It’s no secret Penn State men’s hockey hasn’t had the start it would’ve wanted.

After a strong 2025-26 season in which the Nittany Lions finished 21-14-2 and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament, the team hasn’t kept up the pace at the start of 2026-27.

The Nittany Lions are 0-3 to start the campaign and continue searching for a route to victory.

One of the biggest issues in their most recent loss, a 6-3 defeat to Quinnipiac, was discipline. Penn State took seven penalties against the Bobcats and allowed four costly power-play goals.

Despite the penalty trouble, head coach Guy Gadowsky is confident the team can turn things around come Tuesday against Robert Morris.

“Even strength, this was a 2-2 game. The boulders that caused us to lose this game, the penalties, the odd-man rushes, those you can work on. So, I’m very happy we get a chance very quickly,” Gadowsky said.

Gadowsky is clearly confident the quick turnaround to Tuesday’s game with RMU is a good thing for his team, not a burden, and that the Nittany Lions’ intensity in practice will lead to success soon.

“I don’t think we’ve had a practice this year that we have said, ‘Man, I don’t think the guys are ready to work today.’ I honestly don’t. I think the practices have been excellent,” Gadowsky said.

Besides Gadowsky, captain Reese Laubach also stressed the importance of preparing for the quick turnaround, especially to limit penalties against the Colonials.

Laubach has made it a leadership focus to let players learn from example.

“I mean, shoot, I’ve taken dumb penalties. I’ve taken a lot of dumb penalties,” Laubach said. “So, I think you just got to show guys then they see it. They don’t want to hurt the team. No one does, but emotions run high, right? College hockey’s super intense, so that’s part of it. It’s just controlling your emotions. I think that’s it, more than anything.”

Laubach is also not concerned about the team’s slow start and feels the team is focused on future games to turn things around.

“We’re a great team,” he added. “We’re a great team. We still believe in that. Yeah, that’s a little bit of a rocky start. But I mean, you guys know we were 0-9 in the Big Ten two years ago, man, and we made the Frozen Four. So, nothing we can’t crawl back from.”

While Laubach’s approach sounds effective, a true improvement in discipline is yet to be seen.

The Nittany Lions killed the first six penalties they faced in the first two games of the season, but mistakes caught up to them against Quinnipiac, and as tough competition continues, penalty trouble will remain a recipe for disaster.

While discipline improvement should be a focal point in preparation for Tuesday’s game, it may be less of an issue against Robert Morris, who have showcased an ice-cold power play to this point.

In 11 chances, the Colonials have converted on just one power-play goal, a 9% success rate.

The Colonials have lost all four games to open the season, giving the Nittany Lions a prime opportunity to get a win in the column for the 2026-27 season.

If Penn State can limit penalties and costly mistakes at both ends of the ice, it will have a strong chance to begin a meaningful turnaround.

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