Just last year, John Seifarth started in between the pipes for the Divison II Penn State club hockey team. Now, he’s playing in the big leagues and delivering for Guy Gadowsky and the Nittany Lions.

“His performance alone was just awesome,” Gadowsky said after Seifarth’s first starts. “Honestly, I could have never imagined that would happen. I’m also extremely proud of the team and how hard they played for him. You have guys that give so much of themselves to the team and have things like that happen. The entire team, our entire program, is just thrilled for him.”

Seifarth began the year as Penn State’s third goalie after he was added to the Divison I team in the offseason. Seated behind a major transfer pickup in Arsenii Sergeev and seasoned veteran Noah Grannan, it was hard to see a path to playing time for Seifarth, barring an injury or one of Sergeev and Grannan underperforming.

On November 18 against Wisconsin, Sergeev played just four minutes before exiting the game due to injury, with Grannan replacing him in the net. The backup finished the game and started both games against Michigan the following weekend.

Grannan struggled during his time filling in for Sergeev. After he surrendered his seventh goal in the third period of the second game against the Wolverines, Gadowksy called on Seifarth to finish the game, where he made five saves on the eight shots he faced.

“He had to face a five-minute major, a five-on-three, and other penalties,” Gadowsky said. “It could not have been a worse situation for him to walk into, and he handled it extremely well. I think the team felt bad that we put him in that position.”

The Nittany Lions faced a quick turnaround after the Michigan series, with Colgate coming to town for a midweek series before Thanksgiving. On Tuesday night, Seifarth got the start over Grannan and never looked back. Penn State defeated Colgate 3-2 to break its six-game losing streak, and Seifarth saved 25 of 27 shots en route to his first Division I victory.

Unsurprisingly, Seifarth was mobbed by his teammates upon returning to the locker room. After Seifarth entered the room, players were seated in their stalls in silence, but the minute the goalie turned his back, the party began.

“I walked in there, and I thought everyone was being quiet because I was late for the postgame meeting,” Seifarth said. “I’ve just got to sit down. I’m sucking wind with no idea what’s going on. Then, the song comes on, and everyone comes over. Before I know it, I’m drenched.

After his game one victory, Seifarth started game two with Penn State looking to complete its first series sweep since late October when they faced off against St. Lawrence. Once again, Seifarth delivered, and that performance was arguably better than his first victory. The goalie stopped all but one shot he faced and made an incredible save that earned him the second spot in the SportsCenter Top 10.

“It was weird, I’ll say that,” Seifarth said. “Super exciting, obviously, but not a feeling I’m used to. I stayed in State College Wednesday night and woke up on Thursday to a text from coach Sturtz that had a screen recording of the clip.”

Penn State and Seifarth hope to replicate the success against Colgate in their matchup versus Ohio State in Columbus. With Sergeev still sidelined, Seifarth remains in the net as the Nittany Lions search for their first victory in Big Ten play.

“You try to make it as normal as possible,” Seifarth said, speaking of the road trip. “Don’t really think too much about being on the road. You try to get your warmup in, and then see if I can find something to do.”