Penn State hockey preview: Lions take on free-falling Wisconsin team, looking to build momentum
A two-game road series against a Wisconsin team that sits at just 4-11-1 on the season presents an opportunity for Penn State hockey, but also applies some jeopardy.
The Badgers, despite their dismal start to the year and seven-game winless skid, still boast plenty of talent. There are 10 NHL draft picks on the Wisconsin roster, including first-round defenseman Corson Ceulemans.
A loss for the Nittany Lions in this series, which begins Friday at 8 p.m., could prove problematic. College hockey’s NCAA Tournament field is decided by a formula known as the Pairwise, which compares all 59 Division I teams against one another.
The Badgers presently sit 40th in those rankings, while Penn State ranks 24th. Failing to pile on Wisconsin’s present misery could prove very costly for the Nittany Lions at the end of the season.
All of that is out of focus for Guy Gadowsky, though. The Penn State head coach liked what he saw from his team in a split with Michigan State last weekend.
Even in a loss on Saturday, the Nittany Lions (10-7) sent 53 shots toward the Michigan State goal. They didn’t get the bounces they needed, but similar performances moving forward will certainly yield positive results.
“The coaching staff was encouraged,” Gadowsky said. “Look, you’re not going to win every game. Hockey has referees, goalies and rubber pucks. You put those three things together and a lot of different things can happen. You can play very well and lose, and you can have an average night and win.”
The Nittany Lions have achieved two series splits after an 0-4 start to Big Ten play. A nonconference sweep of St. Thomas is sandwiched in there, too.
Some of those splits need to become sweeps before long if the Nittany Lions hope to climb the Big Ten standings.
Penn State is sixth out of seven teams in the Big Ten, and seven points behind Notre Dame in fourth place. More than half the conference season remains to make up some ground, though, and Gadowsky thinks he’s seeing progress.
“The big picture, I mean, it’s encouraging,” Gadowsky said. “…We’ve had a lot of players that have played major minutes who have moved on. Even though our ages may be up there, there’s very few guys who have had time on the power play, the penalty kill, four-on-four, key defensive zone face-offs.
“It’s nice to see us growing and moving in a way that feels like us. We feel good about it. Coming into the situation we were in, we’re not going to judge the job we do in December.”
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Penn State opposition report: Scouting the Badgers
College hockey’s top-scoring team a year ago, Wisconsin is among the worst offensive teams in the country in 2021-22. The Badgers have just 25 goals on their ledger, which ranks 54th out of 59 teams. Each team with fewer has played at least four fewer games than the Badgers, too.
Defensively it hasn’t been much better. Entering this weekend’s clash with Penn State, Wisconsin has allowed 52 goals in 16 games, which ranks them well within the country’s bottom third.
Senior forward Brock Caufield leads Wisconsin with seven points, followed by fellow senior Tarek Baker, who has four goals to lead the team to go along with two assists.
The Badgers have split time among their goaltenders. Sophomore Cameron Rowe, who was excellent last season, has struggled. He owns an .868 save percentage in eight contests. Jared Moe has been more effective in his 12 games, posting a .924 save percentage.
