Men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky got a bit nostalgic at his weekly media availability on Monday. After all, No. 16 Penn State (10-2-3, 2-0-0) will face Gadowsky’s former employer, Princeton University, on Friday.

“There’s still players [I’ve] recruited there, tons of great memories,” Gadowsky said of Princeton (4-8-0), the team he transformed before coming to Penn State.

When he accepted the job as Princeton’s head coach in 2004, he knew what he was getting himself into. The season prior, the Tigers went 5-24-2. With Gadowsky, who has a knack for turning things around, Princeton improved on that record every year under his leadership. In 2008 and 2009, Princeton made back-to-back NCAA tournament runs. His efforts earned him the 2007-08 ECAC conference Coach of the Year award, an honor he would claim again in the Big Ten during Penn State’s 2014-15 season.

Penn State’s speedy forward Eric Scheid will miss Friday’s game. The Big Ten suspended him for his game misconduct — a five-minute major penalty for head contact in Penn State’s 6-1 win over Michigan State on Saturday. Gadowsky also announced Matt Skoff will start in net, giving goalie Eamon McAdam a head start on the team’s impending two-week break.

“We need to finish off this start, I don’t care who we’re playing. Princeton just happens to be the opponent,” Gadowsky said of his team’s eight-game unbeaten streak. A win on Friday would break the program’s record for games won in a row, with nine.

Penn State and Princeton’s matchup on Friday at Pegula is the team’s final game before the holiday break. True to his love of the game, Gadowsky said “breaks are welcome, but we feel pretty good. We don’t really feel where the calendar is right now.”

The Nittany Lions will resume play on Monday, December 28 against Robert Morris in the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh.