The answer to one of Penn State men’s hockey’s biggest offseason questions is slowly beginning to reveal itself.

In an offseason that saw many departures from the program, one of the more notable names was goaltender Peyton Jones. The Langhorne, Pa. native was a four-year starter for the Nittany Lions and holds records for the most goaltender wins (76) and saves (3,685) in program history.

Without a true goalie for the first time in four years, the Nittany Lions were staring at a void they weren’t sure they could fill. Now, that void doesn’t seem so scary.

Oskar Autio and Liam Soulière both started a game apiece against Minnesota and were big reasons why the Nittany Lions didn’t get blown out.

In the season opener Thursday, Autio got the start. The junior goalie from Espoo, Finland made 24 saves during the Nittany Lions’ 4-1 loss to Minnesota. Numbers are deceiving, though, as Autio was a bright spot during an otherwise dreary night for Penn State.

“We weren’t very good at all, and I thought Oskar kept us in the game early,” coach Guy Gadowsky said Sunday. “It could’ve been a rout early, and I thought he was excellent.”

The sign of a good goalie is someone who makes the saves they’re not supposed to make. Autio did that and some more, especially at the beginning of the game when the Nittany Lions came out sluggish.

In game two, Soulière started between the pipes and arguably one-upped Autio. The true freshman from Brampton, Ontario, Canada stepped into the goal during Friday and played like a veteran.

“I thought Liam looked really comfortable in his first start, I was like, ‘Jeez,'” Gadowsky said.

The true freshman showed poise in the net against an experienced Golden Gopher offense. Similar to Autio, Soulière made some saves he had no business making. Soulière also took a loss on the stat sheet in the 3-2 defeat to Minnesota but made 24 saves.

“I think what we now know is, for both guys, we have certainly been proven that we were right to have optimism and confidence in them,” Gadowsky said.

After one series, both goalies proved that the Nittany Lions have a dilemma on their hands, but not the dilemma they imagined. How do you get both these goalies on the ice?

How consistent can they be? Autio just played only his ninth collegiate game on Thursday and Soulière made his collegiate debut on Friday. Soulière also played only 15 games last season in the BCHL with the Victoria Grizzles because of an injury and the coronavirus shutdown. Can he keep his production up over an entire season?

The Nittany Lions will face off against Wisconsin Monday night in the first contest of a two-game series. Autio will be in net for game one with no clear starter for game two and beyond, according to Gadowsky.

Puck drop in Madison, Wisconsin is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BTN.