The 2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season was the 13th season of play for the program and the 6th season in the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions represented Pennsylvania State University and were coached by Guy Gadowsky, in his 8th season.
| 2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | 4th Big Ten |
| Home ice | Pegula Ice Arena |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | 17 |
| USA Today | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 22–15–2 |
| Conference | 11–12–1–1 |
| Home | 15–8–0 |
| Road | 6–7–1 |
| Neutral | 1–0–1 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Guy Gadowsky |
| Assistant coaches | Keith Fisher Matt Lindsay Andrew Magera |
| Captain(s) | Chase Berger |
| Alternate captain(s) | Kevin Kerr Brandon Biro |
| Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey seasons « 2017–18 2019–20 » | |
Season
editPlaying most of their non-conference schedule at home, Penn State rose up the rankings with a hot start to the season. The team cooled off when their conference schedule began and the Nittany Lions could not find any consistency for several months. Penn State ended up a game below .500 in the Big Ten standings and faced the prospect of having to win the Big Ten Tournament to receive an NCAA berth. After a rocky start the Nittany Lions overcame Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round, then pulled off an upset over top-ranked Ohio State to set PSU against Notre Dame. Both teams faced a win or go home scenario and played a close game throughout. The Fighting Irish gained three separate 1-goal leads and they were able to keep their final edge, holding Penn State off in the third period despite a barrage of shots from the Lions' nation-leading offense.
Departures
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erik Autio | Defenseman |  Finland |
Graduation (Signed with SaiPa) |
| Matthew Erlichman | Goaltender |  United States |
Graduation (Retired) |
| Trevor Hamilton | Defenseman | United States |
Signed Professional Contract (Grand Rapids Griffins) |
| Matt Mendelson | Forward | United States |
Left Program (Retired) |
| Brett Murray | Forward |  Canada |
Signed Professional Contract (Youngstown Phantoms) |
| James Robinson | Forward | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Jokers de Cergy) |
| Andrew Sturtz | Defenseman | Finland |
Signed Professional Contract (Ottawa Senators) |
Recruiting
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oskar Autio | Goaltender | Finland |
18 | Espoo, FIN |
| Paul DeNaples | Defenseman | United States |
20 | Moscow, PA |
| Ludvig Larsson | Forward/Defenseman |  Sweden |
22 | Malmö, SWE; transfer from Merrimack |
| Max Sauvé | Forward | United States |
20 | Acushnet, MA |
| Aarne Talvitie | Forward | Finland |
19 | Espoo, FIN; selected 160th overall in 2017 |
Roster
editAs of September 3, 2018.[1]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 
|
Cole Hults | Sophomore | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1998-05-22 | Stoughton, Wisconsin | Madison Capitols (USHL) | LAK, 134th overall 2017 |
| 3 | 
|
Paul DeNaples | Freshman | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | 1998-09-19 | Moscow, Pennsylvania | Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) | — |
| 4 | 
|
Kris Myllari | Junior | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1997-02-05 | Kanata, Ontario | Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) | — |
| 5 |
|
Kevin Kerr (A) | Senior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | 1996-02-09 | Bensalem, Pennsylvania | Tri-City Storm (USHL) | — |
| 6 | 
|
James Gobetz | Junior | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 1996-08-06 | St. James, New York | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) | — |
| 7 | 
|
Evan Bell | Sophomore | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | 1997-06-25 | Livonia, Michigan | Fargo Force (USHL) | — |
| 8 | 
|
Chase Berger (C) | Senior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 194 lb (88 kg) | 1994-11-14 | St. Louis, Missouri | Tri-City Storm (USHL) | — |
| 9 | 
|
Alex Limoges | Sophomore | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1997-09-16 | Winchester, Virginia | Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) | — |
| 10 | 
|
Brandon Biro (A) | Junior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1998-03-11 | Sherwood Park, Alberta | Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL) | — |
| 11 | 
|
Max Sauvé | Freshman | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | 1998-09-02 | Acushnet, Massachusetts | Avon Old Farms (USHS–CT) | — |
| 12 |
|
Ludvig Larsson | Senior | F/D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | 1995-10-02 | Malmö, Sweden | Merrimack (HEA) | — |
| 13 | 
|
Nikita Pavlychev | Junior | F | 6' 7" (2.01 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | 1997-03-23 | Yaroslavl, Russia | Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) | PIT, 197th overall 2015 |
| 14 |
|
Nate Sucese | Junior | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1996-07-12 | Fairport, New York | Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) | — |
| 17 |
|
Evan Barratt | Sophomore | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1999-02-18 | Bristol, Pennsylvania | USNTDP (USHL) | CHI, 90th overall 2017 |
| 19 | 
|
Derian Hamilton | Senior | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | 1994-07-06 | Port McNeill, British Columbia | Powell River Kings (BCHL) | — |
| 20 |
|
Aarne Talvitie | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | 1999-02-11 | Espoo, Finland | Espoo Blues U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) | NJD, 160th overall 2017 |
| 22 | 
|
Alex Stevens | Sophomore | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1997-02-27 | Plymouth, Minnesota | Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) | — |
| 23 | 
|
Blake Gober | Junior | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 179 lb (81 kg) | 1995-01-18 | Colleyville, Texas | Bloomington Thunder (USHL) | — |
| 24 |
|
Adam Pilewicz | Sophomore | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1996-07-20 | Sewickley, Pennsylvania | Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL) | — |
| 25 |
|
Denis Smirnov | Junior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1997-08-12 | Moscow, Russia | Fargo Force (USHL) | COL, 156th overall 2017 |
| 26 |
|
Liam Folkes (A) | Junior | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | 1996-02-26 | Scarborough, Ontario | Brockville Braves (CCHL) | — |
| 27 |
|
Sam Sternschein | Sophomore | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 204 lb (93 kg) | 1998-04-27 | Syosset, New York | Lincoln Stars (USHL) | — |
| 28 | 
|
Alec Marsh | Senior | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | 1995-11-28 | Bridgewater, New Jersey | Fargo Force (USHL) | — |
| 31 |
|
Peyton Jones | Junior | G | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 1996-02-14 | Langhorne, Pennsylvania | Lincoln Stars (USHL) | — |
| 33 | 
|
Chris Funkey | Senior | G | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | 1994-03-16 | Orland Park, Illinois | New Jersey Hitmen (USPHL) | — |
| 35 |
|
Oskar Autio | Freshman | G | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | 1999-10-06 | Espoo, Finland | Chicago Steel (USHL) | — |
Standings
edit| Conference record | Overall record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #12 Ohio State † | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 79 | 52 | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 108 | 83 | |
| #10 Notre Dame * | 24 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 63 | 65 | 40 | 23 | 14 | 3 | 112 | 91 | |
| #20 Minnesota | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 76 | 75 | 38 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 117 | 108 | |
| #17 Penn State | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 101 | 96 | 39 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 177 | 139 | |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 69 | 81 | 37 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 113 | 130 | |
| Michigan | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 76 | 75 | 36 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 110 | 114 | |
| Michigan State | 24 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 68 | 88 | 36 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 99 | 122 | |
| Championship: March 23, 2019 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | |||||||||||||||
Schedule and Results
edit| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| October 6 | 4:55 PM | vs. Brock* | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Exhibition) | Autio | W 3–2 | 1,804 | |||||
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| October 11 | 7:07 PM | vs. #17 Clarkson* | #16 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Funkey | W 4–3 | 5,975 | 1–0–0 | |||
| October 12 | 7:07 PM | vs. #17 Clarkson* | #16 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 5–1 | 6,121 | 2–0–0 | |||
| October 10 | 7:07 PM | vs. Niagara* | #10 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Funkey | W 8–2 | 6,063 | 3–0–0 | |||
| October 20 | 3:37 PM | vs. Niagara* | #10 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 4–1 | 6,145 | 4–0–0 | |||
| October 26 | 7:07 PM | vs. #13 Princeton* | #10 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 4–2 | 6,139 | 5–0–0 | |||
| November 2 | 7:07 PM | vs. Arizona State* | #6 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Funkey | W 6–5 | 6,002 | 6–0–0 | |||
| November 3 | 8:07 PM | vs. Arizona State* | #6 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | L 3–4 OT | 6,147 | 6–1–0 | |||
| November 9 | 7:07 PM | vs. Robert Morris* | #8 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Funkey | W 7–2 | 6,180 | 7–1–0 | |||
| November 10 | 7:05 PM | at Robert Morris* | #8 | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 11–6 | 1,403 | 8–1–0 | |||
| November 16 | 7:07 PM | vs. #16 Michigan | #5 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Funkey | L 4–6 | 5,873 | 8–2–0 (0–1–0–0) | |||
| November 17 | 7:07 PM | vs. #16 Michigan | #5 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 7–6 OT | 5,810 | 9–2–0 (1–1–0–0) | |||
| November 23 | 5:05 PM | at #5 Ohio State | #6 | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | Jones | W 4–3 | 6,034 | 10–2–0 (2–1–0–0) | |||
| November 24 | 8:05 PM | at #5 Ohio State | #6 | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | Jones | L 2–5 | 3,838 | 10–3–0 (2–2–0–0) | |||
| November 30 | 8:07 PM | at Wisconsin | #6 | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | FSW | Jones | T 3–3 SOW | 8,369 | 10–3–1 (2–2–1–1) | ||
| December 1 | 8:07 PM | at Wisconsin | #6 | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | FSW | Jones | L 5–8 | 10,055 | 10–4–1 (2–3–1–1) | ||
| December 7 | 7:07 PM | vs. #5 Notre Dame | #9 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Autio | L 4–5 | 6,061 | 10–5–1 (2–4–1–1) | |||
| December 8 | 7:07 PM | vs. #5 Notre Dame | #9 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 9–1 | 6,213 | 11–5–1 (3–4–1–1) | |||
| December 15 | 7:30 PM | vs. Princeton | #9 | Wells Fargo Center • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Jones | T 4–4 OT | 8,490 | 11–5–2 | |||
| January 4 | 9:03 PM | at Minnesota | #9 | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota | ESPN U | Jones | W 4–2 | 7,375 | 12–5–2 (4–4–1–1) | ||
| January 5 | 8:05 PM | at Minnesota | #9 | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota | Jones | L 1–4 | 8,952 | 12–6–2 (4–5–1–1) | |||
| January 11 | 8:03 PM | vs. Michigan State | #11 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 4–2 | 6,096 | 13–6–2 (5–5–1–1) | |||
| January 12 | 7:07 PM | vs. Michigan State | #11 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | L 4–6 | 6,199 | 13–7–2 (5–6–1–1) | |||
| January 18 | 7:07 PM | vs. #4 Ohio State | #13 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | L 1–4 | 6,131 | 13–8–2 (5–7–1–1) | |||
| January 19 | 3:07 PM | vs. #4 Ohio State | #13 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | L 4–6 | 6,094 | 13–9–2 (5–8–1–1) | |||
| January 24 | 7:32 PM | at Michigan | #15 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | Autio | L 1–5 | 5,647 | 13–10–2 (5–9–1–1) | |||
| January 26 | 7:03 PM | vs. Michigan | #15 | Madison Square Garden • New York, New York | BTN | Jones | W 5–2 | 9,271 | 14–10–2 (6–9–1–1) | ||
| February 8 | 6:01 PM | vs. Minnesota | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 7–2 | 6,131 | 15–10–2 (7–9–1–1) | |||
| February 9 | 6:01 PM | vs. Minnesota | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | W 6–2 | 6,229 | 16–10–2 (8–9–1–1) | |||
| February 15 | 7:05 PM | at Michigan State | #17 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | Jones | L 3–5 | 5,185 | 16–11–2 (8–10–1–1) | |||
| February 16 | 7:05 PM | at Michigan State | #17 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | Jones | W 5–3 | 5,941 | 17–11–2 (9–10–1–1) | |||
| February 22 | 6:33 PM | vs. Wisconsin | #19 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | BTN | Jones | W 8–2 | 6,110 | 18–11–2 (10–10–1–1) | ||
| February 23 | 7:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin | #19 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | Jones | L 3–7 | 6,151 | 18–12–2 (10–11–1–1) | |||
| March 1 | 7:10 PM | vs. #17 Notre Dame | #18 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | NBCSN | Jones | L 4–5 OT | 4,238 | 18–13–2 (10–12–1–1) | ||
| March 2 | 7:05 PM | vs. #17 Notre Dame | #18 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | Jones | W 3–2 | 4,950 | 19–13–2 (11–12–1–1) | |||
| Big Ten Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 8 | 8:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 1) | Jones | L 3–4 | 3,381 | 19–14–2 | |||
| March 9 | 6:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 2) | Jones | W 6–2 | 4,886 | 20–14–2 | |||
| March 10 | 6:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 3) | Jones | W 4–3 OT | 3,285 | 21–14–2 | |||
| Penn State wins series 2–1 | |||||||||||
| March 17 | 3:31 PM | at #6 Ohio State* | #17 | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Big Ten Semifinal) | BTN | Jones | W 5–1 | 4,545 | 22–14–2 | ||
| March 23 | 8:03 PM | at #16 Notre Dame* | #17 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Big Ten Championship) | BTN | Jones | L 2–3 | 5,988 | 22–15–2 | ||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Scoring Statistics
edit| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Limoges | C | 39 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 10 |
| Evan Barratt | C/LW | 32 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 55 |
| Liam Folkes | C | 39 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 8 |
| Brandon Biro | LW | 37 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 4 |
| Nate Sucese | LW | 39 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 24 |
| Chase Berger | C | 39 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 8 |
| Nikita Pavlychev | C | 39 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 57 |
| Cole Hults | D | 39 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 24 |
| Ludvig Larsson | C/D | 39 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 22 |
| Denis Smirnov | RW/LW | 37 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 6 |
| Kris Myllari | D | 39 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 12 |
| Sam Sternschein | LW | 39 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 10 |
| Aarne Talvitie | C/LW | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 |
| Kevin Kerr | D | 35 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 19 |
| Alec Marsh | C/LW | 34 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 18 |
| Paul DeNaples | D | 39 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 6 |
| Alex Stevens | D | 35 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 43 |
| Evan Bell | D | 21 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Adam Pilewicz | D | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| James Gobetz | D | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Derian Hamilton | D | 26 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Blake Gober | F | 30 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 31 |
| Max Sauvé | F | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Oskar Autio | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Funkey | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peyton Jones | G | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Total | 177 | 301 | 478 | 389 |
Goaltending statistics
edit| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peyton Jones | 32 | 1878 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 104 | 942 | 0 | .901 | 3.32 |
| Oskar Autio | 3 | 122 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 59 | 0 | .894 | 3.42 |
| Chris Funkey | 7 | 340 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 152 | 0 | .884 | 3.53 |
| Empty Net | - | 21 | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 39 | 2363 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 139 | 1153 | 0 | .892 | 3.53 |
Rankings
edit| Poll | Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 (Final) | ||
| USCHO.com | 16 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | |
| USA Today | 15 | NR | 11 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |
Players drafted into the NHL
edit| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 181 | Kevin Wall† | Carolina Hurricanes |
† incoming freshman
References
edit- ^ "2018–19 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ "Penn State Nittany Lions (Men) 2019-2020 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Penn State Univ. 2018-2019 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^ "NHL DRAFT: Second day of NHL Draft concludes, nearly 70 players with NCAA ties chosen overall". USCHO.com. Retrieved October 8, 2020.