Coming off of a series sweep against Alaska Fairbanks in Alaska, Penn State men’s hockey has plenty to feel good about. Perhaps the most notable during head coach Guy Gadowsky’s midweek media availability was the production from the freshmen who took the ice for their first collegiate games.

With multi-point weekends from JJ Wiebusch and Charlie Cerrato, and Braedon Ford scoring his first collegiate goal, Gadowsky offered high praise for this freshman trio.

“I thought those guys showed a lot their first weekend, and it makes us very optimistic,” Gadowsky said.

During the Nittany Lions’ 4-3 overtime win in game one against the Nanooks, Ford and Wiebusch each tallied their first career goals, with Ford’s coming in the first period and Wiebusch getting on the board in the second. The goal from Ford came on the penalty kill after Penn State took a penalty with its power play expiring. Cerrato dished out the assist on Ford’s shorthanded goal. Wiebusch added the Nittany Lions’ third goal with Cerrato once again adding the assist.

“The forwards showed that they got acclimated pretty quick,” Gadowsky said. “Sometimes, it takes a while, just that the game moves so quickly. From what we saw this first weekend, every one of the forwards seemed very, very comfortable.”

Captain Simon Mack and forward Aiden Fink took notice of just how big of an impact the group made on games over the weekend. Mack said he saw this potential from the freshmen the minute they arrived over the summer, and it was awesome to see the impact they made both offensively and defensively.

“They did really good, they did everything that was asked of them,” Fink said. “I can name any of the freshmen — they did their part. It’s super exciting to see what they can do in the future.”

While he did not record a point during the two-game series, forward Keaton Peters logged significant minutes on the penalty kill for the Nittany Lions. Over the weekend, the Penn State penalty kill was a perfect 13-for-13 with Peters as a key contributor.

“He’s an animal,” Gadowsky said. “I think he takes more pride in being tough to play against than he does in making pretty plays. His mentality is fantastic, and it comes out loud and clear on the ice.”

Others to receive playing time over the weekend included Cade Christenson, who started both games on the backend for Penn State. Fellow freshman defenseman Jason Galluci and Nick Fascia also appeared in one game each.

With a matchup against the 2023 national championship winner Quinnipiac looming large, Penn State will need more performances like this past weekend from its freshman class if the Nittany Lions hope to pull off the upset.