Penn State men’s hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky was named Big Ten Coach of the Year this afternoon by league coaches and media members, earning the program’s first major conference award since its inception in 2012.

Gadowsky’s coaching has been a huge factor in the Nittany Lions successful transition from a club team to an NCAA Division I program. The award is Gadowsky’s third conference coach of the year honor after receiving the 2001-02 CCHA award at Alaska and the 2007-08 ECAC Hockey accolade at Princeton.

This season’s Lions, the team that was picked to finish last in the preseason Big Ten rankings, boasted a winning record, flirted with national rankings, and beat every Big Ten team at least once (including Michigan twice, of course). The developing team blew their 2013-14 record out of the water by seven wins, the biggest increase of any conference program.

Joining Gadowsky in conference awards, Hobey Baker contender Casey Bailey was named to the All-Big Ten First Team. He is the Big Ten’s leading scorer with an impressive 22 goals, and is one of just four players in the Big Ten with 40 points and one of 11 players in NCAA Division I with 20 or more goals. Scott Conway was also honored, joining the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after scoring 10 goals, 16 assists, and this amazing deke.

A league-leading six Nittany Lions accomplished All-Big Ten Honorable Mentions: David Goodwin, Taylor Holstrom, Nate Jensen, Luke Juha, Patrick Koudys, and PJ Musico.

Senior forward Max Gardiner was Penn State’s representative of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. He is Penn State’s leading scholar-athlete, with an impressive 4.0 GPA.

Penn State hockey (18-14-4) earned the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will face fifth-seeded Ohio State on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Detriot. The Lions are 1-3-0 vs the Buckeyes this season. The winner will face top-seeded Minnesota on Friday in the Big Ten Semifinals.

Photo: GoPSUsports.com