2022–23 Penn State Nittany Lions
men's ice hockey season
NCAA Tournament, Midwest Regional Final
Conference6th Big Ten
Home icePegula Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO#8
USA Today#8
Record
Overall22–16–1
Conference10–13–1
Home13–7–0
Road8–8–1
Neutral1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachGuy Gadowsky
Assistant coachesKeith Fisher
Juliano Pagliero
Captain(s)Paul DeNaples
Alternate captain(s)Connor MacEachern
Tyler Gratton
Connor McMenamin
Kevin Wall
Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season was the 17th season of play for the program and 10th in the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions represented Penn State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, were coached by Guy Gadowsky in his 11th season, and played their home games at Pegula Ice Arena.

Season

The start to the season for Penn State could not have been better. The Nittany Lions won each of their first 9 games to rocket to the top of the national rankings. While the slate of games wasn't arduous, PSU was getting consistent scoring from its veteran offensive contingent. The goals being produced were more than enough for Liam Soulière, who had taken over as the team's starting goaltender. The junior netminder helped the team trim its goals against average by about half a goal per game over the course of the year. Those improvements led to the team's early-season success which culminated in a win over then-#1 Michigan.

Penn State got into a bit of a rough patch after they started their conference schedule; the team was only able to earn a split in five consecutive weekends against other Big Ten teams. Luckily, the Big Ten was the highest-ranked team that season and the Nittany Lions were still able to retain a top-10 position in the PairWise rankings. PSU also buoyed itself by sweeping its non-conference schedule, finishing the regular season with a perfect 10–0 record.

When the Nittany Lions began the second half of their season, they were 12 games above .500 and in the top 5 of all polls and rankings. Penn State began to fall from its lofty perch with its first losing weekend of the season to Michigan State in early January. While the offense continued to play well, the defense and goaltending faltered in the back half of the year. Over its final 12 games, Penn State went 3–8–1 and finished 6th out of 7 teams in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions were doing this despite outshooting and outskating their opponents on most night. In the game against Michigan on January 27, for example, Penn State had twice as many shots on goal (38 to 19) but still carried a 2–4 deficit into the third period where a pair of empty-net goals made the game look more lopsided than it actually was.[1]

Penn State's poor results carried over into the postseason but this time it was the offense that failed. In their 3-game series with Ohio State, PSU scored just 4 goals. While Soulière appeared to recover his early-season form towards the end of the round, he couldn't prevent the Nittany Lions from being knocked out in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.

While their poor showing in the second half of the season was worrisome, Penn State was saved by its first half performance, particularly its non-conference record. Despite having a losing record in the Big Ten, PSU was comfortable above .500 overall and ranked 8th nationally at the conclusion of the regular season. That guaranteed them not only a spot in the NCAA tournament, but a #2 seed as well. As the host of one of the four regionals, Penn State was automatically placed in the Midwest bracket (Allentown). They were set against Michigan Tech in the first round and though they were the higher seed, their recent performance tempered expectations for the team.[2] As soon as the puck hit the ice, Penn State returned to their early-season form and completely dominated the Huskies. The Nittany Lions opened the scoring just over 2 minutes into the match and, though they didn't score for the remainder of the period, they controlled the pace of play. PSU netted three goals in the third, getting contributions from across its lineup, to build a 4–0 lead while the defense appeared to half little trouble handling the pop-gun offense of Michigan Tech. Penn State scored 4 more times in the final frame, including a 0-angle goal from Chase McLane, and finish with an overwhelming 8–0 victory. The win was the largest shutout victory in NCAA history, surpassing the mark set by St. Lawrence in 1988.

The Nittany Lions advanced to the Regional Final for the second time in its history and were set against a familiar foe, Michigan. Penn State had surrendered 16 goals in the previous three games to the Wolverines but their play from the Tech game carried over and the Lions held off the Michigan juggernaut. The defense did well to limit the Maize and Blue to 25 shots in the first two periods while Soulière stopped everything that leaked through. Meanwhile, on Michigan's only penalty of the game, Penn State was able to capitalize on their chance and score a power play goal at the end of the second to take a narrow lead. Penn State continued to trade blows with Michigan while neither goalie gave an inch. Ultimately, however, Penn State gave the Wolverines one too many chances and Michigan finally converted on their 4th power play of the game to tie the score. The match headed into overtime and both teams went into attack mode, trying the end the game quickly. Unfortunately for PSU, a perfectly-placed shout from Mackie Samoskevich eluded Soulière's blocker just 52 seconds into the extra session and ended Penn State's season in heartbreaking fashion.[3]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Oskar AutioGoaltender FinlandGraduate transfer to Vermont
Clayton PhillipsDefenseman United StatesGraduation (signed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
Adam PilewiczDefenseman United StatesGraduation (retired)
Mason SnellDefenseman CanadaTransferred to Union

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Ashton CalderForward United States24Sault Ste. Marie, MI; graduate transfer from North Dakota
Jarod CrespoDefenseman United States20Eastampton Township, NJ
Noah GrannanGoaltender United States20Germantown, WI
Ture LindenForward United States25Great Falls, VA; graduate transfer from Rensselaer
Carter SchadeDefenseman United States19Mars, PA
Alexander ServagnoForward United States20Gibsonia, PA

Roster

As of July 30, 2022.[4]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Pennsylvania Carter Schade Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-03-07 Mars, Pennsylvania Lincoln (USHL)
3 Pennsylvania Paul DeNaples (C) Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1998-09-19 Moscow, Pennsylvania Sioux Falls (USHL)
4 Ontario Simon Mack Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-29 Brockville, Ontario Des Moines (USHL)
5 Missouri Christian Berger Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 2000-05-22 St. Louis, Missouri Omaha (USHL)
6 New Jersey Jimmy Dowd Jr. Junior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2000-07-09 Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey Chicago (USHL)
7 Alberta Carson Dyck Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-06-07 Lethbridge, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL)
8 Pennsylvania Alex Servagno Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-06-16 Gibsonia, Pennsylvania Green Bay (USHL)
9 Minnesota Xander Lamppa Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-04-30 Rochester, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL)
10 New York (state) Christian Sarlo Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2001-06-29 Lynbrook, New York Lincoln (USHL)
11 New York (state) Ryan Kirwan Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-02-27 DeWitt, New York Green Bay (USHL)
12 Ohio Ben Schoen Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 2002-05-18 Maumee, Ohio Tri-City (USHL)
13 New York (state) Danny Dzhaniyev Sophomore F 5' 5" (1.65 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 2002-09-15 Brooklyn, New York Dubuque (USHL)
14 Minnesota Ben Copeland Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-04-27 Edina, Minnesota Colorado College (NCHC)
15 Michigan Kenny Johnson Senior D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1998-05-28 Ann Arbor, Michigan Victoria (BCHL)
16 New York (state) Dylan Lugris Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-06-23 Buffalo, New York Jersey (NCDC)
17 Michigan Chase McLane Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2000-04-22 Trenton, Michigan Tri-City (USHL) NSH, 209th overall 2020
19 Pennsylvania Connor McMenamin (A) Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-02-25 Collegeville, Pennsylvania Tri-City (USHL)
20 Virginia Ture Linden Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-07-06 Great Falls, Virginia RPI (ECAC)
21 New York (state) Kevin Wall (A) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-02-01 Penfield, New York Chilliwack (BCHL) CAR, 181st overall 2019
23 Pennsylvania Tyler Paquette Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-03-18 Collegeville, Pennsylvania Green Bay (USHL)
24 New Jersey Jarod Crespo Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-04-30 Eastampton, New Jersey Green Bay (USHL)
25 Pennsylvania Dylan Gratton Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2003-02-25 Pottstown, Pennsylvania Sioux City (USHL)
26 Michigan Ashton Calder Graduate F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-02-09 Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan North Dakota (NCHC)
28 Pennsylvania Tyler Gratton (A) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-08-06 Pottstown, Pennsylvania Central Illinois (USHL)
29 Ontario Connor MacEachern (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-07-01 Brooklin, Ontario Youngstown (USHL)
30 Pennsylvania Doug Dorr Junior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-05-07 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Utica (NCDC)
31 Ontario Liam Soulière Junior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-03-16 Brampton, Ontario Victoria (BCHL)
33 Wisconsin Noah Grannan Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-04-27 Germantown, Wisconsin Sioux Falls (USHL)

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#2 Minnesota2419412105710650402910116890
#3 Michigan *24121023303882794126123171128
#7 Ohio State24111120013669634021163131101
Notre Dame241010420335526037161658597
#19 Michigan State24101221123465803818182107115
#8 Penn State24101310303471753922161129106
Wisconsin246180000185492361323094126
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

DateTimeOpponent#Rank#SiteTVDecisionResultAttendanceRecord
Regular Season
October 7 7:00 PM Canisius* Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Soulière W 5–2  6,182 1–0–0
October 8 6:00 PM Canisius* Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Grannan W 7–5  6,343 2–0–0
October 13 7:00 PM Mercyhurst* #20 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 6–3  6,038 3–0–0
October 14 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst* #20 Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, PennsylvaniaFloHockey Soulière W 4–1  1,098 4–0–0
October 20 7:00 PM St. Thomas* #18 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 6–2  6,034 5–0–0
October 21 7:00 PM St. Thomas* #18 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Grannan W 3–2 OT 6,243 6–0–0
October 28 7:00 PM at Wisconsin #16 Kohl CenterMadison, WisconsinBSW+ Soulière W 2–1  6,004 7–0–0 (1–0–0)
October 29 7:00 PM at Wisconsin #16 Kohl Center • Madison, WisconsinBSW+ Soulière W 4–0  6,933 8–0–0 (2–0–0)
November 4 8:00 PM #1 Michigan #13 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Soulière W 3–0  6,445 9–0–0 (3–0–0)
November 5 7:30 PM #1 Michigan #13 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Soulière L 3–4 OT 6,361 9–1–0 (3–1–0)
November 10 8:00 PM at #1 Minnesota #8 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, MinnesotaBTN Soulière W 4–2  6,664 10–1–0 (4–1–0)
November 11 8:00 PM at #1 Minnesota #8 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MinnesotaBTN+ Soulière L 1–3  8,921 10–2–0 (4–2–0)
November 18 7:00 PM #17 Michigan State #6 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Soulière W 4–3  5,765 11–2–0 (5–2–0)
November 19 7:30 PM #17 Michigan State #6 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Grannan L 3–7  5,205 11–3–0 (5–3–0)
November 22 7:00 PM Alaska* #7 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 3–2  5,271 12–3–0
November 23 5:00 PM Alaska* #7 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 2–1  5,521 13–3–0
December 2 7:00 PM #17 Ohio State #6 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Soulière W 2–1  6,361 14–3–0 (6–3–0)
December 3 5:30 PM #17 Ohio State #6 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN+ Soulière L 3–4  6,410 14–4–0 (6–4–0)
December 9 7:00 PM at #19 Notre Dame #5 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, IndianaPeacock Soulière W 5–2  4,357 15–4–0 (7–4–0)
December 10 6:00 PM at #19 Notre Dame #5 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IndianaPeacock Soulière L 3–5  5,028 15–5–0 (7–5–0)
December 30 5:05 PM at #20 RIT* #5 Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New YorkFloHockey Soulière W 6–1  3,704 16–5–0
December 31 5:30 PM #20 RIT* #5 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 3–1  5,943 17–5–0
January 13 7:00 PM at #17 Michigan State #5 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, MichiganBTN+ Soulière L 2–3 OT 6,555 17–6–0 (7–6–0)
January 14 7:00 PM at #17 Michigan State #5 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MichiganBTN+ Soulière T 4–4 SOL 6,555 17–6–1 (7–6–1)
January 20 7:00 PM Notre Dame #6 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière L 1–2  6,558 17–7–1 (7–7–1)
January 21 5:00 PM Notre Dame #6 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 3–2  6,566 18–7–1 (8–7–1)
January 27 7:00 PM at #7 Michigan #6 Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, MichiganBTN+ Soulière L 3–7  5,800 18–8–1 (8–8–1)
January 28 7:00 PM at #7 Michigan #6 Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, MichiganBTN Soulière L 4–5  5,800 18–9–1 (8–9–1)
February 3 7:00 PM at #7 Ohio State #9 Value City ArenaColumbus, OhioBTN+ Grannan W 4–3  7,174 19–9–1 (9–9–1)
February 4 6:30 PM at #7 Ohio State #9 Value City Arena • Columbus, OhioBTN Soulière L 2–4  8,439 19–10–1 (9–10–1)
February 17 6:30 PM #2 Minnesota #7 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Soulière L 2–7  6,369 19–11–1 (9–11–1)
February 18 6:30 PM #2 Minnesota #7 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Soulière L 2–3 OT 6,461 19–12–1 (9–12–1)
February 24 7:00 PM Wisconsin #10 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière W 6–1  6,371 20–12–1 (10–12–1)
February 25 5:00 PM Wisconsin #10 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania  Soulière L 1–2  6,557 20–13–1 (10–13–1)
Big Ten Tournament
March 3 7:00 PM at #9 Ohio State* #10 Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Quarterfinal Game 1)BTN+ Soulière L 1–5  2,673 20–14–1
March 4 5:00 PM at #9 Ohio State* #10 Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Quarterfinal Game 2)BTN+ Soulière W 2–1 OT 2,921 21–14–1
March 5 5:00 PM at #9 Ohio State* #10 Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Quarterfinal Game 3)BTN+ Soulière L 1–3  1,692 21–15–1
NCAA Tournament
March 24 5:00 PM vs. #13 Michigan Tech* #11 PPL CenterAllentown, Pennsylvania (Midwest Regional Semifinal)ESPNU Soulière W 8–0  7,067 22–15–1
March 26 6:30 PM vs. #2 Michigan* #11 PPL CenterAllentown, Pennsylvania (Midwest Regional Final)ESPN2 Soulière L 1–2 OT 8,375 22–16–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[5]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Kevin WallRW3917143116
Ture LindenC3911182911
Connor MacEachernF3912152730
Connor McMenaminLW379152414
Christian BergerD395152016
Xander LamppaF376131920
Jimmy DowdD384151936
Ashton CalderF381071727
Ryan KirwanF2889174
Christian SarloF387101729
Tyler PaquetteC/RW3678158
Danny DzhaniyevF37781512
Tyler GrattonRW38781518
Ben SchoenC243121516
Simon MackD3648122
Dylan GrattonD3329112
Jarod CrespoD33281015
Paul DeNaplesD3937108
Carter SchadeD3609918
Chase McLaneC/RW2123518
Alex ServagnoF192246
Dylan LugrisF80220
Ben CopelandC51010
Noah GrannanG60110
Liam SoulièreG360000
Kenny JohnsonD20000
Carson DyckF20000
Total129216345326

[6]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Liam Soulière362047:5219151839183.9172.43
Noah Grannan8299:47310171310.8853.40
Empty Net-20:16---6----
Total392367:552216110610493.9082.69

Rankings

Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR - NR 20 18 16 13 8 (3) 6 (1) 7 6 (4) 5 5 - 5 5 6 6 9 8 7 10 10 11 11 11 - 8
USA Today NR NR NR NR 18 15 10 7 (2) 6 (2) 7 5 (2) 5 6 5 5 5 6 6 9 8 7 10 10 11 10 10 8 8

USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13 and 26.

Players drafted into the NHL

2023 NHL Entry Draft

Round Pick Player NHL team
7218Aiden Fink Nashville Predators

† incoming freshman [7]

References

  1. "FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2023". College Hockey Inc. January 27, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  2. "Previewing the 2023 NCAA hockey tournament, Allentown Regional: Michigan, Penn State, Michigan Tech, Colgate". USCHO.com. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  3. "#2 Penn State vs #1 Michigan Hockey Game Highlights, 2023 NCAA Regional Final". YouTube. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  4. "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  5. "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  6. "Penn State Univ. 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  7. "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
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