Earlier in the season, then-No. 8 Quinnipiac scored four power-play goals in a single game against Penn State men’s hockey. In the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten opener at No. 18 Minnesota, Penn State allowed none.

The Nittany Lions went 6 for 6 on the penalty kill in the two-game series, including a five-minute major. The perfect weekend on the kill helped them take home three points, with a shootout win Friday and a 4-3 overtime loss Saturday.

Head coach Guy Gadowsky pointed to one specific fix.

“I think we’ve done a better job of defending the rush on PK [penalty kill], and that’s been worked on,” he said.

One other adjustment has been harder to figure out in practice.

Half of the roster is new this season, and the coaching staff is still figuring out how each player’s strengths translate to college hockey.

“Half our team is new,” Gadowsky said. “We don’t know whose strengths or how they apply to Division I hockey. So I think we’re learning our personnel.”

The rookies are learning too. Forward Marco Mignosa, who came to Penn State after five seasons in the Canadian Hockey League, said the biggest adjustment has been the pace of play against older, stronger opponents.

The learning curve showed against Quinnipiac, which beat Penn State 6-3.

Afterward, captain Reese Laubach said the team needed to stop “curling up in a ball” after giving up goals.

Gadowsky said that it changed at Minnesota. He credited the leadership group and said the team improved overall at managing its emotions during games.

The composure paid off against the Golden Gophers. Captain Dane Dowiak said the crowd and the environment took some getting used to, and the team needed the first Friday of the Big Ten weekend to settle in.

“We just got to play our game, and I think every guy responded pretty well,” Dowiak said.

The penalty kills came when it mattered. Mac Gadowsky received a five-minute major and a game misconduct after contact to the head late in the second period on Saturday.

Josh Fleming saved seven shots during the kill, helping the Nittany Lions survive to overtime. Gadowsky credited Fleming, who started both games and faced heavy pressure early.

“Your goaltender is usually your most important penalty killer,” Gadowsky said. “He certainly was this weekend as well.”

Dowiak said that Fleming came up big both nights and gave Penn State a chance to win.

Still, Gadowsky warned against reading too much into the weekend. He said the team made strides in two of the three areas it is targeting in practice, but has more work to do.

“The result doesn’t necessarily mean we took big strides in what we have to do,” he said. “It’s a process. You can’t just have one week of practice and meetings and expect that, ‘hey, it’s all done.'”

The penalty kill will get another test this weekend when Notre Dame visits Pegula Ice Arena for the annual Teddy Bear Toss game. The Fighting Irish arrive on a losing streak, but Gadowsky said his team isn’t watching anyone else’s record.

“We’ve got issues on our own,” he said.

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