Penn State men’s hockey is playing with house money as it dances deep into the NCAA Tournament and into the program’s first Frozen Four. This season was a tale of two halves, with the team needing an incredible run after January to qualify for the tournament after an abysmal 0-9 start to Big Ten play that saw it as far as possible from the playoff picture.

The Nittany Lions rallied, though, and rallied hard – returning from break with a vengeance and only dropping four games in the new year. This hasn’t been because of some radical shift in tactics, though. Veteran forward Tyler Paquette explained that it was the team’s choice to stay positive, no matter what, that helped turn the tide.

“When it got to the dog days of January, we were 0-9. We kind of didn’t really have a choice,” Paquette said. “We just committed.”

“That’s why we’ve had success coming back when we were down in games. That’s helped us get through the second half of the year and be so successful, just staying positive, doing the right things consistently. It’s been the biggest factor for us.”

In a sport as dependent on momentum as hockey, keeping composure when luck isn’t on your side is just as important as schemes or matchups. Penn State’s no stranger to bad puck luck, take its meeting with No. 3 Maine in the first round of Allentown Regional. The Black Bears went up early on a net-front ricochet that looped up and over the netminder and into the net before anyone knew where the puck went.

The Nittany Lions stormed back into that game, scoring five unanswered to upset Maine and continue on. Penn State battled back against No. 6 Uconn in the next round, too, righting the ship after an early Husky goal and fighting deep into a scrappy overtime to complete another upset.

Head coach Guy Gadoswky knows that the tumultuous season his team faced has turned into a major strength for the side.

“This team has been used to some pretty extreme challenges, and when you fight hard and get through and come out on the other side, it gives you confidence,” Gadowsky said.

This confidence has translated into a calmer atmosphere around the locker room than would be expected for a program about to enter its first Frozen Four, especially when staring down the old guard of college hockey in No. 7 Boston University. With offensive terrors like Quinn and Cole Huston, a stalwart goaltender in Mikhail Yegorov, and NHL prospects up and down the roster, it’s as tough a matchup as one could ask for. Penn State has been playing do-or-die hockey since January, though, and the team is used to this pressure by now.

Senior forward Dylan Lugris explained that the team has had a “playoff mentality” during its second-half charge up the standings and that staying true to that identity will be key to keeping this postseason run alive.

“If we lost one of those games or if one goes the other way, looking back, it definitely could’ve changed the path of where we are now,” Lugris said. “I think it’s back-against-the-wall play… We know that we have the formula to beat a lot of teams, so we want to stay true to that and play playoff hockey as long as we can.”

With the team’s veteran leadership dialed in on consistent play and level heads going into the biggest game in program history, Gadowsky and his coaching staff are taking a hands-off approach to inspirational messaging while the team prepares.

“There’s going to be brighter lights, more media. There’s going to be a little more attention from family and friends,” Gadowsky said. “And I feel pretty confident that they have the right idea, and their message is, ‘Yes, this is a business trip, and it’s business as usual.'”