross, who finished as the fourth-leading scorer in program history. The Blue Devils have been held to one goal or fewer in half of their games this season, and needed overtime to pot a second score in one other. Mat Hehr has taken over the leading scorer mantle with four goals and eight points, while reigning SUNYAC Rookie of the Week Taylor Bourne has four goals of his own.

Taylor Bourne leads a strong group of Fredonia freshmen. The former Olds Grizzly bumped up against PSU leading scorer David Glen and his Spruce Grove Saints quite frequently in the AJHL from 2009-2012. Photo: Jerry Reilly/Fredonia State

In spite of his team's recent skid, Meredith does feel like his team showed improvement in a split with Elmira last weekend.

"There are a few areas of our game," he said, "that still need some shoring up, namely, our special teams. I thought our first 10 minutes (on Saturday) was the best start of the year. We generated chances, and a lot of them but just was not able to finish them.

"The encouraging thing is that we are getting those chances where six weeks ago we were not. I think there is a lot to be optimistic about and I think the guys are feeling it as well."

In net for the Devils, all three goalies return. Jeff Holloway played last season's game at PSU, surrendering five goals on 27 shots, but Mark Friesen, who has a 3.36 goals against average this season, is the regular starter.

Tuesday's Game at Fredonia Postponed

The ice at Fredonia's Steele Hall will remain empty Tuesday night.

As first reported by USCHO's Dan Hickling, the men's team's scheduled game at NCAA Division III Fredonia scheduled for Tuesday night has been postponed due to conditions resulting from Hurricane Sandy. Both teams later confirmed the news and announced that the game would be made up on December 11th at 7:00 p.m.

The game, as originally scheduled, was to be an interesting test of the Nittany Lions' focus, which Guy Gadowsky indicated may have been lacking after the October 19th shutout loss at DIII Buffalo State. Coming off of a big weekend sweep at Army and Sacred Heart, PSU would have had to grind through a mid-week road game before heading back home for a Saturday revenge match with the Bengals, the team's first at the Ice Pavilion since October 12th.

Rescheduling for December 11th, also a Tuesday, may actually ratchet up the challenge a little bit though. That date follows a weekend series at Holy Cross on December 7th and 8th and precedes a return home to play Robert Morris on the 15th. The position of that set of games just before the holiday break also adds a different element to the new date.

For Fredonia, which has started 2-2-0 (1-1-0 SUNYAC), the challenge will be less intense. They'll now host PSU in a semester-closing game, coming off of a home-and-home weekend with Elmira.

Last season, at the Ice Pavilion and in front of an electric crowd, the Icers rallied from second-period deficits of 3-1 and 4-2 to beat the Blue Devils 5-4. Justin Kirchhevel scored twice, with George Saad connecting on the winner 5:46 into the third period. Matt Madrazo recovered from early struggles to make 29 saves on 33 shots.

Date With the Devils

Steele Hall will be the site of a weeknight road game next season.

TYT has confirmed that next season's rematch with NCAA Division III Fredonia State will take place on Tuesday, October 30th. This becomes the second known game with a firm date, after the matchup with RIT for their Brick City Homecoming game on October 20th.

If the game with the Blue Devils last Saturday was any indication, we're in for a treat come next October. The Icers, of course, rallied twice from two-goal deficits to win 5-4 - PSU's first win in four attempts against FSU.

There are several other known games at this time as well, just without dates attached to them. As reported by the Daily Collegian's Christine Newby, PSU will play two games each at Wisconsin and at Michigan State and will be involved in the Robert Morris University Hockey Showcase over the holidays. Joe Battista hinted during an interview with Steve Penstone last Sunday that in addition to Penn State and Robert Morris, Miami and Ohio State may be the other two teams involved. Previous to that, we learned about four games with the U.S. National Team Development Program (I'll assume two home and two away there until I hear otherwise).

Of course, speculation about possible opponents (just to toss more out there, I wonder if a similar deal was made with Neumann) beyond those is limited by Battista's statement - see the Newby piece link - that PSU will only play 20-22 Division I games next season. That, by definition, means 12-14 non-Division I games, so....

DI: Wisconsin (2), Michigan State (2), RMU Hockey Showcase (2), RIT (1) = 7 total
Non-DI: USNTDP (4), Fredonia State (1) = 5 total

* Technically, the NTDP games don't count against the game limit, but I still think it's helpful to use that as a starting point for the potential composition of the schedule.

M: Penn State 5 vs. Fredonia State (NCAA DIII) 4

Collegian recap // Official site recap // Box score

Fredonia site recap // Dunkirk Observer recap

View From the Booth recap/highlights

Penn State jumped to 8-0-0 with a gritty and physical come-from-behind 5-3 win against NCAA Division III Fredonia State at the Ice Pavilion Saturday night. Justin Kirchhevel's pair of goals kept the Icers well positioned for a comeback despite a 4-2 Blue Devils lead late in the second period. Matt Madrazo recovered from early struggles - including a pair of penalties - to make some huge saves down the stretch. PSU's power play got back on track with a 3-for-4 night, including Steve Edgeworth's point blast that tied the game at four 1:04 into the third period.

The live blog for the game is immediately below. Still further down, beneath the live blog, are postgame quotes from Kirchhevel, Madrazo, Edgeworth and coach Guy Gadowsky. Special thanks are in order to Daily Collegian hockey writers James Nicol and Katie Montgomery, who made the quotes look a lot better than they would had I been the only one asking questions. Put mildly, they're much better at journalism than me, so keep up the great work guys.



Guy Gadowsky

“Things happened that made you think we shouldn’t have won the game, but there are also several that made you think we should.”

“If you look at the shots on goal, I think they were a very good defensive team. They played us well, and I think it was a great opportunity. I’m thankful that they came down and played us, they’re obviously a very good NCAA Division III school that has a lot of success and it sort of gives us an idea of where we’re at. I think we’re all pretty happy with our offense, but after we saw our shot output tonight, I think we understand that we still have to do things better.”

“We’ve been pretty successful pushing the pace in games, but sometimes we’re lax in practices, and I think we saw today that we have to continue to get better at doing things quicker. I think when we faced a team that played so well defensively, that we struggle to get the offense that we want and that we’ve been accustomed to.”

[On coming back from a two-goal deficit] I was happy to see it because we’ve done it before. We did it here [against Ohio], we were down, and it was the first time we were down and we came back and had a really good showing. It’s nice to see that it wasn’t a fluke. There’s a lot of character [on the team], and what a tremendous goal by McDonagh to Collins, who made a great play to Saad. Three veteran guys who have a lot of pride in not losing, and that was great to see.”

“We didn’t do a very good job blocking shots. They did an excellent job of getting pucks to the net from the point, and conversely, we didn’t. Finally, we got one through with Edgeworth, and we got a goal, but I think that was a bit of a difference. They did a much better job of getting pucks through than we did.”

[On his lack of changes with the forward lines and defensive pairs] “When we have the record we do, it’s a lot easier to maintain than when you’re losing. So it’s a little tough. And there’s injuries that have to do with that as well. But right now, our offense has been pretty good and sometimes you change things to get a little synergy going, but I think we have that right now, and I think it’s tough with the results that we’ve had to institute a change just for the sake of the change. Normally it should come from a necessity.”

[On the power play] “One of the aspects I didn’t like is that we didn’t get pucks through very well. And when we finally did with Edge, it’s a big, big goal. I thought we continued to push the pace on the power play, which was different than we had before, so that was really good, and I think that’s what resulted in the goals. But we do have to do a better job of getting pucks in from the point.”

[On Forrest Dell] “He stepped up there in the third very well. You know, he’s been put in a tough situation, to be a forward that’s come back. He hadn’t played defense before, only on the power play. And I think he’s done a really good job. I don’t know if you saw the same thing I did, he really made a great read as a defenseman, a read that only a defenseman would make, and he made it. It was actually very surprising, but very nice to see. I think he’s a smart, smart guy, and so he’s getting it. [Sunday] actually, we’re going to try him at forward again, but with the injuries that we have, he’s really stepped in and done a great job. He’s a really smart player, and he can move the puck too, so he fits how we play from the point.”

Steve Edgeworth

[On his goal] “Just a good pass from the corner, I just got on ice and just tried to get it on net, I wasn’t trying to do anything special, just try to get it on net low for a rebound, and it just went through.”

[On the team’s defensive play] “We followed the game plan, got pucks deep all game, and it’s a little tougher opponent than we’re used to, and we battled through it and we’re real proud of it.”

“Our Kirchhevel line, they always play well, they had a strong game. Daley’s line, they started out the game strong for us, got the power play right away. I could go through the whole lineup and say positive things about everyone.”

“It’s always good to have a challenge, we weren’t sure of this caliber of hockey, none of us had played against a Division III team, so we were all pretty pumped up for it, but it didn’t affect anyone with nerves or anything.”

[On Fredonia State’s size] “We hit the gym just as much as them, if not more. Probably more actually. Big guys, we just try to get pucks deep, skate around them, and it doesn’t affect us.”

“We just learned that we’re pretty mentally strong, we made another comeback win and we’re proud of that. We just stuck to the game plan, and it’s really that simple. We play the same way every game, and as long as we keep doing that, then we’re going to keep winning.”

[On his illness this week] “It was just kind of a one-day thing, it happens. But we had a couple strong practices Thursday and Friday, so it wasn’t a big deal…I just had a lunch right before practice, and it didn’t go down right, it happens. No comment [on the specific food that did it], I don’t want to put anyone out of business.”

Matt Madrazo

“It was definitely a team effort. Some guys didn’t play too well in the beginning and turned it on in the end. It just shows up in the team we are. We come…down from any deficit, we have trust in each other. I wouldn’t say I had my best game tonight, but I had guys on my team to stick up for me and [they] were back there for me.”

“It definitely feels good [to win]. First and second period, I felt good, we weren’t getting bounces, high stick goal, power play goals. But in the third period, you gotta buckle down, and that’s what Coach is trying to instill in us, the mental toughness aspect. We all came on in the third period and were like ‘we’re going to win this game.’ It’s obvious that everyone on this team showed that we have better mental toughness than them.”

“We have to stay level-headed. As I said after all the other games, we didn’t outplay them by any means. The shots were pretty much identical. We outworked them, and that’s how we’re going to win our games this year.”

“[It was] a solid defensive effort. They threw something at us that was different, they put two guys in front on the power play, which we haven’t seen all year. It caused some problems with some screens in front, but we fought through it, and that’s all that matters.”

[On the second Fredonia goal] “The kid was 6’6”, and the rule is the crossbar, so if it’s above his waist, I’m sure it’s a high stick.”

[On his penalties] “You can’t let it change your game. Obviously, I made a mistake on both of them – I came out, stopped the puck on a breakaway, shot it over, and the other time, I tripped a guy. But you can’t change the way you play [Just the price of being aggressive?] Exactly. You just gotta keep playing your way, because if you change the way you play, you’re not going to come out like we came out tonight.”

Justin Kirchhevel

“My line played awesome, and our D really stepped up big tonight. For me, scoring two goals is just another game. I mean, we want to score goals, but we don’t care who does it. It was good offensive production by our lines, so it was good to see out of us.”

[On his line’s play this season] “We see the ice pretty well, so when we get moving it’s pretty easy at times, but obviously we gotta work hard at getting better day in and day out.”

“We’ve been down before and we came back, so we knew we could do it, but I mean obviously this is a DIII team, so we needed to step up our game a little bit, but we really showed some true character and it’s a stepping stone in our season. We really needed to win this game, so it was a big win for us.”

“They were a big team, they played physical and they played a good game, but obviously we work on our conditioning for a reason. I think we came out in the third and really took it to them.”

[On his first goal] “Olie made a nice play to Holie, and then made a backhand sauce to me and I ended up getting a stick on it, and it bounced in. I didn’t really see it, they told me it bounced in.”

[On the power play’s breaking out of a slump] “We’re really hard on our philosophy of sticking to our game. If someone’s going to beat us, they’re going to beat us at our game. We took it to them there on the power play, and got a few lucky goals, but we’ll take ‘em.”

Running With the Devils

I'll be honest, I know very little about the hockey program representing the State University of New York at Fredonia, other than the basics. The Blue Devils are one of the best programs both within their conference, the SUNYAC, and nationally, in NCAA Division III. They've posted winning campaigns in 16 of the last 22 seasons. They've been to the DIII national championship game (1994-1995) and have also gone 29-1-4 (1995-1996). They've met the Icers on three occasions - all during the 1990s - and came away with decisive victories each time, including most recently a 6-2 win over PSU's 1997-1998 ACHA national championship team.

More recently, Fredonia State - featuring 20 freshman and sophomores - was within one game (a 4-1 loss to Plattsburgh State) of a SUNYAC tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2010-2011. This year, FSU is off to a 2-1-1 start after sweeping Assumption and settling for a tie-loss weekend against SUNYAC opponents Brockport and Geneseo. Finally, and most significantly to why we're here, they presently stand as the biggest test Penn State has faced so far this season, one which will be settled Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Ice Pavilion.

Manastersky

To go a little deeper into what we'll be watching in two days, TYT acquired the assistance of FSU assistant coach T.J. Manastersky. Manastersky, now beginning his third season with the program, is a former defenseman for conference rival Oswego State. He also coached at NCAA Division I Canisius while working on his master's degree prior to his arrival at Fredonia.

Thank You Terry: Coach, first off, thanks for doing this. For those of us who have never seen you play, what can we expect from you in terms of style?

T.J. Manastersky: We try to play a north south game based on hard work and grit. When we are able to do that we are successful.

TYT: With three seniors and eight freshmen, is it fair to call your team young? Maybe not, since those freshmen have scored more than half of your goals so far - there doesn't seem to be much of a learning curve with those guys!

TM: We are a young team and with some exciting young players, but our success will depend on how well our seniors and juniors lead us and show the way to the freshman players. Fredonia hockey has to play a certain way and it starts with the leadership group of players. It might take us a while before we are where we want to be, but in the meantime we need to find ways to win games.

TYT: Can't talk about scoring without mentioning one of those seniors, [forward] Bryan Ross. Safe to say he'll have a pretty lofty place in school history when he's done after this year?

TM: Bryan Ross is a special player. He sees the game in a unique way that has allowed him to be successful at Fredonia. Mostly, though, it is his dedication to improving everyday. It is cliche, but true to say he is the first one on the ice and the last one off most days at practice.

Senior captain Ross, who became the 16th Blue Devil to reach 100th career points earlier this season, is a cousin of former Philadelphia Flyer and Alabama-Huntsville legend Jared Ross. Photo: Jerry Reilly/Fredonia State SID

TYT: Amidst all the New Yorkers and Canadians, you do have two Pennsylvanians playing something resembling a homecoming game. What do [junior forward] Will McLaughlin [from Mountain Top] and [freshman defenseman] Ian Ellenberger [from Hershey] bring to the team?

TM: Will brings unbelievable speed and is pound for pound the strongest guy on our team. Ian is a skilled, young defenseman with great upside.

TYT: How are you approaching this game? For Penn State, or any ACHA team, any opponent with "NCAA" in parentheses after the name is a huge test. We don't have too much history, but Fredonia did win all three matchups by at least four, including one over one of our ACHA national championship teams. Is there a possible complacency issue, or is the Penn State name and almost-DI status enough to fight that?

TM: We have a high level of respect for the program at Penn State. ACHA or not, they have won a lot of games and have proven to be a quality program. I suspect this year's team will be a little different in the midst of the transition to DI. We fully expect this game to be a big challenge and test for us.

TYT: Talk a little about Coach [Jeff] Meredith. Anything he hasn't seen in 24 seasons and 335 wins?

TM: Coach Meredith has seen a lot of things in his career. He has been through national championship games and everything in between. It is a constant learning experience working with him. One of the best attributes of Coach Meredith is that he is a person first. He treats his staff and players with great respect and truly cares for the individual, not just for the role they play in his program. He is a great example of how doing things the right way will lead to not only longevity, but also great success. But, if you ask him, he will tell you that he hasn't worked a day in his life.

Fifteen of Meredith's wins came via the 2007 SUNYAC tournament champs.

TYT: You started a team blog over the summer [fredoniastatehockey.blogspot.com], and it's one of the more unique things I've seen, where players take turns chipping in short entries. How did the idea for that come about?

TM: We are always trying to find ways to reach alumni, friends of the program and of course potential recruits. Last spring we met with a few of the other coaches on campus at Fredonia as a sort of professional development day. One of the things we talked about was social media and technology. Coach Meredith loved the concept of the blog and has done a great job at making it what it is today. Thanks for liking it! We are also on Twitter [@Fredonia_D3Hky] and Facebook [www.facebook.com/fredoniastated3hockey].

TYT: Finally, what thoughts do you have about PSU's entry into Division I? Did we ruin college hockey or not?

TM: You did not ruin college hockey. It seems to be the catalyst that has drastically changed the landscape, but that does not have to be a bad thing. Nothing ever stays the same and we all need to adapt. My personal hope is that in the end we have created more opportunities for young hockey players to play at the NCAA level and for coaches to continue to provide positive experiences for their athletes.