Penn State Men's Hockey's 2022-23 Preview: Defense & Goalies

Penn State's men's hockey team will open the 2022-23 season against Canisius on Friday, October 7. Last season, the team came one win short of the Big Ten title game thanks to the performance of its defense and breakout goaltender Liam Souliere.

Clayton Phillips, a Pittsburgh Penguins draftee, will not be returning this season. Oskar Autio transferred to Vermont in April. Autios had a sub .900 save percentage last season and a goals-against-average north of 3.10.

Paul DeNaples, Jimmy Dowd Jr., Christian Berger and Kenny Johnson are returning to Penn State for the next season. Liam Souliere is the biggest returnee from last season's team. Doug Dorr will be the backup goalie for Soulier.  Dorr played in just one game last year. He made one save in five minutes of action. The younger brother of NHL defenseman Jack Johnson scored just once last term.

Simon Mack is returning to the Penn State team for his sophomore season. He struggled to make an impact on offense last year, recording just seven assists in 37 games played.

Carter Schade, Jarod Crespo and Dylan Gratton are new to the Penn State hockey team. Schad was the first overall selection in the 2018 USHL Phase 1 Futures Draft. Crepo played in US Hockey League and received the Salisbury leadership award in 2020. Gratton played for the USHIll last season and is the younger brother of current Penn St. forward Tyler Gratten. Noah Grannan is expected to be the team's third goaltender.