While the start to the Big Ten schedule has been challenging for Penn State men’s hockey, there are still several bright spots.
One of those is junior forward Kevin Wall, who’s been a growing contributor to the team since he his freshman year in 2019-20. This season, he has emerged as one of the leaders and more productive players for the Nittany Lions with 16 points in 15 games.
Wall is the team’s leader in goals scored and overall points. He is tied with freshman forward Ryan Kirwan for third on the roster with six assists. With 10 goals on the season, Wall is currently tied for eighth-best in the nation.
Wall scored a goal in the Nittany Lions’ one win in conference play so far, but he’s contributing mostly positive things to the game as the team has gone through a tough offensive stretch in recent weeks.
Besides scoring, Wall has led by example. One of the weaknesses for the team recently has been the number of times they take costly penalties. Penn State has 75 penalties on the season and averages five penalties per game, resulting in over 12 minutes per game.
However, Wall has only taken two penalties this season for a total of 15 minutes in the box. Both came in the season opener.
“By far it’s the best he’s played,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “It’s often that when you play really well in all areas of your game that points and goals come, and that’s what’s happening.”
Wall has even become a fan favorite this season. Following his six goals scored on home ice, Penn State fans have sung along to Oasis’s “Wonderwall” to celebrate.
Perhaps his best performance came through a hat trick against Niagara earlier this season. So far, it’s the only three-goal game for the Nittany Lions this year.
As he reflected on his hot start, Wall chalked up some of his success to discipline on the ice.
“I think the habits are just, you know, playing tennis at hockey — not turning pucks over at blue lines,” Wall said. “Making sure you’re playing all the systems right because the systems are meant to create offense and create chances. So, when you buy into that, everything’s going to kind of fall into place for you.”
Drafted in 2019 by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, Wall was the No. 181 overall pick. Wall is currently a prospect for their organization and hopes to one day go pro.
A lot of hard work is paying off for Wall, and it’s not going unnoticed by his team.
“The shift that’s happened with Kevin is that he was a guy that was so patient, and he had a great attitude through having to work hard to get into the lineup. He’s earned every minute of ice time he got here, and I love it when guys do that. The lesson seems to stick a little bit tighter,” Gadowsky said. “He’s becoming a really complete hockey player.”
Penn State returns to action at 7 p.m. on Friday when the Nittany Lions host Michigan State for the opener of a two-game series at Pegula Ice Arena.
