Opportunities can be hard to come by for a backup goaltender. However, this hasn’t been the case so far this season for Penn State men’s hockey’s Chris Funkey.

Funkey has stopped 51 out of the 56 shots fired toward his goal in two starts this season. The senior’s steady presence in net has given head coach Guy Gadowsky a much-needed second option between the pipes.

Peyton Jones has been a workhorse in net for the Nittany Lions since joining the team in 2016-17. He started 71 games in his freshman and sophomore seasons, winning 40 of them and backstopping the team to a Big Ten championship in his first year as Penn State’s starter.

Gadowsky has changed things up a bit this year as far as his goalies are concerned. Funkey and Jones have split the team’s first four games of the season, in which the Nittany Lions have tallied a perfect record.

“They both deserve opportunities to play and they’re both such great teammates,” Gadowsky said. “I do think there is some benefit to it. When you have really good people, internal competition is a great thing, and they’re both truly each other’s biggest fans.”

Competition for playing time can lead to a strained relationship between teammates. Despite the two goalies directly competing for time in one net, Funkey is Jones’ biggest fan while serving as his backup, and vice versa.

“I really think we have a mutual respect,” Funkey said. “In practice and on the ice, we want to beat each other in everything we do. That’s just the competitive nature that each of us have, but whoever is on the bench is supporting the guy who’s on the ice 150 percent.”

One of the beautiful things about backup goaltenders is the impact they can have off the ice. A good backup goalie knows how to keep his teammates loose and is usually one of the most popular players in the locker room.

As one of five seniors on the team, Funkey can add a leadership dynamic to his more typical role of keeping the mood light in between periods. He did just that between the second and third periods of Penn State’s 4-1 victory over Niagara on Friday night.

The Nittany Lions entered the second intermission with a 35-22 advantage in shots over the Purple Eagles, but the score was tied at one. Most thought that Penn State would steamroll Niagara, which finished the 2017-18 season with a record of 11-22-3.

Funkey took it upon himself to be the vocal leader in the locker room between the final two periods of the game. Whatever he said clearly resonated with the team, as Penn State came out and scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to cap off its second consecutive sweep to start the season.

“Chris Funkey has been that guy for us from day one,” Gadowsky said. “That’s not something that’s unusual for him at all. His impact on this program is so much greater than what people realize.”

The backup clearly made an impression on his head coach, but his teammates were also impressed with his leadership in a big spot.

“We have a lot of leaders in the room,” Penn State captain Chase Berger said following Saturday’s 4-1 victory. “I know that Chris Funkey was pretty vocal in the locker room before the third [period]. It awesome when guys like that to step up.”

Funkey’s opportunities to make a difference in between the pipes may dwindle as the season goes on. However, every team needs a “glue” guy like him that keeps the team together and isn’t afraid to speak up when times get tough, even if a 1-1 tie against Niagara after two periods isn’t the toughest of times.

Based on the glowing reviews of his head coach and teammates, it sounds like Funkey can be that “glue” guy for the Nittany Lions.