2017–18 Penn State Nittany Lions
men's ice hockey season
NCAA Tournament, Regional semifinals
Conference4th Big Ten
Home icePegula Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO13
USA Today13
Record
Overall18–15–5
Conference9–10–5–2
Home11–5–3
Road6–9–2
Neutral1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachGuy Gadowsky
Assistant coachesKeith Fisher
Matt Lindsay
Captain(s)James Robinson
Alternate captain(s)Erik Autio
Chase Berger
Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey seasons
« 2016–17 2018–19 »

The 2017–18 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season was the 12th season of play for the program and the 5th season in the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions represented Pennsylvania State University and were coached by Guy Gadowsky, in his 7th season.

Season

Fresh off of their first tournament appearance, Penn State entered the season looking to improve on their newfound success. Unfortunately, the team had some difficulty finding traction early in the season. The Nittany Lions split each of their first five weekends of the season, progressively declining in the rankings, until they were knocked out altogether by Notre Dame. Peyton Jones, who had played spectacularly as a freshman, was struggling early in his sophomore season and began losing his first grip on the starting role.

In mid-November Penn State began to find their form and began a nearly 2-month unbeaten streak. They jumped back into the top-20 after a 4–0 shoutout against Ohio State that saw Jones seize his primary job in the crease and by mid-January the team had nearly returned to their preseason ranking. Immediately following their run, however, the offense flagged and the team went 8 games without a win. Because that stretch was played almost entirely against ranked teams, PSU wasn't punished too harshly in the standings (ending up at 16), but their hopes at returning to the tournament were balanced on a razor's edge. The team was tied for 5th in the conference entering the final weekend and they were facing a top-10 team in Minnesota. Surprisingly, the Nittany Lions easily handled the Gophers and leapt ahead of Minnesota in the standings, ending up as the 4th seed by just 1 point.

When the conference tournament began, PSU was again facing Minnesota. The team took advantage of their home games and swept the Golden Gophers with a nail-biter in the second match. The four consecutive wins essentially flipped Minnesota and Penn State in the rankings. When the team headed to South Bend the following week they were ranked 12th in the country and all but guaranteed a spot in the tournament regardless of the result. The team performed well against the Fighting Irish but fell 2–3.

Penn State was ranked 12th by the NCAA selection committee and given a #3 seed in the tournament. They opened against Denver as the de facto home team since they were the host for the Midwest Regional. Unfortunately, the team was overwhelmed by the Pioneers; Denver scored the first four goals and outshout the Nittany Lions 42–27 en route to a 5–1 win.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Ricky DeRosaForward United StatesGraduation (Retired)
David GoodwinForward United StatesGraduation (Signed with SaiPa)
Sean KohlerForward CanadaLeft Program (Retired)
Vince PedrieDefenseman United StatesSigned Professional Contract (New York Rangers)
Dylan RichardForward CanadaGraduation (Signed with Manglerud Star Ishockey)
Zach SaarForward United StatesGraduation (Signed with Utah Grizzlies)
David ThompsonDefenseman United StatesGraduation (Retired)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Evan BarrattForward United States18Bristol, PA; selected 90th overall in 2017
Cole HultsDefenseman United States19Stoughton, WI; selected 134th overall in 2017
Alex LimogesForward United States20Winchester, VA
Adam PilewiczDefenseman United States21Sewickley, PA
Sam SternscheinForward United States19Syosset, NY
Alex StevensDefenseman United States20Plymouth, MI

Roster

As of September 3, 2017.[1]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Wisconsin Cole Hults Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-05-22 Stoughton, Wisconsin Madison Capitols (USHL) LAK, 134th overall 2017
4 Ontario Kris Myllari Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-02-05 Kanata, Ontario Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
5 Pennsylvania Kevin Kerr Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1996-02-09 Bensalem, Pennsylvania Tri-City Storm (USHL)
6 New York (state) James Gobetz Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1996-08-06 St. James, New York Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
7 Alberta James Robinson (C) Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1994-04-09 Cochrane, Alberta Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
8 Missouri Chase Berger (A) Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1994-11-14 St. Louis, Missouri Tri-City Storm (USHL)
9 Virginia Alex Limoges Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-09-16 Winchester, Virginia Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
10 Alberta Brandon Biro Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-03-11 Sherwood Park, Alberta Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
11 Michigan Trevor Hamilton Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1995-03-17 Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Lincoln Stars (USHL)
13 Russia Nikita Pavlychev Sophomore F 6' 7" (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1997-03-23 Yaroslavl, Russia Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) PIT, 197th overall 2015
14 New York (state) Nate Sucese Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1996-07-12 Fairport, New York Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
16 New York (state) Andrew Sturtz Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-09-21 Buffalo, New York Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)
17 Pennsylvania Evan Barratt Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-18 Bristol, Pennsylvania USNTDP (USHL) CHI, 90th overall 2017
18 Ontario Brett Murray Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 1998-07-20 Bolton, Ontario Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) BUF, 99th overall 2016
19 British Columbia Derian Hamilton Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1994-07-06 Port McNeill, British Columbia Powell River Kings (BCHL)
20 Finland Erik Autio (A) Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1995-07-23 Espoo, Finland Espoo Blues U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)
22 Minnesota Alex Stevens Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-02-27 Plymouth, Minnesota Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)
23 Texas Blake Gober Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1995-01-18 Colleyville, Texas Bloomington Thunder (USHL)
24 Pennsylvania Adam Pilewicz Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-07-20 Sewickley, Pennsylvania Johnstown Tomahawks (NAHL)
25 Russia Denis Smirnov Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-08-12 Moscow, Russia Fargo Force (USHL) COL, 156th overall 2017
26 Ontario Liam Folkes Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1996-02-26 Scarborough, Ontario Brockville Braves (CCHL)
27 New York (state) Sam Sternschein Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1998-04-27 Syosset, New York Lincoln Stars (USHL)
28 New Jersey Alec Marsh Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1995-11-28 Bridgewater, New Jersey Fargo Force (USHL)
30 Pennsylvania Matt Erlichman Senior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1993-06-24 Bedford, Pennsylvania Three Rivers Vengeance (NA3HL)
31 Pennsylvania Peyton Jones Junior G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1996-02-14 Langhorne, Pennsylvania Lincoln Stars (USHL)
33 Illinois Chris Funkey Senior G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1994-03-16 Orland Park, Illinois New Jersey Hitmen (USPHL)

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#2 Notre Dame†*2417611536647402810211787
#3 Ohio State2414821457755412610513185
#4 Michigan241110323870724022153136121
#13 Penn State24910523470723818155138120
#18 Minnesota241012213365693819172102100
Wisconsin24813312869833714194115124
Michigan State2461621215377361222291117
Championship: March 17, 2018
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 12, 2018

Schedule and Results

DateTimeOpponent#Rank#SiteTVDecisionResultAttendanceRecord
Exhibition
October 1 3:07 PM vs. Ottawa* #10 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania (Exhibition)  Funkey L 3–4 OT 4,482
Regular season
October 6 7:00 PM at Clarkson* #10 Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York  Jones L 1–2  2,317 0–1–0
October 7 7:07 PM at St. Lawrence* #10 Appleton ArenaCanton, New York  Jones W 4–1  2,758 1–1–0
October 13 8:05 PM at #7 Minnesota #11 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, MinnesotaFSN Jones W 3–1  8,840 2–1–0 (1–0–0–0)
October 15 4:05 PM at #7 Minnesota #11 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, MinnesotaFSN Jones L 3–6  8,114 2–2–0 (1–1–0–0)
October 19 7:03 PM vs. American International* #11 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Jones W 7–5  6,018 3–2–0
October 20 7:07 PM vs. American International* #11 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Funkey L 2–3 OT 6,149 3–3–0
October 27 7:07 PM vs. Michigan #15 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones W 5–4 OT 6,096 4–3–0 (2–1–0–0)
October 28 8:07 PM vs. Michigan #15 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones L 2–5  6,011 4–4–0 (2–2–0–0)
November 3 7:07 PM vs. Mercyhurst* #17 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Funkey L 4–7  5,982 4–5–0
November 4 7:07 PM vs. Mercyhurst* #17 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones W 7–5  6,089 5–5–0
November 10 7:35 PM at #6 Notre Dame #19 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana  Jones L 3–5  4,574 5–6–0 (2–3–0–0)
November 11 5:40 PM at #6 Notre Dame #19 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, IndianaNBCSN Jones L 0–1  4,160 5–7–0 (2–4–0–0)
November 17 10:05 PM at Arizona State* Gila River ArenaGlendale, Arizona  Funkey W 7–0  2,842 6–7–0
November 18 9:05 PM at Arizona State* Gila River ArenaGlendale, Arizona  Jones W 4–2  3,104 7–7–0
November 24 7:07 PM vs. Michigan State Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones W 7–2  5,931 8–7–0 (3–4–0–0)
November 25 8:07 PM vs. Michigan State Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones T 2–2 SOL 5,824 8–7–1 (3–4–1–0)
December 1 7:05 PM at #11 Ohio State Value City ArenaColumbus, Ohio  Funkey T 5–5 SOW 4,281 8–7–2 (3–4–2–1)
December 2 4:05 PM at #11 Ohio State Value City ArenaColumbus, Ohio  Jones W 4–0  3,861 9–7–2 (4–4–2–1)
December 8 7:05 PM vs. Robert Morris* #18 PPG PaintsPittsburgh, Pennsylvania  Jones W 5–2  2,471 10–7–2
December 9 7:07 PM vs. Robert Morris* #18 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones W 7–4  6,089 11–7–2
January 5 7:07 PM vs. #15 Wisconsin #14 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones W 5–1  5,822 12–7–2 (5–4–2–1)
January 6 7:03 PM vs. #15 Wisconsin #14 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Jones T 3–3 SOW 5,963 12–7–3 (5–4–3–2)
January 12 7:37 PM vs. #6 Ohio State #13 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones W 5–2  6,077 13–7–3 (6–4–3–2)
January 13 7:03 PM vs. #6 Ohio State #13 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Jones L 1–5  6,182 13–8–3 (6–5–3–2)
January 19 8:03 PM at #20 Michigan #12 Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, MichiganBTN Jones L 0–4  5,574 13–9–3 (6–6–3–2)
January 20 7:31 PM at #20 Michigan #12 Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, Michigan  Jones L 2–3  5,800 13–10–3 (6–7–3–2)
January 26 9:03 PM at #18 Wisconsin #14 Kohl CenterMadison, WisconsinBTN Jones L 2–4  9,190 13–11–3 (6–8–3–2)
January 27 8:07 PM at #18 Wisconsin #14 Kohl CenterMadison, WisconsinFSW Jones T 4–4 SOL 13,689 13–11–4 (6–8–4–2)
February 2 6:33 PM vs. #2 Notre Dame #17 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Jones L 3–5  6,229 13–12–4 (6–9–4–2)
February 3 4:07 PM vs. #2 Notre Dame #17 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania  Jones T 2–2 SOL 6,221 13–12–5 (6–9–5–2)
February 16 6:33 PM at Michigan State #16 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, MichiganBTN Jones L 2–4  5,649 13–13–5 (6–10–5–2)
February 17 5:03 PM at Michigan State #16 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, MichiganBTN Jones W 3–2  6,368 14–13–5 (7–10–5–2)
February 23 6:33 PM vs. #8 Minnesota #18 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Jones W 5–1  6,171 15–13–5 (8–10–5–2)
February 24 7:03 PM vs. #8 Minnesota #18 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PennsylvaniaBTN Jones W 5–2  6,172 16–13–5 (9–10–5–2)
Big Ten Tournament
March 2 7:03 PM vs. #11 Minnesota* #15 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 1)  Jones W 5–3  4,170 17–13–5
March 3 7:03 PM vs. #11 Minnesota* #15 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 2)  Jones W 6–5  5,025 18–13–5
Penn State wins series 2–0
March 10 5:33 PM at #5 Notre Dame* #12 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana (Big Ten Semifinal)ESPNU Jones L 2–3  4,892 18–14–5
NCAA Tournament
March 24 7:07 PM vs. #3 Denver* #12 PPL CenterAllentown, Pennsylvania (NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal)ESPN3 Jones L 1–5  7,491 18–15–5
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

[2]

Scoring Statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Andrew SturtzRW3714264062
Brandon BiroLW379223118
Nate SuceseLW3614152926
Trevor HamiltonD386232935
Denis SmirnovLW/RW301512276
Chase BergerC381116274
Liam FolkesC381310230
Alex LimogesC377142116
Cole HultsD383172043
Evan BarrattC/LW321171834
Nikita PavlychevC35951436
Kris MyllariD3859144
Erik AutioD302121410
James RobinsonF37651153
Sam SternscheinLW2555106
Kevin KerrD2019104
Alec MarshC/LW3527924
James GobetzD3518918
Brett MurrayLW2115623
Derian HamiltonD221346
Peyton JonesG350440
Blake GoberF162132
Chris FunkeyG60110
Matt ErlichmanG20000
Adam PilewiczD20000
Alex StevensD70002
Bench-----2
Total138236374424

[3]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Matt Erlichman24:070000101.0000.00
Chris Funkey6243121121041.8972.96
Peyton Jones352036171341039831.9053.03
Empty Net-26---5----
Total3823091815512010882.9013.12

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 (Final)
USCHO.com 10 11 11 15 17 19 NR NR NR 18 15 14 13 12 14 17 16 16 18 15 12 13 12 13
USA Today 10 11 11 11 15 NR NR NR NR NR NR 13 13 13 12 12 NR NR NR NR 13 12 12 12 13

*USCHO did not release a poll in week 1. [4]

Players drafted into the NHL

2018 NHL Entry Draft

No Penn State players were selected in 2018.

References

  1. "2017–18 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Penn State Nittany Lions. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  2. "Penn State Nittany Lions (Men) 2017-2018 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  3. "Penn State Univ. 2017-2018 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  4. "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
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