Fresh off a road sweep over Ohio State, No. 3 Penn State men’s hockey will hit the road for another ranked matchup this weekend at No. 1 Michigan State.
Before the Nittany Lions travel to East Lansing to play in one of college hockey’s most intimidating road atmospheres, head coach Guy Gadowsky and forward Gavin McKenna met with the media on Monday afternoon to discuss the upcoming series between top-five foes.
Moving forward without a forward
Penn State forward Aiden Fink, who finished as a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award last season, was injured against the Buckeyes last Thursday and missed Friday’s game as a result.
According to Gadowsky, it could be a while before he returns to the lineup.
“He has an upper body injury,” Gadowsky said. “He will be out for the foreseeable future.”
Gadowsky said there’s no exact timeline for Fink’s return, but he expects the junior to return this season, likely around Christmas time.
In his absence, Gadowsky said the team will move forward with the same rotation it utilized on Friday but be ready to adapt.
“It’s going to suck without him in the lineup, but we know guys are going to step up,” McKena said. “And, you know, it’s a big role to fill in, so guys are going to be working hard for it, and I’m going to make sure I’m doing my job.”
Scouting the Spartans
Michigan State has yet to play a Big Ten foe but sits at 5-1 overall with an unexpected loss to New Hampshire but a pair of wins over then-No. 1 Boston in nonconference play.
Gadowsky said checking is one of the strongest aspects of the Spartans’ game, and it’s something his team will be cognizant of this weekend.
“They do a really good job on a lot of the aspects of the game, but that’s why they’re the best,” Gadowsky said. “For us to be successful, we have to break the pucks out well, or else it’s going to be a long night.”
McKenna said he anticipates the Spartans being Penn State’s toughest opponent to date, given the sheer amount of future NHL talent on the roster.
“They play hard,” McKenna said. “They have a lot of skill, which is tough to play against, so we just got to match that and make sure we’re ready for it. And they’ve got a lot of players that can score and stuff like that, so we got to make sure we’re being defensive. And if we play defensive, the offense will come.”
It’ll be a tall task with the Spartans sitting atop college hockey and boasting a talented roster, including No. 6 overall NHL draft pick Porter Martone
Adding to the challenge, Penn State will play in one of the nation’s premier college barns, Munn Ice Arena, where the Nittany Lions have a 10-12-4 all-time record with no previous sweeps.
“We want to go in there and show that we’re the best team in the country,” McKenna said. “There’s a lot of hype around them, and same with us. So it’s a heavyweight battle, and we’re excited. I think anytime you get to play a team like that, it’s pretty easy to get fired up for a game, so just gonna make sure we’re ready.”
