In the 2024-25 season, Guy Gadowsky led Penn State to its first-ever Frozen Four appearance, and in 2025-26, in his 26th year at the helm, Gadowsky guided the Nittany Lions to their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh 20+ win season behind eventual No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna.
Ostensibly, despite McKenna’s expected departure, the investment in the program has remained, with a program-record 10 NHL draft picks on a 25-man roster that had the potential to be deeper than last year’s team. Yet, the results have disappeared.
On Tuesday night at the Pegula Ice Arena, Penn State fell to 0-4 with a surprising 5-2 non-conference loss to Robert Morris. The Colonials jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Penn State clawed back behind Justin Poirier’s first and second goals as a Nittany Lion, before RMU slammed the door shut with some late insurance.
I think that there’s a feel that it’s just going to come easy,” Gadowsky told reporters postgame. “And I hope this is a terrible word to say, but I’m just telling you the honest truth of how I feel. I feel it’s arrogance. I feel it’s arrogance; I feel that’s what we are.”
A slow start was expected with so much turnover
There’s no McKenna on this year’s roster, and the Nittany Lions were predicted to finish seventh out of seven in the Big Ten preseason poll. It’s not as though this team was expected to be some juggernaut destined for the Frozen Four. Sophomore defenseman Jackson Smith is coming off a stellar freshman season, and sophomore goaltender Josh Fleming is back after a strong first year on campus as well.
However, Smith was the team’s only preseason All-Big Ten selection, and there are 11 new faces on this roster. Matchups with UConn and Quinnipiac early in non-conference play didn’t give that group much time to gel.
A 3-0 first period against Robert Morris appeared to be something of a wake-up call, eventually outshooting the Colonials 35-32 for the game after being outshot 15-6 in the first period. There’s only so much solace the team can take in that effort that went for naught in the win column, but heading into a two-game weekend set with Canisius, Gadowsky certainly has his team’s attention.
Few would’ve anticipated the start to be this slow. And the problem with taking this much time to coalesce in non-conference play is that it will be difficult to rack up a big enough win total in Big Ten play to make a case for the NCAA Tournament. The conference is more loaded than ever, with nearly every team increasing their investment and attracting more future NHL talent every year.
There is too much talent for this to be a lost season
Without any serious investment on the basketball court in this new revenue-sharing era of college athletics, it seemed Penn State men’s hockey was going to become a priority. Women’s hockey is coming off a Frozen Four appearance, women’s volleyball has been a steady contender, and wrestling is on an untouchable dynastic run, but combined, those sports aren’t matching a typical roster spend in men’s basketball.
That’s not to say Penn State spent no money on its men’s basketball roster, but it almost undoubtedly spent the least in the Big Ten. If that’s the path forward for this athletic department and the number of NHL draft picks on the roster is going to increase for the men’s hockey team every year, that will start to carry a level of expectations that has been largely unfamiliar for most of Gadowsky’s tenure, 2025-26 notwithstanding.
This roster is seemingly imperfect and has struggled to implement the high-tempo style Gadowsky wants to play, rolling all four lines and leaning on the supposed depth, but it has real talent, and if it doesn’t turn around, it may lead to some uncomfortable conversations in Happy Valley.
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