Hockey Valley got its first taste of recent transfer Arsenii Sergeev this weekend, and it looks like there’s a new sheriff in town. The netminder, hailing from Yaroslavl, Russia, came to Penn State from UConn this summer and has already made a name for himself as a premier shot-stopper.

The junior tallied 26 saves in his first bout as a Nittany Lion last Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks before putting on a clinic the following night. On Sunday, he posted 32 saves en route to blanking the Nanooks and earning his second collegiate shutout.

Sergeev was excited about his performance over the weekend but didn’t seem very impressed with the accolades that came with it. To him, everything was just another shot to stop.

“I mean, a shutout is just a number. It’s a good thing to have, a great thing to have, so I’m glad,” Sergeev said. “It’s just really a pay off the work we put in before.”

At the team’s midweek press conference, head coach Guy Gadowsky was impressed with his goaltender’s resolve and improvement throughout the weekend.

“I think he was a little nervous on Saturday night but on Sunday, he settled in well. I mean, he can’t get much better than that, right?” Gadowsky said of Sergeev’s weekend.

Sergeev echoed his coach’s words and shared that his success on Sunday night was owed to his teammates.

“When you play in your first game,” Sergeev said, “you try to find your game as well. The second one, we really played better as a team, and I controlled myself better because I just felt better.”

During their 5-0 routing of Alaska Fairbanks, the Nittany Lions bought in on defense and combined for 17 blocked shots in front of their goalie. It wasn’t just blue-liners getting involved in the effort — 10 different players tallied blocks. Gadowsky thought the team’s camaraderie was the secret behind its shot-stopping success.

“Boy, did the guys ever play hard for him? He’s a great goaltender, but he’s an even better guy. The guys love playing for him, that’s for sure,” Gadowsky said.

Expect more of the same from Penn State’s newest keeper as the season progresses. He said that the defense is only going to get better with more games under its belt.

“You’re playing more games, you feel more confident,” Sergeev said.