# 2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season

The 2018–19 Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey season was the 13th season of play for the program and the 6th season in the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions represented Pennsylvania State University and were coached by Guy Gadowsky, in his 8th season.

## Season

Playing most of their non-conference schedule at home, Penn State rose up the rankings with a hot start to the season. The team cooled off when their conference schedule began and the Nittany Lions could not find any consistency for several months. Penn State ended up a game below .500 in the Big Ten standings and faced the prospect of having to win the Big Ten Tournament to receive an NCAA berth. After a rocky start the Nittany Lions overcame Wisconsin in the quarterfinal round, then pulled off an upset over top-ranked Ohio State to set PSU against Notre Dame. Both teams faced a win or go home scenario and played a close game throughout. The Fighting Irish gained three separate 1-goal leads and they were able to keep their final edge, holding Penn State off in the third period despite a barrage of shots from the Lions' nation-leading offense.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Erik Autio | Defenseman | Finland | Graduation (Signed with SaiPa) |
| Matthew Erlichman | Goaltender | United States | Graduation (Retired) |
| Trevor Hamilton | Defenseman | United States | Signed Professional Contract (Grand Rapids Griffins) |
| Matt Mendelson | Forward | United States | Left Program (Retired) |
| Brett Murray | Forward | Canada | Signed Professional Contract (Youngstown Phantoms) |
| James Robinson | Forward | United States | Graduation (Signed with Jokers de Cergy) |
| Andrew Sturtz | Defenseman | Finland | Signed Professional Contract (Ottawa Senators) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Oskar Autio | Goaltender | Finland | 18 | Espoo, FIN |
| Paul DeNaples | Defenseman | United States | 20 | Moscow, PA |
| Ludvig Larsson | Forward/Defenseman | Sweden | 22 | Malmö, SWE; transfer from Merrimack |
| Max Sauvé | Forward | United States | 20 | Acushnet, MA |
| Aarne Talvitie | Forward | Finland | 19 | Espoo, FIN; selected 160th overall in 2017 |

## Roster

As of September 3, 2018.

## Standings

2018–19 Big Ten Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #12 Ohio State † | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 79 | 52 | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 108 | 83 |
| #10 Notre Dame * | 24 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 63 | 65 | 40 | 23 | 14 | 3 | 112 | 91 |
| #20 Minnesota | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 76 | 75 | 38 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 117 | 108 |
| #17 Penn State | 24 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 101 | 96 | 39 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 177 | 139 |
| Wisconsin | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 69 | 81 | 37 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 113 | 130 |
| Michigan | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 76 | 75 | 36 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 110 | 114 |
| Michigan State | 24 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 30 | 68 | 88 | 36 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 99 | 122 |
| Championship: March 23, 2019 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll ||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and Results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Rank$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 6 | 4:55 PM | vs. Brock* | | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Exhibition) | | Autio | W 3–2 | 1,804 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 11 | 7:07 PM | vs. #17 Clarkson* | #16 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Funkey | W 4–3 | 5,975 | 1–0–0 |
| October 12 | 7:07 PM | vs. #17 Clarkson* | #16 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 5–1 | 6,121 | 2–0–0 |
| October 10 | 7:07 PM | vs. Niagara* | #10 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Funkey | W 8–2 | 6,063 | 3–0–0 |
| October 20 | 3:37 PM | vs. Niagara* | #10 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 4–1 | 6,145 | 4–0–0 |
| October 26 | 7:07 PM | vs. #13 Princeton* | #10 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 4–2 | 6,139 | 5–0–0 |
| November 2 | 7:07 PM | vs. Arizona State* | #6 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Funkey | W 6–5 | 6,002 | 6–0–0 |
| November 3 | 8:07 PM | vs. Arizona State* | #6 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 6,147 | 6–1–0 |
| November 9 | 7:07 PM | vs. Robert Morris* | #8 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Funkey | W 7–2 | 6,180 | 7–1–0 |
| November 10 | 7:05 PM | at Robert Morris* | #8 | Colonials Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 11–6 | 1,403 | 8–1–0 |
| November 16 | 7:07 PM | vs. #16 Michigan | #5 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Funkey | L 4–6 | 5,873 | 8–2–0 (0–1–0–0) |
| November 17 | 7:07 PM | vs. #16 Michigan | #5 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 7–6 $^{OT}$ | 5,810 | 9–2–0 (1–1–0–0) |
| November 23 | 5:05 PM | at #5 Ohio State | #6 | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | | Jones | W 4–3 | 6,034 | 10–2–0 (2–1–0–0) |
| November 24 | 8:05 PM | at #5 Ohio State | #6 | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | | Jones | L 2–5 | 3,838 | 10–3–0 (2–2–0–0) |
| November 30 | 8:07 PM | at Wisconsin | #6 | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | FSW | Jones | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 8,369 | 10–3–1 (2–2–1–1) |
| December 1 | 8:07 PM | at Wisconsin | #6 | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | FSW | Jones | L 5–8 | 10,055 | 10–4–1 (2–3–1–1) |
| December 7 | 7:07 PM | vs. #5 Notre Dame | #9 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Autio | L 4–5 | 6,061 | 10–5–1 (2–4–1–1) |
| December 8 | 7:07 PM | vs. #5 Notre Dame | #9 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 9–1 | 6,213 | 11–5–1 (3–4–1–1) |
| December 15 | 7:30 PM | vs. Princeton | #9 | Wells Fargo Center • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | | Jones | T 4–4 $^{OT}$ | 8,490 | 11–5–2 |
| January 4 | 9:03 PM | at Minnesota | #9 | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota | ESPN U | Jones | W 4–2 | 7,375 | 12–5–2 (4–4–1–1) |
| January 5 | 8:05 PM | at Minnesota | #9 | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota | | Jones | L 1–4 | 8,952 | 12–6–2 (4–5–1–1) |
| January 11 | 8:03 PM | vs. Michigan State | #11 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 4–2 | 6,096 | 13–6–2 (5–5–1–1) |
| January 12 | 7:07 PM | vs. Michigan State | #11 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | L 4–6 | 6,199 | 13–7–2 (5–6–1–1) |
| January 18 | 7:07 PM | vs. #4 Ohio State | #13 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | L 1–4 | 6,131 | 13–8–2 (5–7–1–1) |
| January 19 | 3:07 PM | vs. #4 Ohio State | #13 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | L 4–6 | 6,094 | 13–9–2 (5–8–1–1) |
| January 24 | 7:32 PM | at Michigan | #15 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | | Autio | L 1–5 | 5,647 | 13–10–2 (5–9–1–1) |
| January 26 | 7:03 PM | vs. Michigan | #15 | Madison Square Garden • New York, New York | BTN | Jones | W 5–2 | 9,271 | 14–10–2 (6–9–1–1) |
| February 8 | 6:01 PM | vs. Minnesota | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 7–2 | 6,131 | 15–10–2 (7–9–1–1) |
| February 9 | 6:01 PM | vs. Minnesota | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | W 6–2 | 6,229 | 16–10–2 (8–9–1–1) |
| February 15 | 7:05 PM | at Michigan State | #17 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | | Jones | L 3–5 | 5,185 | 16–11–2 (8–10–1–1) |
| February 16 | 7:05 PM | at Michigan State | #17 | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | | Jones | W 5–3 | 5,941 | 17–11–2 (9–10–1–1) |
| February 22 | 6:33 PM | vs. Wisconsin | #19 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | BTN | Jones | W 8–2 | 6,110 | 18–11–2 (10–10–1–1) |
| February 23 | 7:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin | #19 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | | Jones | L 3–7 | 6,151 | 18–12–2 (10–11–1–1) |
| March 1 | 7:10 PM | vs. #17 Notre Dame | #18 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | NBCSN | Jones | L 4–5 $^{OT}$ | 4,238 | 18–13–2 (10–12–1–1) |
| March 2 | 7:05 PM | vs. #17 Notre Dame | #18 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | | Jones | W 3–2 | 4,950 | 19–13–2 (11–12–1–1) |
| Big Ten Tournament ||||||||||
| March 8 | 8:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 1) | | Jones | L 3–4 | 3,381 | 19–14–2 |
| March 9 | 6:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 2) | | Jones | W 6–2 | 4,886 | 20–14–2 |
| March 10 | 6:07 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | #18 | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania (Big Ten Quarterfinal Game 3) | | Jones | W 4–3 $^{OT}$ | 3,285 | 21–14–2 |
| Penn State wins series 2–1 ||||||||||
| March 17 | 3:31 PM | at #6 Ohio State* | #17 | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio (Big Ten Semifinal) | BTN | Jones | W 5–1 | 4,545 | 22–14–2 |
| March 23 | 8:03 PM | at #16 Notre Dame* | #17 | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Big Ten Championship) | BTN | Jones | L 2–3 | 5,988 | 22–15–2 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||||||

## Scoring Statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Alex Limoges | C | 39 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 10 |
| Evan Barratt | C/LW | 32 | 16 | 27 | 43 | 55 |
| Liam Folkes | C | 39 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 8 |
| Brandon Biro | LW | 37 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 4 |
| Nate Sucese | LW | 39 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 24 |
| Chase Berger | C | 39 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 8 |
| Nikita Pavlychev | C | 39 | 14 | 15 | 29 | 57 |
| Cole Hults | D | 39 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 24 |
| Ludvig Larsson | C/D | 39 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 22 |
| Denis Smirnov | RW/LW | 37 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 6 |
| Kris Myllari | D | 39 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 12 |
| Sam Sternschein | LW | 39 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 10 |
| Aarne Talvitie | C/LW | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 2 |
| Kevin Kerr | D | 35 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 19 |
| Alec Marsh | C/LW | 34 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 18 |
| Paul DeNaples | D | 39 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 6 |
| Alex Stevens | D | 35 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 43 |
| Evan Bell | D | 21 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Adam Pilewicz | D | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| James Gobetz | D | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Derian Hamilton | D | 26 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Blake Gober | F | 30 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 31 |
| Max Sauvé | F | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Oskar Autio | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Funkey | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peyton Jones | G | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Total | | | 177 | 301 | 478 | 389 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Peyton Jones | 32 | 1878 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 104 | 942 | 0 | .901 | 3.32 |
| Oskar Autio | 3 | 122 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 59 | 0 | .894 | 3.42 |
| Chris Funkey | 7 | 340 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 152 | 0 | .884 | 3.53 |
| Empty Net | - | 21 | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 39 | 2363 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 139 | 1153 | 0 | .892 | 3.53 |

## Rankings

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

## Players drafted into the NHL
### 2019 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 6 | 181 | Kevin Wall$^†$ | Carolina Hurricanes |
† incoming freshman