Men's Jersey Countdown: #28 Taylor Holstrom

Redshirt Junior - Forward - 5'9" - 185 pounds - Yorba Linda, CA

It's tough to place what Taylor Holstrom did on February 25th in its proper context. His overtime goal against Wisconsin didn't secure a championship. It wasn't Penn State's first NCAA win, nor was it even the first on the road against a Big Ten opponent. What it did do, though, was propel the Nittany Lions into a crucial offseason with the momentum of what will likely be PSU's last season-ending win until the program's first NCAA national championship. It wasn't a one-off for the Mercyhurst transfer either. The OT tally against the Badgers was his second of the game, and he also scored the winner with 4:01 left at Michigan State on January 26th, the opening goal against Vermont on January 19th and twice against Ohio State on December 29, 2012, including the eventual winner. Basically, find a big game and Holstrom will be there with an important goal or two. He did his best work while skating with Max Gardiner and Casey Bailey (a line formed in that OSU game) and will again be a vital piece of Guy Gadowsky's offense in the coming year.

Career Statistics (2010-11 with Mercyhurst, 2011-12 with ACHA Icers):
Season	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM	PP	SH	GW	GT
2010-11	36	9	24	33	8	6	0	1	0
2011-12	24	13	25	38	20	1	0	2	-
2012-13	24	9	8	17	6	0	0	3	0
ACHA Career	24	13	25	38	20	1	0	2	-
NCAA Career	60	18	32	50	14	6	0	4	0

M: Penn State 3 at Wisconsin 2 (OT)

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // UWBadgers.com recap
BTN highlights // Guy Gadowsky postgame video // UWBadgers.com photos

Mike Eaves postgame video // Zengerle/McCabe/Peterson postgame video

College Hockey News recap // Bucky's 5th Quarter recap

Centre Daily Times recap // PennLive recap // USCHO recap

So, let's reset.

Penn State, a first-year NCAA Division I program featuring eight members who arrived in Happy Valley before Terry Pegula's donation announcement, went into the Kohl Center Monday night to play a nationally-televised game on Big Ten Network against Wisconsin. The Badgers, after a slow start to their season, had gone 13-3-5 since December 1st to climb to 16th in this week's USCHO poll and - more importantly - 19th in the pairwise rankings. In front of 9,078 hostile fans, the Nittany Lions rallied from a two-goal third-period deficit to win 3-2 in overtime and, despite having nothing tangible to play for themselves in their final game of the season, effectively end historic power Wisconsin's chances of receiving at at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Did I get that right? Unreal. This offseason is going to take forever.

For the record, Penn State finishes:

• 19-16-0 in all games, including ACHA opponents and the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 team
• 13-14-0 in NCAA games, which includes Division I and Division III
• 11-12-0 against DI
• 4-4-0 against major conference DI programs, including the ECAC's Union (0-2-0), the CCHA's Ohio State (1-0-0) and Michigan State (1-1-0), Hockey East's Vermont (1-0-0) and the WCHA's Wisconsin (1-1-0)
• 3-2-0 against teams that will join PSU in the Big Ten next season - Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin being the opponents, of course

Less than one year ago, we were mourning a loss to Oakland in the ACHA national tournament and the championship-free death of the Icers.

More thoughts when I'm able to express them coherently, of course. For now, here is the GoPSUSports.com recap, with what was one of the more fun live blogs I've ever done at the bottom.

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Junior forward Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.) scored the game-winning goal with 34 seconds left in overtime as the Penn State men's hockey team erased a 2-0 deficit in a 3-2 overtime victory against No. 16 Wisconsin in its season finale at the Kohl Center Monday night.

The Nittany Lions, who defeated a ranked opponent for the first time and improved to 3-2-0 against future Big Ten opponents, finished their inaugural NCAA Division I campaign at 13-14-0. Penn State, which also defeated Michigan State Jan. 26 in its only other appearance on BTN, improved to 10-2-0 when scoring a power-play goal.

Penn State found itself down 2-0 in the third period after goals from Mark Zengerle and Jason LaBate. The Nittany Lions then began to claw back beginning with Holstrom's marker. The forward tallied his first of the game at 6:48 of the period and, with 7:44 left in regulation, Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska) tied the game with a power-play marker.

The stage was then set for Holstrom's heroics in the overtime frame. Bailey gloved a clearing attempt at the blue line and worked the puck toward the cage. After Max Gardiner's (Deephaven, Minn.) attempt was stopped, Holstrom fired the game-winner to the back of the cage.

Freshman netminder Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) matched a career-high with 42 saves while Landon Peterson stopped 33 shots for the Badgers. Wisconsin outshot the Nittany Lions, 44-36, and went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Nittany Lions finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

M: Penn State 4 vs. Oklahoma 1

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // USCHO recap

Guy Gadowsky postgame video // Michael Longo postgame video

Here's the GoPSUSports.com recap, as PSU improves to 17-15-0 in all games, while remaining 12-13-0 in NCAA games and 10-11-0 against NCAA DI.

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After falling behind 1-0 in the first period, the Penn State men's hockey team scored four unanswered goals as it skated to a 4-1 exhibition victory against the ACHA's Oklahoma Sooners at Greenberg Ice Pavilion Friday night.

Freshmen Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Mark Yanis (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) notched a goal and an assist each, while Michael Longo (Allison Park, Pa.) and Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.) also scored. Jordan Greenberg tallied for the Sooners.

Penn State outshot Oklahoma by a 41-32 margin and finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Sooners were 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Sophomore netminder PJ Musico (Orange, Calif.) turned aside 31 shots, and Oklahoma goaltender Colin Fernandes made 37 saves.

Greenberg gave Oklahoma a 1-0 lead with 51 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Augie Hoffman received Mason Miller's pass at the left point and found Greenberg near the bottom of the right circle for the backdoor goal.

Penn State struck twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. With 10:54 left in the second, Longo tied the game following an Oklahoma turnover. Sophomore Jacob Friedman (West Bloomfield, Mich.) intercepted a Sooner outlet pass along the boards and fed Longo in the slot, where his wrister beat Fernandes high.

Yanis put Penn State ahead, 2-1, 5:28 later. Junior Justin Kirchhevel (Brookings, S.D.) stopped an Oklahoma clearing attempt from behind the cage and fed a pass to Yanis above the left circle. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., native took a stride toward the net before his shot through traffic beat Fernandes.

In the third period, Brooks made it a two-goal game just 36 seconds into the stanza. After getting the puck from Curtis Loik (North Vancouver, B.C.), Brooks spun around a defenseman and scored on a low shot. Holstrom added a power-play tally with 14:28 left in the game. After receiving a pass from Yanis at the top of the left circle, Holstrom wristed a shot past Fernandes to account for the 4-1 final.Penn State and Oklahoma will conclude their two-game series Saturday, Feb. 16 when the teams play the final Penn State hockey game at Greenberg Ice Pavilion. [Note: Categorically false, so I'm crossing it out. The ACHA D2 women are "Penn State hockey," and have a game remaining at the rink.] Opening faceoff is set at 3:30 p.m.

M: Penn State 4 vs. Alabama-Huntsville 3

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // UAHChargers.com recap

USCHO recap // PennLive.com recap // StateCollege.com recap

Penn State (16-15-0 in all games, 12-13-0 in NCAA games, 10-11-0 vs. NCAA DI) fought off a resilient Alabama-Huntsville (8-20-2 in all games, 3-19-1 in NCAA games, 1-18-1 vs. NCAA DI) to earn a sweep in the Independent League MegaBowl. Here's the GoPSUSports.com recap, followed by the live blog.

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With the score tied with less than five minutes remaining in the game, freshman defenseman Mark Yanis (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) blasted a slap shot to the back of the net to send the Penn State men's hockey team to a 4-3 victory against Alabama Huntsville at Greenberg Ice Pavilion Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions, who improved to 12-13-0 in front of a sellout crowd, secured their third straight win for the first time since a four-game winning streak Oct. 20-Nov. 3. Penn State, which also swept a weekend series for the first time this season, closed out Greenberg Ice Pavilion at 4-4-0 against NCAA competition.

Freshmen forwards Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska/1g, 1a) and David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.), who completed a five-point weekend with a goal and an assist, gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead midway through the second period before the Chargers tied the game with two markers, the latter coming 54 seconds into the third.

Freshman Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) put Penn State up, 3-2, and, after UAH's Brice Geoffrion evened the score, Yanis unleashed the game-winner with 4:27 left in regulation.

Junior Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.), who garnered a pair of assists, extended his team-leading point-scoring streak to eight games (6g, 6a), while sophomore Max Gardiner (Deephaven, Minn.) recorded a point in his fourth consecutive contest with a helper on Glen's power-play tally. Freshman Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) improved to 8-8-0 with 24 saves.

The Nittany Lions outshot Alabama Huntsville by a 36-27 margin and went 1-for-2 on the power play. The Chargers finished 1-for-6 on the man advantage, while Alabama Huntsville netminder John Griggs made 32 stops.

With 11:15 left in the first period, Bailey gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead. Holstrom sent a pass to defenseman Peter Sweetland (Newtown, Pa.) at the blue line, where he fed Bailey in the high slot. The Anchorage, Alaska, native then ripped a shot that pinged off the left post before hitting the back of the net.

Glen doubled the Penn State advantage at 10:45 of the second period. While on the power play, Bailey sent a pass to Glen at the bottom of the right circle, where he one-timed a blast past Griggs. Gardiner also collected an assist on the play.

At 17:34 of the frame, Lysaght made it a 2-1 game. Steven Koshey started the play in his defensive zone and fed Lysaght, who sent an outlet pass to Michael Webley through the neutral zone. Webley took the puck behind the cage before passing back to Lysaght in the right circle, where he wristed a shot for the goal.

Justin Cseter tied the game at 2-2 with a power-play goal 54 seconds into the third stanza. While on a 5-on-3 advantage, Cseter corralled the loose puck in front of the net and slipped it past Skoff.

With 12:37 left in the game, Brooks skated Penn State to a 3-2 advantage. After Glen's shot went wide, Brooks won the race to the loose puck and had his shot from below the goal line sneak past Griggs.

The Chargers tied the game once more at 12:20 of the frame when Anderson White connected with Geoffrion at the bottom of the right circle for the marker.

At 15:33, Yanis provded the heroics with his fourth tally of the season. Junior Justin Kirchhevel (Brookings, S.D.) moved the puck to Holstrom, who fed Yanis above the right circle. The blue liner's first attempt was blocked before firing a shot to the back of the net for the 4-3 final.

The Nittany Lions, who have two weekends left in the their inaugural NCAA season, will return to action Feb. 15-16 for a two-game exhibition series against the ACHA's Oklahoma Sooners.

M: Penn State 4 vs. UAH 0

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // UAHChargers.com recap

USCHO recap // PennLive.com recap // StateCollege.com recap

The Nittany Lion men improved to 15-15-0 in all games, 11-13-0 in NCAA games and 9-11-0 against NCAA DI with what, in hindsight, was quite a dominating win over Alabama-Huntsville in round one of the so-called Independent League MegaBowl - but one that still contained enough juice (mostly in the form of late chippiness) to set up an interesting match on Saturday. Here's the GoPSUSports.com recap, followed by the live blog.

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Freshman forward David Glen (Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.) notched the first hat trick in program history to lead the Penn State men's hockey team to a 4-0 victory against Alabama Huntsville at Greenberg Ice Pavilion Friday night. The Nittany Lions improved to 11-13-0 with the whitewash, while the Chargers fell to 3-18-1.

Freshman netminder Matthew Skoff (McKees Rocks, Pa.) corralled 23 shots for his second shutout of the season, while sophomore forward Max Gardiner (Deephaven, Minn.) added a power-play marker. Freshman forward Kenny Brooks (Las Vegas, Nev.) collected a career-best two assists, and junior Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.) extended his point-scoring streak to seven games with an assist on Glen's second goal.

After a scoreless first period, Glen opened the scoring just 1:41 into the second before Gardiner tallied for the first time since Oct. 27 with 4:29 left in the frame. The Nittany Lions added a pair of goals within a 3:30 span in the third period as they skated to the 4-0 lead. Glen added his second of the game at 11:20 of the period before completing the hat trick with 5:10 left in the game.

Penn State out shot the Chargers by a 43-23 margin and went 1-for-6 on the power play, while Alabama Huntsville finished 0-for-4 with the man advantage. Charger netminder John Griggs made 39 saves.

The two teams will conclude their weekend series Saturday, Feb. 9 with a 7:30 p.m. faceoff.

After a scoreless first period, Glen put Penn State on the board less than two minutes into the frame. Griggs stopped a dump-in behind the net, but Brooks won the battle to the puck and sent a diagonal pass from behind the goal line to Glen at the left circle, where he fired the puck past Griggs.

While on the power-play, Gardiner collected his third marker of the season at 15:31. From the left hash marks, Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska) passed to Holstrom in the slot, where he one-touched it to Yanis at the point. The defenseman unleashed a slap shot that Gardiner redirected past Griggs from the top of the crease.

Glen gave the Nittany Lions a 3-0 advantage with 8:40 left in the third period. Brooks sent the puck to Peter Sweetland (Newtown, Pa.) at the blue line, where he fed Glen at the top of the left circle. With a defenseman draped over him, Glen roofed a turnaround shot for the goal.

With 5:10 left in the game, Glen added his third of the game and team-leading 15th goal of the season. Glen won the offensive zone faceoff back to junior Michael McDonagh (Winchester, Mass.), whose shot from the right circle was stopped by Griggs. Glen located the rebound and it slid it to the back of the net to account for the 4-0 final.

M: Penn State 3 at Michigan State 2

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // MSUSpartans.com recap

BTN highlights // BTN Matt Skoff interview // BTN Guy Gadowsky interview
StateCollege.com recap // Centre Daily Times recap
State News recap // Lansing State Journal recap

Process and execution.

There's a school of thought - one I subscribe to - that says that goals are the byproduct of a well-performing hockey team. Generate shots and chances of a good enough quality, and the goals, which are really a result of luck and percentages to some degree, will come. No, more chances in a 60-minute hockey game doesn't always mean more goals and the win, but the better-executing team putting forward more effort will win most games, and a good chunk of them over the course of the season.

In other words, if you're playing well, and plan to continue doing so, don't sweat a 2-0 deficit 6:21 into a game.

That's exactly what Penn State (12-15-0 all games, 10-13-0 NCAA, 8-11-0 NCAA DI) faced Saturday night at Michigan State (7-16-3, 5-12-1 CCHA) after early bombs from R.J. Boyd and Matt Grassi made it past the glove of a shaky looking Matt Skoff. Panic? Why?

Skoff's a good goalie, and he proved it once again by settling down from there and finishing with 31 saves on 33 shots. And Penn State, the better team throughout most of the game, kept plugging, making the 2-0 lead look quite wobbly, even as the Spartans continued it into the third period.

Mark Yanis, back in his home state, took the first bite out of that lead just 32 seconds into the second period on a PSU power play, when he located the rebound of a Max Gardiner attempt in the slot and fired it past an out-of-position Jake Hildebrand. And unlike Friday, when MSU's game-winning goal was scored during a late major to Connor Varley, PSU's penalty kill passed its endurance test on Saturday, neutralizing 3:58 of Spartan advantage time in the latter stages of the period after calls of high sticking to Yanis and a questionable diving infraction tagged to Curtis Loik.

The seemingly inevitable breakthrough came in the third period. First, 3:13 in, Taylor Holstrom's centering feed out of the corner took a fortunate bounce off of a Michigan State skate to Casey Bailey in the slot, and the big Alaskan sniped to tie the game. Holstrom scored the winner with 4:01 left, as Bailey returned the favor by feeding the Mercyhurst transfer in the slot, where he beat Hildebrand on the backhand.

Penn State, which outshot the Spartans 50-33, is now 3-3-0 against major-conference teams - including 2-1-0 versus future Big Ten opponents - in a season where many (guilty) would have been happy with simply playing a competitive game against those types of teams. With just the season-closing series at Wisconsin remaining in both of those categories, it's now safe to call this inaugural NCAA season an unqualified success at the top end.

Next weekend, the Nittany Lions travel from the future to the past, with the likely last games ever against ACHA archrival Ohio. Friday's game will be played at Hershey's Giant Center at 7:00 p.m., while Saturday's rematch will be at the Ice Pavilion at 7:30 p.m.

Here's something resembling a live blog... I say "something resembling" because I was unable to watch the game broadcast to the widest television audience in PSU hockey history on Big Ten Network because I don't get the channel. So it's basically a collection of tweets and comments from people who did see it, with my occasional contributions where I had something to offer.

M: Penn State 3 at Michigan State 5

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // MSUSpartans.com recap
Lansing State Journal recap // Centre Daily Times recap

Guy Gadowsky postgame video // CCHA highlights // MIHockeyNow.com recap

Once again, my sincerest apologies for cancelling the live blog for this game at the last second. Essentially, the story is that I wasn't 100 percent positive that it was going to be streamed via Michigan State's All-Access channel (video wasn't mentioned in MSU's pregame release). There was video as it turned out, but it didn't come on until literally about 10 seconds before puck drop - or five minutes after I decided to switch over to the women's game at Syracuse so as not to be caught empty handed on a full Friday night of hockey. I had to make a quick decision, and given my preference for the men's game this time around, hindsight says it was the wrong one. It happens.

I did manage to catch a good chunk of the men during the women's intermissions and following the conclusion of that game, including the final 10 minutes and the wild second period stretch that saw three goals scored in 1:34. So I don't think I'm completely blind when I say that the Nittany Lions (11-15-0 all games, 9-13-0 NCAA, 7-11-0 NCAA DI) played well enough to win, especially after a tenative first period. Had it not been for Connor Varley's checking from behind major on Anthony Hayes with 8:36 left in a tie game that led to Tanner Sorenson's game-winning one-timer, who knows what would have happened. The good news is that the typical college hockey weekend, and this is one of those, involves a rematch.

I'm going to break from my usual victor-spoils rules and use Stefan Kubus' recap from MIHockeyNow.com instead of the one from MSUSpartans.com, just because I thought Kubus did an exceptional job in describing things. It's still MSU-centric, so I'm counting it.

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A bounce-back game for Michigan State was just what the doctor ordered following their disappointing Tuesday night loss to the NTDP U-18 squad.

The Spartans defeated Penn State, 5-3, on goals by Mike Ferrantino (Plymouth), Kevin Walrod, Greg Wolfe (Canton) and a pair by Tanner Sorenson. Will Yanakeff (Jerome) made 27 saves in the win, as freshman Jake Hildebrand had the night off.

“Well, it’s nice to get a win; I thought the guys played real hard,” MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. “I thought Penn State competed real hard. It’s nice to see the puck go in the net a little bit… It was nice to get a positive result tonight.”

Ferrantino, a freshman forward, got things going in rather slick fashion for the Spartans. Following some great work along the boards in the Penn State zone by linemates Ryan Keller and Anthony Hayes, Ferrantino picked up a loose puck down low on the right side, made a move to the backhand, attacked the slot and put the puck past goaltender Matthew Skoff to make it 1-0 at the 12:42 mark.

“It seems like when we scored the first goal, we really got a boost from that, so it was really nice tonight to get the first one,” Ferrantino said of his goal. “It seemed to really energize us for the rest of the first period.”

Later, with 4:54 to go in the first frame, Penn State captain Tommy Olczyk – son of former NHL’er and current TV analyst Ed Olczyk – broke in on Yanakeff all alone only to get robbed.

The first period – a very strong one for the Green and White – ended with MSU up 1-0, holding a 12-7 shot advantage, as well.

The second period was a wild one for both sides, as five goals were scored, with three of them coming within three minutes of each other.

First, it was Michigan State, as sophomore defenseman RJ Boyd sprung Sorenson with a long stretch pass from blue line to blue line. Sorenson went in and fired a shot off the inside of the crossbar and down for a 2-0 lead 6:55 into the period.

“I was kind of cherry picking, slow to back check because they were all changing,” Sorenson said of his goal. “And then I cut through the middle and yelled, “Boyd,” and Boyd saw me, made a great play to me, and then I just kind of took off and had a breakaway. But no, that was a great play by Boyd.”

Just 1:30 after the Sorenson tally, Olczyk skated behind the MSU defense on the left side and, this time, he capitalized on his chance, pulling the Nittany Lions back within one on a shorthanded marker.

David Glen tucked home a rebound to tie the game at three in the second period.

The game calmed down for about six minutes until Taylor Holstrom broke in on Yanakeff off a pass from Max Gardiner and roofed a backhand past Skoff to make it a 2-2 game at the 14:38 mark.

Next in the parade, it was Walrod who scored a very similar goal to Olczyk’s, letting a far-side wrister go from the top of the right circle that beat Skoff over the blocker to regain the 3-2 lead for his Spartan squad.

And 14 seconds later, Penn State tied it up at three aside on a goal that freshman David Glen found in a crease scramble to tap in the gaping net.

That’s the way the game stood through 40 minutes, with MSU holding a slight, 23-20 shot advantage.

In the third, a huge Connor Varley hit on Hayes from behind resulted in an ejection and five-minute power play for the Spartans.

After some sharp puck movement in the Penn State zone, Walsh walked down the middle from the point, faked a shot and dished a short, nifty backhand pass to Sorenson who unleashed a snap shot from the inside top of the left circle to put MSU up 4-3 with five minutes to go in the game.

“We knew we had a long power play, so we had time to be calm and just work it,” Sorenson said of his second tally. “Wally made a good play to Walsh in the slot, then Walsh faked a shot and gave it to me. I knew I had to get it off quick because the goalie was down and it felt great.”

Wolfe capped things off with 15.9 seconds remaining in the game, depositing the puck into an empty net. Although it wasn’t quite the goal he had been looking to score lately, the MSU captain wasn’t complaining.

“For me, I guess it was more of a sense of relief,” Wolfe said of his empty-netter with a laugh. “Obviously, this year has been kind of up and down so everyone was just working it really hard. It was just a good team building; it just felt good all around. We’ve had so many disappointments lately, it was good to finally just break that streak and feel good for a change going into the locker room.”

The second game between the two schools is set for 6:05 p.m. Saturday evening again at Munn Ice Arena.

Notes: Attendance: 5,605… With David Bondra and Brent Darnell (upper-body) hurt, along with Matt Berry serving a DQ penalty, defenseman Nickolas Gatt saw time on forward for the first time ever in his playing career… In a nice touch, MSU dressed recently-retired defenseman Branden Carney as an honorary captain to sit on the bench with the team.

M: Penn State 4 vs. Vermont 2

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // UVMathletics.com recap

PhillyBurbs.com recap // Burlington Free Press recap
UVMathletics.com highlights

In front of an electric sellout crowd of 19,529 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center and a sizable television audience on The Comcast Network, Penn State notched yet another landmark win in its early NCAA history, 4-2 over Vermont (6-12-4, 3-8-4 Hockey East) Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions now have an official NCAA record of 9-12-0, while improving to 11-14-0 in all games and 7-10-0 against NCAA Division I teams. Notably, PSU is 2-2-0 against major-conference teams, losing twice at Union on November 24th and 25th before topping Ohio State and now UVM in NHL arenas.

That Matt Skoff was central to this victory should be of little surprise. Since a jittery first two collegiate starts, the McKees Rocks, PA native has been exactly as advertised: a steady, consistently excellent goaltender that gives a first-year NCAA program a chance in every game he plays. Against the Catamounts, Skoff saved 34 of 36, many in truly spectacular, game-altering fashion. UVM freshman forward Robert Polesello, in particular, was robbed several times on his six shots.

Still, offense is needed to win games, and Penn State received plenty of it, from most of the usual sources.

After a quick start to the game with a healthy share of chances each way, Taylor Holstrom dented the scoreboard first 3:11 in, when he took a feed from Connor Varley and streaked down the ice before finishing the play by wristing through Brody Hoffman's five hole.

Scoring first is always important, of course, but especially so in PSU's case. The Nittany Lions are now 6-1-0 when scoring the first goal of the game, versus 3-11-0 when allowing the first goal. A more unusual trend was continued as well: (probably) the team's three biggest wins this season - at RIT on October 20th, versus Ohio State in Pittsburgh on December 29th and against Vermont on Saturday night - have all come in front of five-figure crowds in professional arenas and immediately following extremely ugly losses. The UVM triumph followed Tuesday's overtime defeat to NCAA Division III Neumann at the Ice Pavilion, just as RIT followed a shutout at the hands of DIII Buffalo State and Ohio State followed a 6-0 clunker against Robert Morris.

Following Holstrom's goal, Penn State also scored second, and third, just to be safe. Late in the first period, David Glen put his team up 2-0 after Justin Kirchhevel made a spectacular back-to-the-play pass from behind the goalline to the slot for a hard-charging Glen. Kirchhevel, in his second game back from a concussion, did the honors himself on the 3-0 goal, a wraparound effort from Tommy Olczyk that needed a review to ensure that the South Dakotan was able to stuff the puck all the way past the red.



Polesello did win one battle against Skoff during the contest, when he finished a pretty lateral passing play with a one-timer from between the circles while George Saad occupied the penalty box for a high sticking infraction. Brett Bruneteau swung the puck cross ice to defenseman Nick Luukko, who found Polesello from Skoff's right. Despite that blemish, the Nittany Lions' penalty kill had a good night, going 5-for-6, notably including the survival of consecutive penalties to Brian Dolan and Glen bridging the first intermission and overlapping by 17 seconds.

The Catamounts would get no closer than 3-1. Penn State successfully attacked and protected its lead for much of the third period, then added to it with 4:42 left. Dolan - a native of nearby Havertown, PA who came to Happy Valley before the NCAA announcement - got a shot from right point on net. It was saved, as was Holstrom's follow-up attempt, but Casey Bailey buried the play's second rebound. That goal rendered Kyle Mountain's reply snipe with 11 seconds remaining meaningless.

Guy Gadowsky, who now has more wins in his first NCAA season at Penn State than he did in his first seasons at Alaska and Princeton, will next lead his team into East Lansing, MI for a pair of games against future Big Ten rival Michigan State January 25th and 26th.

Here's the live blog from the historic win - unfortunately, my participation over much of the first half of the game was rather spotty due to internet issues, but my sincerest thanks are due to the commenters who picked up the torch while I was out of commission.

M: Penn State 0 vs. USNTDP U18 3

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // Centre Daily Times recap

The Nittany Lions fell to 10-13-0 in all games (while remaining 8-11-0 in NCAA games and 6-10-0 against NCAA Division I) and had to settle for a weekend split following a 3-0 exhibition loss to the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 team Saturday night. Here's the GoPSUSports.com recap, followed by the TYT live blog from the tilt.

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The Penn State men's hockey team split its weekend series against the U.S. National Under-18 Team with a 3-0 setback at Greenberg Ice Pavilion Saturday evening.

After a scoreless first period, Sean Malone gave the U.S. a one-goal lead with 1:45 left in the second stanza. Michael McCarron tallied at 16:31 of the third before Evan Allen added an empty-net marker in the game's final minute. Team USA netminder Thatcher Demko turned aside 25 shots.

Nittany Lion goaltender PJ Musico (Orange, Calif.) made 41 saves, while Penn State finished 0-for-5 on the power play. The U.S. went 0-for-6 with the man advantage and outshot the Nittany Lions by a 44-25 margin.

In the opening period, Penn State found itself down a man early and often as the team committed four penalties during the game's first six minutes. The Nittany Lions were outshot 19-4 in the opening frame, with Musico turning aside each U.S. attempt.

With 1:45 left in the second period, Team USA skated to a 1-0 lead. Allen moved the puck to Labanc in the right circle, where he passed to Malone at the far post for the one-timer.

McCarron gave the U.S. a 2-0 advantage with 3:29 left in the third. Shane Eiserman passed to McCarron in the slot, where his high shot beat Musico. Tyler Kelleher collected an assist on the play.

The U.S. added an empty-netter with 58 seconds remaining when Allen collected the loose puck along the half-wall and wristed a shot into the open net.

The Nittany Lions will return to action Tuesday, Jan. 15 when they welcome Neumann to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion. Opening faceoff is set at 7:30 p.m.

M: Penn State 3 at Connecticut 4

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // UConnHuskies.com recap

UConn assistant coach David Berard postgame

In a back-and-forth game that saw ties 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3, Connecticut's Patrick Kirtland got the last word in a 4-3 victory over Penn State despite a 42-21 shot advantage for PSU. The Nittany Lions are now 9-11-0 in all games, 8-10-0 in NCAA games and 6-9-0 against NCAA Division I, with a shot at redemption against the Huskies (6-8-2, 4-6-1 Atlantic Hockey) coming Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.

True to the victor-spoils rules for games I did not witness, here's the UConn recap.

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Behind a career-high 39 saves from Matt Grogan and a game-winning goal by freshman Patrick Kirtland, the UConn men's hockey team defeated Penn State in Storrs, 4-3. The Huskies improved to 6-8-2. The two teams face off again on Saturday at Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs at 7:05 p.m.

Tonight's game featured two of the top rising programs in NCAA hockey. 2012-13 is Penn States inaugural season as a Division I program and the Nittany Lions will join the newly formed BIG Ten Conference in 2013-14. The Huskies will be a fully funded program and join Hockey East, the nation's premier hockey conference, in 2014-15.

A back-and-forth hockey game saw UConn with leads of 1-0 and 3-2 before pulling out the thrilling 4-3 victory in front of the home fans. The Huskies were outshot 42-21 but kept many of the attempts from distance. The UConn skaters blocked 24 shots on the night.

"That's the team we need to be. We have to be willing to sacrifice to get a win," said Assistant Coach David Berard. "We had some good goals but struggled to get going offensively. The guys have to be willing to lay out and sacrifice sometimes to get a win in a game like this and that's exactly what they did. The coaches were really proud of the effort they gave in that regard."

Senior goaltender Matt Grogan earned his third consecutive start and made a career-high 39 saves, including 15 in the third period.

"They have some big guys in front of the net so it was tough to fight through screens but we did a good job in front and I was able to make some saves," said Grogan.

Kirtland scored the game-winning goal with a turn-around wrist shot at the near post just under the cross bar.

"Originally I was looking for the pass but I just turned around and shot it and it went in," said Kirtland. "I was looking for Smitty (Brad Smith) at first. I've been getting harped on this year to shoot the puck more and I just shot it and it went in. I love these types of up and down games. That's my style, that's how I've always played."

"We expect him to be power forward, drive the net, possess the puck, finish checks and just be a physical presence and he did that tonight," said Berard. "He's done it in stretches the first half but he's been a bit inconsistent. Tonight he scored his goal because he played that way. If he continues to do those little things, he'll be a really important player for us."

UConn opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the game with Jordan Sims wristing a shot into the top-left corner from the slot off a feed from Sean Ambrosie behind the net. Brant Harris started the play along the left wall. The goal was Sims' fourth of the year.

The Nittany Lions evened the score at 5:55 with David Glen tipping a shot in the slot past Grogan on the power play. Luke Juha fired the puck from the right point after a face-off win by Glen. The goal was Glen's ninth of the year.

Penn State took the lead for the first and last time at 2:39 when Taylor Holstrom, a transfer from AHA foe Mercyhurst, had a shot from the left side ricochet off a UConn defenseman and in.

The Huskies regained a 3-2 lead with two goals in a 1:07 span. Brant Harris sent a shot from the left wall towards net that bounced off the skate of a PSU defenseman and past netminder Matthew Skoff.

At 9:29, freshman Shawn Pauly outraced his defender down ice to bury a rebound in front off a shot from Evan Carriere. The goal was Pauly's first as a UConn Husky.

Penn State's Connor Varley evened at 13:46 through traffic with a shot from the right side. After two periods, the score was tied, 3-3, with Penn State ahead on shots 27-17.

Kirtland's game-winning goal was his second tally of the season. Kirtland collected a loose puck on the inside of the right face-off circle at 6:27 and snapped a shot under the cross bar to give UConn the victory.

12/29 Postgame: Taylor Holstrom, Casey Bailey, Guy Gadowsky, Steve Rohlik, Ryan Dzingel

Comments from (left to right in the first video) sophomore forward Taylor Holstrom, freshman forward Casey Bailey and head coach Guy Gadowsky following the Nittany Lions' 5-4 win over future Big Ten rival Ohio State in the consolation game of the Three Rivers Classic.

The second video features comments from (left to right) Ohio State associate head coach Steve Rohlik and sophomore forward Ryan Dzingel.

M: Penn State 5 vs. Ohio State 4

 

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // OhioStateBuckeyes.com recap
Victory Bell Rings recap // Daily Collegian recap // Daily Collegian sidebar
Centre Daily Times recap // Columbus Dispatch recap

On October 19th, Penn State endured arguably its lowest point of the season, in an even-uglier-than-the-score 3-0 loss at NCAA Division III Buffalo State. The next day, the Nittany Lions rebounded for arguably their most significant win of the NCAA era at the time, 3-2 at RIT's homecoming in front of 10,556 orange-clad fans at Rochester, NY's Blue Cross Arena.

On December 28th and 29th, Penn State (9-10-0 all games, 8-9-0 NCAA, 6-8-0 NCAA DI) went even bigger. Or B1Gger, if you prefer. Just 24 hours after being blasted by Robert Morris 6-0 in their first game at the inaugural Three Rivers Classic, PSU delivered a stunning and historic 5-4 win over future Big Ten rival Ohio State (7-8-5, 6-3-3 CCHA) in the consolation game Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 10,797 at Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center.

The history, of course, is due mostly to the fact that the Nittany Lions won in a first try against a future conference opponent. It shouldn't, however, be overlooked that it was also PSU's first victory over any major-conference opponent after beating Atlantic Hockey schools AIC, RIT, Army, Sacred Heart and Air Force in this season's other DI wins. "Stunning" also stands as an accurate descriptor, given the previous day's result and the fact that PSU was just 2-7-0 in all games since beating Air Force on November 10th, with the wins coming against an ACHA team and an NCAA DIII team.

In delivering the historic stunner (yeah, let's play that one out), the line of Casey Bailey (two goals, two assists), Taylor Holstrom (two goals) and Max Gardiner (three assists) led the way for the Nittany Lions, while OSU's Ryan Dzingel was magnificent in defeat with a hat trick on six shots. Former Ohio State signee Matt Skoff made 36 saves to help PSU survive a late Buckeye rally from a three-goal third-period deficit.

Dzingel dueled with Nittany Lion defenseman Nate Jensen all game long, and won the first battle on a nice give-and-go play with Clark Cristofoli where he worked around the Mercyhurst transfer and backhanded past Skoff 3:56 into the game. It would be the last time Penn State would trail.

After PSU struggled with organizing its breakout early on, the Buckeyes began to have problems at the 7:45 mark when an errant pass went right to Gardiner just inside the OSU line. The big Minnesotan fed Curtis Loik down low to finish, just seconds after having his previous attempt denied by Collin Olson, who made 32 saves. Ten minutes later, Holstrom gave Guy Gadowsky's troops the lead when he generated a turnover from Al McLean behind Olson and got the puck out to Bailey. The initial attempt was foiled, but Holstrom circled back out front to put home the rebound.

The Nittany Lions added a rare power play goal before the first period horn when Bailey - who would go on to make the all-tournament team - finished a nice passing play started by Gardiner winning a battle on the boards and including Luke Juha during a 5-on-3 with 1:17 to go. It was PSU's first goal on the advantage against a DI opponent since Jonathan Milley's effort against Army on October 26th, as the Nittany Lions rank 56th in DI with an 8.7 percent conversion rate.

The favored Buckeyes, Dzingel in particular, did not fade away. The Ottawa Senators draft pick cut PSU's lead to one 2:39 into the second period when he made a takeaway on Holstrom along the wall in the Penn State zone, walked to the middle and fired it behind Skoff. However, after surviving Tanner Fritz's attempted tying snipe off of the crossbar, the Nittany Lions received a crucial (and game-winning) response with goals just before the second period expired and just after the third period started. On the first, Bailey potted a second goal by deflecting Juha's point blast with just nine seconds remaining. Holstrom added his second of the game off of a brilliant drop pass in front following up on Connor Varley's shot in.

Once again, OSU would threaten the security of the lead, and once again it was through Dzingel, who joined Bailey on the all-tournament team, but not until after undressing Varley and then Skoff with some greasy mitts. Tyler Lundey and Curtis Gedig received assists on the the goal, but it was largely a solo effort. With Olson pulled for an extra skater following Gadowsky's use of his timeout and with 2:28 remaining, Alex Szczechura made it a one-goal game by taking advantage of chaos in front of Skoff with a stealthy wraparound. The goalie from nearby McKees Rocks, however, stood tall through a barrage the rest of the way, including one last prime attempt with Dzingel with 12.6 seconds left.

Penn State will attempt to follow the stirring win with a couple more when it travels to Storrs, CT for a series against Connecticut on January 4th and 5th. The team makes its Ice Pavilion return the following weekend against the U.S. National Team Development Program U18 team.

M: Penn State 0 at Union 2

 

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // UnionAthletics.com recap
Guy Gadowsky and Matt Skoff postgame

Union goalie Colin Stevens postgame // Union coach Rick Bennett postgame

Considering the circumstances, Penn State (6-4-0, 5-3-0 NCAA DI) may have played its best game of the season Saturday night in what was effectively a 1-0 game against Union (7-2-1, 3-1-0 ECAC). The Dutchmen, of course, are presently ranked eighth in the country and played in the Frozen Four last year after winning the ECAC regular season and tournament championships.

And they escaped - yes, escaped - at home against first-year NCAA Division I team PSU.

It does need to be said that Union dominated most statistical categories including shots (42-22) and faceoffs (35-21). Still, Matt Skoff built on his performance against Air Force on November 10th played another outstanding game to serve as the equalizer. The freshman from McKees Rocks, PA read plays and spotted the puck superbly all game long, rarely making things look difficult despite intense pressure at times. He was beaten once in 41 shots faced - by Wayne Simpson's wrister off right wing assisted by Kyle Bodie and Ryan Forgaard midway through the game - but gave no indication that he's about to give up the starting job apparently earned against Air Force any time soon.

Matt Skoff stymied the powerful Dutchmen Saturday night.

The Nittany Lions very nearly tied things up in short order after Simpson's goal. From the Union recap:

[Dutchmen goalie Colin] Stevens made perhaps his best save of the night later in the period, stopping Penn State's Nate Jensen with a glove save on the goal line, as Jensen tried to stuff in a rebound off a shot from Michael McDonagh at 4:13. The play was reviewed by referees Kyle Allen and Peter Feola on video, and the call was upheld.

To underscore how close of a call it was, the radio teams from both Union and Penn State stated during the review process that they thought the puck had crossed the line.

A few minutes into the third period, a funny thing happened. PSU, which had been on the back foot for most of the first 47 minutes, suddenly became the more assertive team, and actually outshot Union 10-7 over the last 12:30 of a one-goal game. David Glen had three of the ten as the Lions pushed for overtime, but with Skoff on the bench late, Cole Ikkala sealed the result with an empty netter off a 2-on-1 with Max Novak.

In addition to Skoff, Glen and Jensen and in my opinion, the defense pair of Luke Juha and Peter Sweetland excelled, as did Taylor Holstrom, who seemed to be in the middle of most of what PSU had to offer offensively. Casey Bailey and Kenny Brooks were great on both ends. Bailey likely saved a goal with a blocked shot at the post on the follow-up to a wraparound attempt on one of the few occasions Skoff wasn't in position.

Stevens finished with 22 saves to pick up his second shutout of the season. Neither team converted on the power play, with Penn State going 0-for-2 and Union ending 0-for-4.

Arguably the biggest concern for Penn State is the status of defenseman Joseph Lordo, who was hobbled late in the game. With Mark Yanis already out thanks to a fractured ankle, PSU only had seven available defensemen going into the tilt. We'll know Lordo's status (at least to some extent) relatively quickly, as PSU will take another shot at the Dutchmen Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

Penn State-Buffalo State Photo Gallery

Since I didn't produce a live blog or have access to postgame comments (due to a lack of wifi at the rink and going credential-free for this tilt), I figured the least I could do was take a few photos. Click any of them to enlarge.

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First up is Rockwell Hall, home to BSC's School of Arts and Humanities and by far the nicest building on a pretty utilitarian campus.

This is the exterior to the Buffalo State Ice Arena, which is actually part of a larger sports arena complex that also includes BSC's basketball gym.

The game was the season opener for the Bengals, and they were pretty excited about that fact.

Here's Matt Skoff making a save during warmups.

And another of Skoff...turns out goalies are easier to photograph than most players.

I made a few attempts at skaters anyway - this is Tommy Olczyk (carrying puck) during warmups, along with Nate Jensen (24), Taylor Holstrom (28) and Brian Dolan (25).

Here are the Nittany Lions emerge from the locker room before the start of the first period. The nice thing about small rinks is that they let you go almost anywhere. I probably could have walked back into the room if I wanted.

Shortly after that, the team lined up for the starters and national anthem...

...followed by the opening faceoff. As far as I could tell, everything was still going well at this point.

Buff State brought a large and enthusiastic crowd, but one that also came with several Jerry Sandusky-related signs, at least one of which was confiscated by police.

Here's what was a fairly common sight during the game - discussion of a penalty call. The PSU players are George Saad (left) and David Glen (right).

The Penn State bench. P.J. Musico (1) and Mark Yanis (5) are in the foreground while coaches Guy Gadowsky and Matt Lindsay study the action.

Because faceoffs are the goalies of game action, here's another one. David Glen (11) and Curtis Loik (15) are the two Nittany Lions, while Buffalo State goalie Kevin Carr ended up with a 35-save shutout.

10/12 Postgame: Penn State

Comments from head coach Guy Gadowsky, freshman forward Casey Bailey (No. 18) and junior forward Taylor Holstrom (No. 28) following Penn State's 3-2 overtime loss to American International in PSU's first NCAA Division I game.

M: Penn State 2 vs. American International 3 (OT)

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // AIC YellowJackets.com recap

USCHO recap // Philadelphia Inquirer recap // AP recap/photos
Centre Daily Times recap // Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recap
 Onward State recap // StateCollege.com recap

Jon Puskar's deflection goal with just 21 seconds remaining in overtime wrote a heartbreaking ending to what on balance was a joyous occasion, despite Penn State's 3-2 overtime loss to AIC in the first NCAA Division I game in program history in front of a sellout crowd of 1,300 at the Ice Pavilion.

The star of the game, without question, was senior Yellow Jacket goaltender Ben Meisner. Meisner made an unreal 61 saves on 63 shots (and you thought PSU shot totals like that were a thing of the past) to take first-star honors. The 61 saves were an AIC and Atlantic Hockey record. In all, the Nittany Lions made 116 attempts toward the AIC goal. George Saad (twice), Jonathan Milley and Taylor Holstrom were a few of the more spectacular Meisner stops.

Despite PSU's dominance, it still somehow felt like the team was chasing the game throughout. With Mark Yanis in the box for roughing, Nathan Sliwinski gave AIC the lead just 2:43 into the game on a rebound goal. That lead held up through numerous close calls and into the second period. Just after one of those close calls, involving Casey Bailey cutting across the slot, the big freshman repositioned himself just next to Meisner, which paid off with a slice of history in the form of a rebound goal, the Nittany Lions' first as an NCAA Division I program. Joe Lordo and Nate Jensen were given the assists at 4:37 of the second period.

Chris Markiewicz's deflection goal cut that celebration off six minutes later to restore the AIC advantage. Frustratingly, it looked like that might somehow hold up as the game winner until 6:05 left, when Taylor Holstrom snapped off a filthy wrister to blow the roof off of both the net and a packed Ice Pavilion and get the teams back on level terms. A Penn State winner from that point would have transformed Friday night from "historic game in front of an electric crowd" to "story for the grandkids," but Puskar's OT winner off of Jake Williams' point shot rendered the game one to forget, yet one to remember at the same time.

The Nittany Lions (0-1-0) and Yellow Jackets (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Atlantic Hockey) will battle Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre to close the weekend series.

Here's the live blog from the historic first NCAA DI men's game:

2/11 Mercyhurst Postgame: The Players

Sophomore goaltender Matt Madrazo

[Guy] Gadowsky was telling us about you and P.J. [Musico] had a competition for starting in goal last week, I guess it was?

Yeah, the last couple weekends, we play a little game at the end [of practice]. Ten pucks on the blueline, just breakaways. I’ve not been doing well in it, and obviously playing the second game on the weekend, but what more can you ask for?

Do you think that’s healthy competition between you two?

Yeah, absolutely. Personally, I’d rather play the first game. Throughout the season, Saturday games, the team’s always tougher to play against, and it’s kind of been weird games every Saturday, but what can you do?

When you’re playing on Saturday too, you kind of get a chance to watch the opposition first. Do you think that helps as well?

It helps, but every game’s a different night. If you beat a team 10-1 the first night, you know you’re not going to do that again the second night. This weekend, we did do well both games and we ended up sweeping the weekend, which is good.

Would you rather face more than 12 shots in a game?

Yeah, I mean, this whole season so far, for both of us, it’s kind of been…they get a flurry, then it’s five minutes off, they get a flurry, then it’s five minutes off. It’s rough, but I mean, nothing you can do about it.

Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?

Not really. I’d rather just be relaxed and play it cool. The more you think about it, the more you’re going to mess up.

Have you noticed that [Gadowsky] doesn’t look you directly in the eye before games or anything like that?

Someone told me today, and right as he walked out of the locker room, he goes ‘Madrazo, it’s your game,’ and he looked at me right in the eyes. And everyone looked at me like ‘oh my God,’ and I guess – I didn’t know about that until this afternoon, and I guess, I don’t know. [laughter]

Yeah, we asked him last night.

Maybe he looked at P.J. and not me, since he sits next to me, but I don’t know.

Can you say anything about the home winning streak? You guys are [17-0] at home now; you can go to [19-0] to finish up the season.

It’s a great place to play. Every night, the fans come, they’re bringing noise. It’s just fun to play here. It’s just a good atmosphere. Playing at Ohio too. We do well when there’s a lot of energy in the rink. You go to some of these rinks, and they’re dreary and there’s nobody in the stands. It’s tough to get up for that. But when you come here, go to Ohio, there’s energy. Everyone’s pumped up to play, and that’s when we always play well.

Any idea how the rotation might go with two Friday-only weekends coming up?

I couldn’t tell you, I haven’t known the whole season. I mean, one day I get a shutout and he plays the next day and he gets a shutout, and I play – no idea. It would be nice if a goalie got on a roll, but it hasn’t happened this season.

Do you think not having a definitive starter has an effect on the team?

No, not at all. It’s good that they trust both of us in the net and that our defense has confidence, and we have confidence in our defense. As I said before, we trust each other. As you can see with Oklahoma last weekend, we went down 3-0, maybe I didn’t play my best game, I kind of messed up a couple times, but the forwards got me back for that, which is good.

When do you typically know if you’re starting on Friday?

Thursday afternoon, so right before Friday night’s games, he says ‘P.J., you’re going first game,’ and I’ll play in the second game.

Did you see the slash on [Justin Kirchhevel]? After that, how difficult is it to not want to retaliate?

Today, it definitely shows how much more of a mature team we are than a bunch of other teams in this league. A lot of the teams in this league would go up on them, and they’re just going to take stupid penalties. You could see even against Oklahoma too, they took a stupid penalty at the end of the game, and we ended up winning. It just proves what the coaches instill in our minds, that he says ‘success with honor,’ so we’re winning a game 9-1 and [Chris] Cerutti gets hit from behind. Kirchhevel gets slashed. And we keep going, keep going on.

Sophomore forward Bryce Johnson

What can you say about getting two goals in your first series back?

It was a nice feeling. Yesterday, I was a little rusty. It was nice to be back out there yesterday, but then finally, to get that first goal back, it felt great. Hopefully I can keep that going for the rest of the season and through nationals.

You mentioned that you felt a little rusty yesterday. Do you feel like you worked it all out today?

I’m getting back there. I’m not back to my full potential yet, but like I said, I’m getting there and every game’s going to be a new step for me. I think I played pretty well today and yesterday, just the bounces haven’t been going my way yet. Hopefully in the next few weeks those will turn around.

So what exactly do you think is the biggest thing? Do you think your speed’s not there yet, or are you still feeling weird with the puck?

I think my speed’s fine. I think it’s more my hands. I think I got a little rusty in that department. I’m just going to have to work hard on that this week in practice, and I’ll just keep working hard and everything will work itself out.

How do you feel out there with [Taylor] Holstrom and [Michael] Longo?

I like playing with them. We’re a fast line and we get pucks to the net. Yesterday we didn’t get anything showing from the scoreboard, but we worked hard yesterday and today, things were working our way and we put a few in the back of the net.

You said you guys had a good day today, you hope that continues and to play with them in the future as well?

Yeah, whatever Coach wants, we’re willing to do what he wants to do, and I don’t mind playing with them at all.

What do you think is the difference between playing with [the guys you’ve played with before] and these guys now?

It’s all chemistry. It just depends how players play. As you guys can tell, Kirchhevel and [Tommy] Olczyk play well together, and we’re hoping me and Holstrom can work together just as well. Today I think we showed that we’ve got some chemistry there, and the next few weeks of practice are going to be huge for us to find our full chemistry and hopefully we can get going really good before nationals.

[Mike] McDonagh was added to the Olczyk and Kirchhevel line. What did you see in that line? Do you think that’s an effective line?

Yeah, I mean, McDonagh’s a big guy, and he’s going to the net hard. He’s a big body, and guys aren’t going to be able to move him in front. Olczyk and Kirchhevel, you guys can tell, they’re going to pucks to the net and they’re going to put them in the back of the net. It doesn’t hurt to have a big guy like [McDonagh] in there who’s going to clean up the rebounds and screen the goalie, get his eyes.

Freshman forward Tommy Olczyk

You used to play with Holstrom and Kirchhevel, and that line was really effective, you guys have the most points on the team as a line, what was it like playing without Holstrom on that line?

It’s definitely different at first. That’s obvious, right there. We got some work in at practice this week with McDonagh at center. He’s one of the hardest working guys on the team in practice. You watch him out here, he’s always driving hard to the net, he’s always making it difficult for the goaltender. As different as it is at first, it’s really fun to play with new guys and to develop chemistry with other guys on the team.

Were you surprised when [Gadowsky] said you wouldn’t be playing with Holstrom?

I wasn’t really surprised, because with Bryce coming back I knew that was bound to shake up the lineup a little bit. Now we have four solid lines, any line we put out there is really effective offensively and they’re not a liability defensively. Whatever’s best for the team, and it worked out for us this weekend, so we’ll get a little bit more work at practice with our new lines this week, and next week, and gear up for nationals.

Do you expect McDonagh to continue to be on your line?

There’s no reason why things would change now. He proved this weekend he could play with Kirch and I, and it worked out, and Coach kind of looks like a genius, I guess. Maybe not, but a little bit.

What can you say about Johnson coming back? What do you think he brings to the team now that he’s back in the lineup?

He brings a lot of speed and a lot of skill. He has great vision out there, he works hard, like I said, he’s a really fast skater, he puts himself in the right areas. You look at that play that him and Holstrom had, that 2-on-1 where they just turned that defenseman inside out, two skilled guys like that on the ice at the same time, it’s fun to watch.

Good to get one early on the power play, since that’s been kind of an issue?

It definitely is. Personally getting a little monkey off my back there, I’ve had some chances in the past few games but haven’t been able to bury. I stopped in front, and Kirch made a great play getting the puck to the middle, passing it to McDonagh, McDonagh passed it to me back door, they don’t get much easier than that. It was great, and our power play was pretty effective tonight, so that was good to see as well.

You said it doesn’t get much easier than that, but was that goal you scored seven seconds into the second period the easiest one of your life?

I’ve scored a few empty-netters. That puck came off the boards hard! I had to be really strong on my bottom hand there. Seven seconds into the period, it was big for us, that’s for sure.

You guys are [17-0] at home, and in the next two weeks only have one game a week. Are you worried that the change wit no Saturday games might affect your home play?

I’m not too worried about it. I saw what Coach said in the paper about it, about him upping the tempo in practice, which is definitely important and I think everyone expects that. We’re used to playing two games on the weekend and now we’re playing one for the next two going into nationals, so it’s definitely going to be more high-tempo practice and I’m sure we’ll do a little extra conditioning. We’ll do something as a team I’m sure these next two upcoming weekends, whether it’s climbing mountains like we did earlier or whatever else. But it’s definitely going to be important to do a little extra something, and I know we will.

Do you know anything about Kirchhevel’s injury, what happened there?

I didn’t see what happened at all. I was backchecking because they had a rush going the other way, so the next thing I knew, the whistle blew and I turned around and saw Kirch on the ground. So I am not 100 percent sure.

Do you think not having a definitive starting goalie has any effect on your team?

I don’t think so. We have two great goalies. You look at teams that win the Stanley Cup, it’s because they have 1-A and 1-B goaltenders. You look at the teams that are successful now, and yeah, some of them have a goalie that plays almost every game like in New York they have [Henrik] Lundqvist, and he’s a heck of a goalie, but come any type of playoffs it’s important to have two good goalies. Luckily we have that.

Is it good sometimes to just get those games over with when it gets rough at the end there?

You know, it definitely is a relief to get those games over with. Guys start taking runs at you; we’ve seen it with many teams we’ve played this year. I don’t want to say I’m used to it, but it is a little frustrating getting out there, being up however many goals we are – a bunch of goals – and having guys seem like they want to hurt you. That’s not how the game is supposed to be, and that’s not how it should be, but unfortunately, it happens at every level. So it’s definitely a relief when the time runs out, that’s for sure.