Penn State men’s hockey has raised its program’s standard over the last two years, yet four games into 2026-27, the Nittany Lions still haven’t won, and head coach Guy Gadowsky wonders if the past success is part of the problem.

After Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Robert Morris, Gadowsky didn’t point to a bad bounce or a system that needs fixing.

“I feel that the success of this program in the last two years — we’ve had two pretty darn good years — and I think that there’s a feel that it’s just going to come easy,” Gadowsky said. “And I hope this is a terrible word to say, but I’m just telling you the honest truth of how I feel. I feel it’s arrogance. I feel it’s arrogance; I feel that’s what we are.”

Those are strong words, but given how Penn State has started its season, it’s not hard to see where the frustration comes from.

Robert Morris entered Tuesday without a win and had scored just five goals through its first four games. The Colonials needed only 20 seconds to get on the board in Hockey Valley.

By the end of the first period, Robert Morris had three goals and a 15-6 advantage in shots. The Nittany Lions were once again left trying to dig themselves out of an early hole.

Sound familiar?

Penn State found itself in a similar position against Sacred Heart just 10 days earlier, falling behind 3-0 before putting together a brief third-period comeback.

Tuesday wasn’t much different. Penn State outshot Robert Morris 19-6 in the second period, and Justin Poirier scored twice to bring the Nittany Lions within one. But another comeback ultimately fell short.

At some point, flashes of good hockey aren’t enough when the same mistakes keep putting you behind.

“We feel we were above what we had to do in the past to get where we got,” Gadowsky said. “That’s how I feel. And obviously, that’s on me because that’s a preparation issue.”

He also made it clear that he doesn’t believe the solution is as simple as changing a defensive pairing or adjusting the forecheck.

“I don’t know where to go from here,” Gadowsky said. “I’m very disappointed, and it’s not an analytical thing. It’s not a system thing. I’m very disappointed because of my feelings about why this happened.”

And when asked a similar question about what he could do to fix Penn State’s 0-4 start, his answer was even shorter.

“I don’t know right now.”

Gadowsky told his players the same after the game, though he admitted he wasn’t sure they agreed with his assessment.

Captain Dane Dowiak didn’t hesitate to speak up.

“Yeah, he’s right,” Dowiak said. “We’ve got to do a lot of self-reflecting.”

That reflection should start with the players who have been around the program long enough to know what Penn State hockey is supposed to look like.

Dowiak acknowledged that the leadership group hasn’t done enough to help the Nittany Lions navigate their winless start.

“I got to put that on the leadership group,” Dowiak said. “We haven’t done enough yet. I know I’ve got to be better.”

But there’s a difference between not caring and not doing what it takes to win. Dowiak was adamant that his teammates were putting in the effort. He said the problems come down to the details.

Penn State has continued to struggle with slow starts, costly penalties, and maintaining its play for a full 60 minutes. The Nittany Lions committed six penalties Tuesday after Quinnipiac scored four power-play goals on Friday.

“It’s not like nobody’s trying. It’s not like we don’t have a good enough team to do it,” Dowiak said. “Just finding a way to get everybody on the same page.”

While the struggles have been frustrating for everyone in the locker room, Dowiak knows the disappointment extends beyond the players.

“It’s unacceptable for the people that fill this building every night,” Dowiak said. “We owe it to them. We owe it to the Penn State community.”

Now comes the difficult part: actually changing something.

Penn State hosts Canisius for two games Friday and Saturday before opening Big Ten play against Minnesota. The schedule isn’t slowing down to give the Nittany Lions time to figure things out.

Dowiak understands that better than anyone.

“College hockey is a short season,” Dowiak said. “We don’t have time to mess around and feel things out.”

Four games might not define an entire season, but the Nittany Lions have already put themselves in a position where they need answers sooner rather than later.

As Dowiak put it, “Our backs are against the wall.”