Penn State’s Cinderella run may be over, but the Nittany Lions have a lot to be proud of
PSU never quit right up until the final horn of its 3-1 loss to Boston University in the Frozen Four.
ST. LOUIS — The tears were flowing in the Penn State locker room after the team lost, 3-1, to Boston University in the Frozen Four on Thursday night.
Many of the tears that fell were for falling short of an NCAA championship and others for college hockey careers coming to a close. But the fact that the Nittany Lions made it as far as they did should put a smile on their faces.
These players made history by leading Penn State to its first-ever Frozen Four appearance.
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“This is a nice start,” coach Guy Gadowsky said when asked if the season can help push Penn State forward. “Whenever you get to check a box that you did something for the first time, it certainly helps. I like to think that the way these guys are helps. I think there’s a lot of eyes on our game, but I hope there’s a lot of eyes on what type of men these guys are.”
As Gadowsky said at a recent press conference, “People left us for dead” after the Nittany Lions started with a big goose egg. They went winless in their first nine Big Ten games, but after player-driven meetings, Penn State rebounded ferociously. It won 13 of its final 15 regular-season games, earned a once unlikely at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, and advanced through the Allentown Regional to reach the penultimate game.
“I just want everyone in here to remember that there is no quitting if you have enough heart, and if you have enough belief within each other, it’s incredible,” senior forward Danny Dzhaniyev said after the game. “You can do things you don’t think you’re capable of, and that’s what we showed this year, even though we fall short here, the run we made is incredible.”
Things started off slow for Penn State in its semifinal game, too. Facing a Boston University squad appearing in its third straight Frozen Four, all under former NHLer Jay Pandolfo, the Nittany Lions were outmatched by the Terriers’ physicality and talent. BU features a couple of Hutsons (Lane’s brothers Quinn and Cole), a Celebrini (Macklin’s brother Aiden), and several high draft picks, including Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders), Tom Willander (Vancouver), and the Flyers’ Devin Kaplan.
But like the Nittany Lions have shown all season long, they know how to work their way through adversity. Despite going down 2-0 in the second period — the first on a miscue by goalie Arsenii Sergeev that was potted by Jack Hughes (no not that one) and the second via a two-on-one finished by Eiserman — Penn State got back in the mix. After all, they had just watched Denver rally from the same score to tie Western Michigan before falling in double overtime.
In the third period, the Nittany Lions had several quality chances with Nic DeGraves finally beating BU goalie and New Jersey Devils prospect Mikhail Yegorov, who was out of position. Center Ben Schoen had several chances before DeGraves scored for the program’s first-ever Frozen Four goal.
Schoen had a chance to tie it not long after DeGraves’ goal with a nifty redirect of a point shot by Point Pleasant, N.J.’s Jimmy Dowd Jr. DeGraves was also around the net on that one and almost buried the rebound. The Nittany Lions put 18 shots on goal in the final period as they tried to claw their way back.
“There’s a lot of people that counted us out, and we definitely made a statement about our program,” said forward Tyler Paquette, from Collegeville. “It wasn’t easy. It’s tough sledding when you start like that and I think we all just, deep down, knew that we had a really special team.”
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Although the loss stings for now, the Nittany Lions of today have set up the program for tomorrow. Just 13 years after becoming a Division 1 program, they have reached a Frozen Four that normally is dominated by blue-blood teams from established hockey states like Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, and Colorado. And while Pennsylvania has never had a champion, they have set themselves up for success.
And success for Eastern Pennsylvania, which was represented by players for both Boston University, in Jack Page, and, of course, Penn State.
“Growing up, I think Penn State’s one of the closest Division I teams to my house, so it’s an honor, and really a childhood dream to play here,” said Nick Fascia of Blackwood. “So couldn’t be happier. And so proud of these guys.”