![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792398434_37_30DF31A5-AFDE-46C1-9503-0296A46565E7-500x500.png\")
\t<\/p>\nThree games into the season, Penn State men\u2019s hockey still hasn\u2019t found its first win. Beyond the 0-3 record, avoidable mistakes have played a significant role in the Nittany Lions\u2019 early struggles.<\/p>\n
Friday night\u2019s 6-3 loss to No. 8 Quinnipiac was the latest example. <\/p>\n
Penn State jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into its home opener at Pegula Ice Arena, only to watch it disappear behind seven penalties and defensive breakdowns.<\/p>\n
Head coach Guy Gadowsky said he was pleased with his team\u2019s willingness to compete physically, and he blamed himself and his staff for the team\u2019s mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis team was ready to play physically. Absolutely, they were,\u201d Gadowsky said. \u201cRight now, that is a very poorly coached team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gadowsky pointed to several areas of Penn State\u2019s game that contributed to Friday\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took seven penalties, many of them avoidable, retaliation stupid, too many men,\u201d Gadowsky said. \u201cWe gave up, I don\u2019t know how many, two-on-ones and breakaways. So you just don\u2019t have a chance that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penn State entered Friday having killed all six penalties it faced during opening weekend, but that success didn\u2019t hold up as the Bobcats converted four of their seven power plays.<\/p>\n
The Nittany Lions also struggled to manage the puck, particularly in the second period, when extended defensive-zone shifts put added pressure on the defensemen.<\/p>\n
The result was a busy night for goaltender Josh Fleming, who faced 46 shots and finished with 40 saves.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll credit to him. He played an amazing game, and that\u2019s really poor on us to not have his back,\u201d defenseman Mac Gadowsky said. \u201cHe has ours, and we didn\u2019t have his tonight, and that\u2019s not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin Larose and Mac Gadowsky gave Penn State an early multi-goal lead, but captain Reese Laubach said the team\u2019s response after Ethan Wyttenbach tied the game for Quinnipiac late in the first period was the turning point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think when we went up 2-0, and when they came back and tied it at 2-2, I think we died. The bench died,\u201d Laubach said.<\/p>\n
Penn State never recovered, and what began as its strongest stretch of hockey in three games ended in another three-goal loss \u2014 this time without the help of an empty-netter.<\/p>\n
Guy Gadowsky separated Friday\u2019s loss from Penn State\u2019s previous defeat against Sacred Heart. <\/p>\n
He explained that his team wasn\u2019t prepared to compete last Saturday, but he believed the effort was there against Quinnipiac; the execution, though, wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that we weren\u2019t competing. We were competing hard. We weren\u2019t very smart,\u201d Guy Gadowsky said.<\/p>\n
Laubach also acknowledged the role he and fellow captain Dane Dowiak have in addressing Penn State\u2019s early struggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we haven\u2019t been a good enough example of that yet,\u201d Laubach said. \u201cBut as I said, we just got to be smarter as a whole, and I think the penalties and stuff right now are hurting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penn State has a quick turnaround before returning to Pegula Ice Arena on Tuesday to face Robert Morris.<\/p>\n
\t\t<\/p>\n