Happy Hockey Valley is cooling off as fall sets in, setting the stage for another thrilling season of Penn State men’s hockey.

With the team’s opening series against Alaska Fairbanks just under two weeks away, head coach Guy Gadowsky and his players met with the press at Pegula Ice Arena for the Penn State men’s hockey 2024 media day. Here’s what we learned about this season’s Nittany Lions.

On Newly Announced Team Captains

On Monday, Gadowsky and his staff announced the 11th captain in program history, senior blue-liner Simon Mack, and named alternates Jimmy Dowd Jr. and Carson Dyck. With all three letters vacated after last season, the staff was confident in its new leaders.

“I think as a group, they show they’ve been great Penn Staters. To be honest, that’s probably the one thing that you can take away from all of them,” Gadowsky said. “They love Penn State. They absolutely love Pegula Ice Arena. They love the student body. They love the support. They love the Roar Zone, and they love Penn State, every one of them. So I think they’re great representatives.”

The team had 10 departures after last season and gained 11 new faces, so maintaining the team’s identity and culture through the off-season was a major focus for the staff and new leaders.

“The coaching staff certainly laid out our expectations with culture,” Gadowsky said. “You can give some pretty well-defined direction on that. But what’s important is not what the coaches say, but what’s said when the coaches leave the room. That’s really what’s important.

“That’s the thing about culture: It’s not coach-run, it’s player-run. It’s team-run. If you just judge calls to culture based on what happens when the coaches are in the locker room, then everybody would have great culture. It’s what happens when they leave.

“You really have to believe in your leadership group. You can’t be guessing. I think that our staff is very confident in the type of people that we have and that they really believe in what they say. Now, it’s up to them to do it.”

On Transfer Goaltender Arsenii Sergeev

This year, the goalie room looks a little different. After struggling through his last season as a Nittany Lion, former star Liam Souliere transferred out of the program. His tandem tender, Noah Grannan, is sticking around, but with the addition of junior Arsenii Sergeev, competition will be tough for the starting job.

“We weren’t committed to doing it out of the portal, but since someone like Arsenii became available, then that was a no-brainer for us,” Gadowsky said.

Sergeev, a 21-year-old, was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2021 and spent the past two years at UConn, posting a 19-14-1 record with a .931 save percentage. With Sergeev in Happy Valley, the coaching staff was excited about what he could bring to the team.

“We understood that he was a very competitive guy and getting to know him a little bit already, he’s exactly that. So he fits us really, really well. He’s really fun to be around. He competes at everything. He has a blast doing it,” Gadowsky said. “He’s really ingratiated himself to the team. The team loves him already. And hey, he’s an excellent goaltender.

“His numbers are very good. I love the fact that he’s a great competitor, and he’s getting along with the group just perfectly.”

On This Year’s Freshman Class

With a whopping nine freshmen on the roster, there’s a lot of production to replace and pressure on the youngsters to step up in their first year of collegiate hockey. Gadowsky was confident they’re the right players for the job.

“There are guys that have put up really big numbers in the past in top junior leagues like the USHL,” Gadowsky said. “We certainly expect them to be contributors offensively and certainly, I think, by the second half of the year, they’re going to be leaders throughout the team. I think they’ve got a lot more than just offense… This is a really good class”

When his staff was on the recruiting trail, Gadowsky said they were after more than just the raw stats. Continuing to harp on Penn State’s identity as a gritty, team-oriented squad, he said this crop of players is perfect for the billing.

“We wanted to get some toughness, more Penn State-tough than we were used to in the past. And I think that you can see it when you see some of these guys play, I think you’re going to understand they fit in really well,” Gadowsky said.

“I think that you’re going to see a lot of them play major roles in how we play the game and our identity. So I have a lot of optimism with every single one.”

On The Team’s Goals For The Season

After a disappointing end to last season with an early Big Ten Tournament exit and missing the NCAA Tournament, Gadowsky and his team have set the bar high for the 2024 campaign.

“Obviously, we’re in a spot where the success that we’ve had over the first decade of this program has been pretty good. We’ve won championships. We’ve been to the NCAA Tournament. So I don’t think this is going to surprise anybody,” Gadowsky said. “I mean, the only two things left we have to do are go to the Frozen Four and win the national championship.”

“The expectations are to improve, to become more Penn State, as we were in the past, and to have success doing it now.”

The Nittany Lions have a bear of a schedule to look forward to. Complete with an early meeting with 2023 National Champion Quinnipiac and the Big Ten gauntlet with rivals Minnesota, Michigan, and Notre Dame to come, Penn State has its work cut out for it this season.

“What we can control is how hard we work every week, and we want to make sure we improve. So it’s not just, let’s see what we have,” Gadowsky said. “We want to make sure we play our best hand and make it the best possible. That’s that’s our expectation.”

What is the best hand for Gadowsky? It’s infused with the tough identity he wants his teams to embody: a full house of physical play on defense translating to high-octane offense.

“It’s not an easy game to play, and I think you can’t forget that. You may say it is simple in concept, but it’s really difficult to do consistently, and I think that’s what we’ve addressed because we have guys that did it and we have more we have an idea of what it takes. Now, we have other guys brought in, too, that I think will add to that identity,” Gadowsky said.

On Fifth-Year Skaters Jimmy Dowd Jr. & Tyler Paquette

The story of the off-season was certainly the departure of major players, especially those like former captain Christian Berger, goalscorer Ryan Kirwan, and power-play menace Jacques Bouquot. With uncertainty about the team’s culture through high player turnover, Gadowsky was proud to talk about his two fifth-year skaters.

“Not just every fifth-year guy is going to work out. I really don’t think so. I think you have to have the right guy and they have to be back for the right reason, and I think both these guys are leaders,” Gadowsky said. “They love Penn State and they really value Penn State.”

Dowd echoed his coach’s thoughts later in the day, claiming that there wasn’t any doubt in his mind about returning.

“Gads gave me the opportunity, and I said yes,” Dowd. said. “Non-biased here, but I don’t think there’s any other place like this in the country. Everything we have, from the student body to you guys, the Roar Zone, everyone that comes to the games… It’s super special.”

On Senior Forward Ben Schoen’s Return

With forward Ben Schoen over a year away from his All-Big Ten Honoree sophomore season, sidelined with a medical redshirt last campaign, Gadowsky was all smiles while talking about his return.

“We’re optimistic. He’s worked really hard, and I think he’s used the time that he couldn’t play to his advantage to improve on some of his game that maybe you might perceive as weaknesses,” Gadowsky said. “Now, he’s turned it into a strength.”

In his freshman and sophomore years, the 5’8″ forward combined for nine goals, scoring on a ridiculously efficient one in five shots taken. Schoen’s also got an eye for the helper, tallying 28 assists through his career. With a bigger frame, he’s going to be a problem for opponents.

“I think he’s got a lot more power, he’s a lot more muscular athlete than he was when he got hurt. So that’s a benefit. We’d like to see things progress first before I say too much, but we’re very optimistic,” Gadowsky said.

On The Team’s Season Opening Series At Alaska Fairbanks

The team has a long road trip to get to its first match, traveling almost 3,200 miles as the crow flies to meet the Nanooks. The coaching staff is looking forward to getting the show on the road, especially when it comes to bonding as a team.

“Going to Alaska is very different. I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for the team to gel. You spend a lot of time on the plane, a lot of time on buses, and I think it’s good for us,” Gadowsky said.

“The priority is to play the best we can right up, right off the hop. So it’s treated as two different things. The travel and Alaska is one, that’s exciting. But the games, it doesn’t matter where they’re at. We have to come out the best we can.”

Sophomore star Reese Laubach was ready for the challenge, telling media that the team is, too.

“I’m so excited. I mean, it’s been a long offseason. We didn’t finish last year the way we wanted to, we ended early,” Laubach said. “We’re all super pumped to get going. We leave in about a week and I think everyone’s just super excited.”

New captain Simon Mack agrees, too.

“I’ve never been to Alaska before, so I’m really excited for the trip. It’s going to be against a great program as well. So we need to start out strong and get a couple wins here,” Mack said.