Men's Hockey: Gadowsky to coach at Penn State

Gadowsky was hired before the 2004-05 season and took over a team that had gone 29-82-11 in the preceding four seasons. He engineered a stunning turnaround, leading Princeton to an ECAC championship and an NCAA tournament appearance in just his fourth season.

The Tigers returned to the NCAA tournament in the following season, where they suffered a crushing 5-4 defeat in overtime. Princeton led the University of Minnesota Duluth by two goals until the final minute, but the Bulldogs tied the game up in the final second of regulation.

The outgoing Class of 2011, which spent its entire career with Gadowsky, won more games than had any previous class in program history.

“Guy has been a fabulous coach for us for seven years,” Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67 said in a phone interview on Sunday. “He has done an incredible job rebuilding the program, sustaining its level of competitiveness and attracting outstanding student-athletes who compete with all their heart, and that’s a reflection on him.”

Gadowsky faces a difficult challenge at Penn State, as the team will play its first Division I season in 2012-13. The Nittany Lions currently have men’s and women’s club hockey teams but do not compete in the sport at the NCAA level.

Penn State will play as an independent in its first season and then join the Big 10 hockey conference, which will form in 2013-14.

Princeton, meanwhile, will look for a new coach. The Tigers went 17-13-2 last season but fell in the first round of the ECAC Tournament.

“We wish him the best, and our job now is to find a worthy replacement,” Walters said. “I will be collaborating pretty closely with Guy to figure out who some of the better candidates are out there.”