Gadowsky

Penn State is making hockey history.

The 12th-ranked Nittany Lions advanced to their first-ever Frozen Four after sophomore Matthew DiMarsico scored the overtime winner to lift PSU past No. 7 UConn, 3-2, in the Allentown Regional Final at the PPL Center on Sunday night.

The Lions will face Boston University in the second national semifinal at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. ESPN2 will televise.

PSU goalie Arsenii Sergeev made 42 saves, one off his career-high.

Sergeev’s 19 wins are now the third-most in a single-season by a Nittany Lion goaltender.

UConn held the slim 44-41 edge in shots on goal including a 28-13 edge in the third period and overtime.

Penn State improves to 4-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament while advancing to the first Frozen Four in program history.

Penn State improved to 22-13-4 on the season. UConn closed at 23-12-4.

The other national semifinal pits Denver vs. Western Michigan at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

The national championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 12. ESPN2 will televise.

Gadowsky honored

UNIVERSITY PARK – Fresh off that historic win, there was more national recognition for the program and its coach, Guy Gadowsky, on Monday.

Gadowsky was named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award presented annually to the men’s ice hockey Division I Coach of the Year as announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association.

Gadowsky, a three-time Coach of the Year, becomes a National Coach of the Year finalist for the fourth time in his career as nominees represent any coach who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in his conference over the past season, as well as coaches whose teams have advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.

In his 13th year behind the bench for Penn State, Gadowsky guided the Nittany Lions to their first-ever Frozen Four this past weekend. PSU won the Allentown Regional by defeating Hockey East Champion and No. 3-overall seed Maine, 5-1, on Friday before a 3-2 overtime thriller against UConn on Sunday punched their ticket to St. Louis.

The Nittany Lions have been the hottest team in college hockey during the second half of the season posting a 15-4-4 record since the calendar flipped to 2025 climbing from No. 33 in the Pairwise at the beginning of January to No. 13 by the end of the conference tournaments to earn the final at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Gadowsky has led Penn State to its sixth 20+-win season in program history as the Nittany Lions will head to St. Louis with a 22-13-4 overall record while the 15 wins from January on are the most all-time for PSU during the second half of a season.

The Bench Boss became just the 30th Division I coach all-time to eclipse the 400-win mark earlier this season after an overtime victory against No. 2 Minnesota. Gadowsky’s 404 victories rank 29th all-time and are 11th among active coaches.

Penn State has played 62 percent (24-of-29) of its games this season against ranked opponents including each of the last nine and 15 of the last 17. The Nittany Lions are 10-4-3 in their last 17 games against ranked opponents this season including a 6-3-3 mark against top-10 teams with each of those ties resulting in shootout wins.