Comebacks have been a staple early on in the season for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State has had to climb out of multiple-goal deficits in three out of four games so far. In the home-opener loss against Clarkson, the Nittany Lions were unable to complete the comeback.

However, Penn State once again found itself in a two-goal deficit after the first period in the second game against the Golden Knights. After the first intermission, a spark came from the locker room, which led to five unanswered goals and a win in front of the home crowd.

Head coach Guy Gadowsky credited the turnaround to one thing above all: mentality.

“Mentality is the most important factor, because it really is the only thing that you can control,” he said. “There’s a process, like analytics, that we want to do well, but you don’t really control them.”

In hockey, mentality can be the difference between barely staying in the fight and dictating a game. The sport demands more than just skill, it demands that you are in the right headspace that allows you to win. A strong mindset fuels the willingness to battle in front of the net, block shots, create turnovers, and even stay composed when the media is putting pressure on you.

The lack of experience playing in college from multiple players on the ice is also something that hasn’t been showing much, something that can be credited to mental toughness and the locker room’s mindset. The performance of the team early on has shown that they understand the need to be mentally tough, something that is not a new foundation of Penn State hockey.

That mental toughness traces back to the program’s roots. “From day one, we are very well aware of Terry Pegula’s expectations and his vision, and he expects people from Penn State, you’re going to play for the team, for the university, you’re going to play with passion, and you’re going to play fast,” Gadowsky said. “Those are mentalities. So that’s why we’re so adamant that we have the right mentality.”

Many factors go into winning hockey games, from talent and faceoff wins to shots on goal and strong goaltending. While Gadowsky believes all of those are important, he also emphasizes that mentality is something players can always control.

“For example, faceoffs are something we always want to be good at. But, well, there’s also another player that has a big say in it. And you know, as much as you want to say it, the ref drop is not the same every time,” he said. “What you do control is your mentality.”

A test of mentality and mental toughness is also resilience, something the Nittany Lions have shown plenty of this season. Having to claw back from deficits multiple times, the team has proven it can respond when challenged.

“You’ve got to be a pretty talented team to be able to do it, he said. “It takes a certain amount of talent to play around that.”

Of course, Gadowsky would like it if sometimes the comebacks were a little easier, but he is content that his group is capable of coming back and winning.

That same resilience and mindset show in players like Lev Katzin, who embodies the program and what it stands for.

“I really want to win this year. I want to win a national championship,” Katzin said. “People love winners. You get personal goals from your team winning, and that’s one of my biggest personal goals this year.”

Katzin’s approach this season is centered on team success rather than individual numbers. His mindset has shifted toward consistency and collective effort over anything that shows up on a stat sheet.

“I’m not really focused on personal stats right now,” Katzin said. “I just want to win games… just sticking with that.”

That selfless focus mirrors the mentality Gadowsky continues to emphasize throughout the program.

Now, as the Nittany Lions adjust to being “the hunted”, according to some players, the team others aim to beat, Gadowsky knows his players can handle the pressure. Once again, it all comes back to mentality.

For the Nittany Lions, that mindset might just be what turns early-season comebacks into long-term success.