Midseason addition gives Penn State hockey a spark as it prepares for No. 13 Notre Dame

Dylan Lugris was out at practice with the NCDC’s Jersey Hitmen a few weeks ago when the call from Penn State came.

Lugris, a 20-year-old, right-shot forward, was averaging 1.44 points per game with the Hitmen. His advisor had let him know the Nittany Lions were interested, so he rushed to return the call.

“I was like, oh boy, I better go call this one back,” he said with a laugh. “So I went and called back and they let me know that I could come in at Christmas, and I think I said yes before they ever finished the sentence. I was super excited about it.”

One game into his Penn State career, Lugris is already on the scoresheet. He took a cross-crease pass from Connor MacEachern and fired it into the top corner in a win over Army last Saturday to get himself off the mark.

He’ll look for more this weekend, when the Nittany Lions welcome No. 13 Notre Dame to Pegula Ice Arena for a pair of games.

Transitioning a committed player from junior hockey to its roster isn’t new for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have brought in a handful of players at the midseason mark over the years, most recently defenseman Evan Bell.

But those players all planned that move in advance. With Lugris, the transition was spontaneous.

Penn State offered him a place on its roster, and Lugris dropped everything to accept.

“I had about a week to get my application and all of that stuff in order,” Lugris said. “It was probably the most exciting time of my life.”

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But what made Penn State make the move?

The Nittany Lions got a call about Lugris that detailed his character and his style of play. Feeling it was the right fit — and that his team had a need — head coach Guy Gadowsky gave it the green light.

“He’s got size, he’s got a great stick, he’s got skill,” Gadowsky said. “He just seemed to be the perfect fit, and if one game is the indication, he sure is.”

Still, making this kind of last-minute move was totally foreign to Gadowsky. Logistically, it proved a challenge that many within the program chipped in to tackle.

“It takes everybody to make sure that everything happens quickly,” Gadowsky said. “So I have to give our athletic department a lot of credit for working so hard to make this happen. A lot of people on the hockey staff worked a lot of extra hours to make it happen.

“He was ready to go for the first game and played very well. There’s some work to that, too.”

Some of that credit, Gadowsky said, goes to sophomore forward Chase McClane. Penn State assigned McLane to answer any questions Lugris might have about how the Nittany Lions play, their COVID-19 protocols, or anything else.

Clearly, he did a fine job getting his charge ready, and the Nittany Lions are hopeful that extends into this weekend’s series against a tough opponent.

Penn State vs Notre Dame: Scouting the Irish

Notre Dame comes into this series as the 13th-ranked team in the nation, sitting fourth in the Big Ten — eight points ahead of Penn State.

Jeff Jackson’s Fighting Irish are among the hardest teams in the country to score against. They’ve limited their opponents to 36 goals in 19 games. Goaltenders Matt Galajda and Ryan Bischel have combined for a .925 save percentage this season, which ranks sixth in college hockey.

The Fighting Irish also boast college hockey’s best penalty kill unit, nullifying 93.2 percent of opposition power-play opportunities.

“They’re extremely well-coached and very, very disciplined in what they do,” Gadowsky said. “What always seems to be the case with them is you have to understand going into it that you are going to work for what you get. They’re not going to give you anything.

“It’s our game against theirs as it is for every game we play. But, you have to understand that, if we’re going to be successful, you have to work for it. They’re very well-coached. They don’t give you anything.”

Individually, the Irish are led by junior forward Max Ellis, who has 11 goals and 10 assists through 19 games this season.

Nick Leivermann and Spencer Stastney anchor the Notre Dame blue line, combining for 25 points so far this year.