University Park, PA — No. 5 (NPI) / No. 6 (USCHO) Penn State ice hockey coach Guy Gadowsky met with the media to preview the upcoming matchup against No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers men’s ice hockey in the final series of the 2025–26 regular season.
Gadowsky discussed forward Charlie Cerrato’s injury status, the return of Braeden Ford, game-management miscues he believes he has made while the team has been short on forwards, and the impact the roster situation has had on preparation.
Charlie Cerrato Update
“No decisions will be made on this weekend until after tomorrow.”
What Penn State Still Needs to Accomplish Against Wisconsin
“Well, you asked the question before about whether we’re using standings or rankings as motivation. I wouldn’t say standings alone there’s a little bit of both. The truth is, we’re not mathematically locked in yet.
That’s important to know. We don’t want someone to say later, ‘Geez, I wish we knew.’ So we want to make sure everyone understands that.
What we want out of this weekend is for it to be a great dress rehearsal for playoff hockey. Sometimes you get to the last conference games of the season and you have two teams that are already locked in or locked out, and the weekend doesn’t matter for movement.
That’s not the case here. For both teams, this weekend matters. Wisconsin needs to win to get in, and we need to win to mathematically lock it up. So I think this will be a great opportunity as a dress rehearsal for the playoffs. That’s how the team is approaching it.”
Penn State’s Resilience After Multiple Three-Goal Deficits vs. Notre Dame
“Yeah, it seems like we’ve had this conversation before this year. It’s happened often, right? And as many times as it happens, it doesn’t get any less impressive.
I was very impressed. Obviously being down 3–0, we didn’t come out well at all. But the way they played Friday night to come back from three down was impressive.
Then we needed a late goal to tie it up on Saturday night as well, and the guys got it. They keep impressing the coaching staff with their ability to come back. We keep striving for a situation where we won’t have to.”
Braeden Ford’s Return and What It Means Moving Forward
“He was awesome. He really was.
It’s interesting because a big part of our success last year was Carson Dick not only his play but the way he brought everybody together. He’s such a great leader.
Fordo is that way. Attitude-wise, he brings people together, and then on the ice I thought he played extremely well. He takes pride in doing all the little things that really matter for a team and in setting up his teammates for success. I thought he was awesome.”
Chemistry Between Braeden Ford and Gavin McKenna
“He was really a great surprise. At the start of the season we talked to Gavin about who he bonded with the most, and he said Fordo.
Have we seen that connection? Yeah, I see them having fun in the weight room and on the ice. You can tell they enjoy playing together.
But that’s Fordo he’s just a great guy. You can talk to anybody on our team and they’ll tell you what a great person Braeden Ford is.”
Josh Fleming’s Performance Against Notre Dame
“What can you say about Josh Fleming’s performance on Friday? Being down three and then coming back to seal it in the shootout that takes mental toughness.
After the 15-minute mark of the first period he really shut the door, including overtime and being 100 percent in the shootout. It doesn’t get much more mentally tough than that.
I love the fact that when we were down three he just dug deep rather than thinking, ‘Oh, it’s not my night.’ I think the team was really proud of him for doing that.”
Improving Game and Bench Management
“I don’t think I’ve done a great job of bench management early. When we’re short on numbers it’s more difficult to manage the bench, and you have to be aware of not putting too much load on individual players.
I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of that, and I think I have to make an adjustment.”
Adjusting Practice Load With Limited Personnel
“I didn’t manage the bench well in that situation, and I have to do a better job.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.After practices we evaluate the workload for individuals. KJ (Kristina Jeffries), our strength and conditioning coach, gathers a lot of data and gives us recommendations on load and intensity for certain days.
The intensity has dropped a bit because it’s difficult to run a high-tempo practice when you don’t have enough players for two full lines on each team. Someone is always going.
Today our goal was to go about 54 to 56 minutes, but we shut it down about nine minutes early because both the eye test and the numbers showed guys were getting too taxed. So yes, we’ve had to make adjustments.”
Aiden Fink Growing Into a Leadership Role
“What can you say about how he’s played? I think he’s been exceptional.
He’s a great scorer, I don’t want to minimize that at all, but he’s really grown up in a team sense. He’s managed his emotions better, especially with things he can’t control like referee calls.
And honestly, when I said I struggled with bench management, he actually helped me out the most. He would tell me, ‘No, send that guy, not me.’ He did that twice on Saturday night alone.
He’s grown into someone who understands not just what he has to do individually to help the team, but how he can help the team in different ways. It’s been very gratifying to see.”
Facing Another Elite Big Ten Power Play
“Wisconsin has the No. 4 power play in the nation right now. Last week Notre Dame was also around fourth going into that weekend.
That’s one of the things about the Big Ten, you’re going to face some of the best power plays in the country week in and week out. We’ve seen it all season.
So when you ask what the penalty kill needs to do, I think it’s more of the same.”
Assessing the Penalty Kill
“We learn a little bit every weekend.
We did give up one goal on a play we’d seen before, but overall I think we’ve done a good job. What I really like is the commitment from players in those roles.
Take Nic Chin-DeGraves for example. The commitment he shows toward that role is awesome. It’s not just ‘I get to go out there.’ It’s ‘I’m going to do the job.’
As long as we maintain that attitude we can adjust to specific set plays. I really like the mindset of our PK group right now.”
Playoff Mindset Entering the Final Series
“Well, the last two games of last season felt like playoff games. But this year is different.
Last year we weren’t really fighting to get in as an at-large team. We were just trying to become the best team we could because we didn’t think we could get in.
We were focused on preparing to make a run in the Big Ten tournament. We didn’t really look around and think we had a chance until after we swept Michigan.
This year it’s different. There’s more ranking-watching because it’s realistic. It’s unrealistic to think that won’t happen.
So the feel of this stretch run compared to last year is completely different.”
