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Who will the Penn State hockey captains be for the 2025-2026 season?: Newsstand

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel18 hours agoGregPickel
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Penn State men's hockey coach Guy Gadowsky.

Penn State news, notes, and updates for Sept. 24 include the Lions’ men’s hockey captains for the 2025-2026 season, headlines of the day, and more. Head coach Guy Gadowsky’s program announced on Tuesday that junior forward Dane Dowiak will wear the ‘C’ this year. Senior defenseman Jarod Crespo is the first alternate captain. Others could be added down the road as the Lions now sit less than two weeks from their opener at Arizona State on Oct. 3 at Arizona State.

“I’m incredibly honored to be named captain of this team. I’ve had the privilege of learning from so many great leaders over the years, and I’m thankful for the example they set,” Dowiak said in a news release. “I wouldn’t be in this position without the complete support of my teammates, along with the coaches and our entire staff who present us with opportunities to succeed every day. I’m grateful for this team and I’m truly thankful for their trust in me. I’m proud to wear the Penn State sweater each day and I’m excited for the upcoming season. We Are!”

Dowiak scored 12 goals and had 20 points total as a sophomore. He is the program’s first junior captain since Tommy Olczyk took the honor in 2013-2014. Crespo, meanwhile, is the roster leader in games played. He has suited up for 104 games played so far in blue and white.

Penn State enters the 2025-2026 season as one of the favorites to win this year’s college hockey title. It made it to the first Frozen Four in program history in 2024-2025.

Headlines of the day

Why doesn’t Penn State wear white uniforms for its White Out game? Let’s take a trip down memory lane: Pickel, BWI

2026 Virginia commit Josiah Teasley one to watch ahead of upcoming Penn State visit: ‘They show me a lot of love’: Snyder, BWI

Penn State postseason projections: Where are the Lions in new CFP brackets before Oregon?: Pickel, BWI

What did Oregon coach Dan Lanning say about the Lions to kick off Penn State week?: Pickel, BWI

What Penn State DC Jim Knowles did to shut down Oregon in the Rose Bowl and how he can do it again: Carr, BWI

Penn State White Out Week Thoughts: Wow, what a recruiting list: Fitz, BWI

Quote of the week

“[The media has] been thinking about this one for a long time, and now we finally can focus on as well. I mean, Penn State is an extremely talented team. They do do it well in all three phases. Coach [James] Franklin runs a great organization, and they present a ton of challenges. I’ve said it before, but defensively, there are as multiple and disruptive as anybody we will play. They got great edge play. Dani Dennis-Sutton is one of the better defensive edge players in the league and in the nation. They’ve got good play in the back end as well. They do a great job overlapping, and have a lot of variety of schemes.”

Oregon coach Dan Lanning on his team’s upcoming meeting with PSU.