The Youngstown State Mens Ice hockey team has four recruits officially committed for the 2010-2011 hockey season. Foward Joseph Czekaj, a native of Hinkley, Ohio played Junior hockey in the NAHL for the Alpena Ice Diggers. He looks to step in and make an immediate impact on the offensive side of the puck as he showed his offensive awareness and the art of scoring at the junior hockey level on a regular basis. Nick Walters a native of Eagle River, Alaska is a transfer student from RMU Chicago. He will look to fill the whole on the defensive side of the puck that was left from departing seniors Jeremy Ragone and Kevin Pawlos. Walters is a sturdy 5'11 190 and is not afraid to play the body. Ross Gilmour of Cleveland, Ohio played High School hockey for Trinity High School. He was a three year letter winner and looks to contribute to the Penguins his offensive of puck movement on the backend. Alex Fertolia native of Cleveland, OH played goalie for Trinity High School. He was an establish starter in High School but will learn from upperclassmen goalies (Sr) Matt Jacob, (Sr) Adam Chudnofsky and (Jr) Gary Biggs.

The Youngstown State mens hockey team is seeing it's first ever division 1 recruiting class depart as the 2009/2010 comes to a close. The four seniors Zak Kusek, Kevin Pawlos, Jeremy Ragone, and Mike Barker have played their last game for the Penguins but take time to reflect on their four years at Youngstown State. In the four seasons that these seniors played for the Penguins they have accomplished many things that put the program on the map for college hockey. With the seniors the Penguins reached the College Hockey Mid America conference playoffs twice. In the 2006/2007 season; the first season at the division 1 level the Penguins made the playoffs and in the 2008/2009 season they reached the playoffs once again. The seniors also helped the program gain national attention as the team cracked the top 25 in the nation in the 2008/2009 season as the team was ranked 23rd in the nation. On most hockey squads upperclassmen lead the way not only on the ice but in the locker room as well. However, for these departing seniors they were relied on since their freshman year for their on ice production and leadership. Captain Zak Kusek has worn the C on his jersey for the last three years which is very rare in college hockey. Defensemen Jeremy Ragone and Kevin Pawlos have been anchors on the blue line since their freshman year. Mike Barker has provided sparks with his physical play and has been a grinder the team has depended on for the last four years. Although their careers at YSU are now over the seniors take time to reflect on their years wearing the Penguin jersey. "It's been a fun four years. We have had a lot of ups and downs but it has been an enjoyable ride." "Me and the 3 other seniors have grown together and there are a ton of great memories to look back on and share together forever." Explained Kevin Pawlos. Jeremy Ragone shares many of the same thoughts as Kevin Pawlos does. "It was a fun ride up and down but I met a lot of good people and would not have rather went through it without the teammates I had." Says Jeremy Ragone. One thing that all hockey players miss the most is the locker room and hanging out with the guys. For Captain Zak Kusek the locker room will be the thing he misses most "The locker room will always be a escape from reality." Mike Barker explains how playing college hockey changed his life. "Playing hockey for me here at YSU has taught me many things about life, the seniors and I have been through a lot and we all grow up from our experiences together." "We all learned to be more mature and how handle ourselves from playing, it honestly changed my life." As the seniors now move on to whatever it might be they have enjoyed their ride at Youngstown State and have affected many people in the program. Although they will not be with the team anymore their presence will continue to be felt for the underclassman that they leave behind for years to come. The seniors leave behind an impressive resume, but one thing is for sure any success the Penguin hockey team receives in the future may be due to the seniors who have started the hockey tradition at Youngstown State University.

Senior assistant captain Kevin Pawlos scored two goals Feb 20, 2010 against Adrian College to notch 100 points for his career. Pawlos has been a regular on the Penguin blue line for the last four years. Youngstown State University and it's hockey team would like to congratulate Kevin Pawlos on his accomplishment and wish him the best of luck in the future. Pawlos joins Zak Kusek, Mike Poljak, Naaman Moorman as the only members of the Youngstown State Hockey 100 point club.

For the seniors of the Youngstown State mens hockey team Saturday night against Adrian College was the last time they would ever put the Penguin hockey sweater on. The four seniors, captain Zak Kusek, assistant captains Kevin Pawlos and Jeremy Ragone, and forward Mike Barker were honored before the opening faceoff. From the opening draw the Penguins were motivated and it showed as they played with a much superior Adrian College team. In a very physical game the Penguins showed to a much bigger Adrian team that they could skate with them. Adrian two weeks ago skated all over the Penguins beating them 7 to 2. However, Coach Brad Patterson explained "We knew what they had to offer, we knew what they did and we knew we had to be prepared which is why the game was more competitive this time around." Although the Penguins lost 6-4 Saturday night the game was close up until the last few moments. The Penguins were out shot 71 to 26 but Penguin goalie Gary Biggs was up to the task all night. "Biggs had amazing game he kept us in their the whole game and made big saves when we needed him most." Explained Senior Zak Kusek. Biggs was not the only one who shined for the Penguins all 4 seniors found their name on the score sheet for the Penguins. "Our senior leadership this year has been great and it was good for them to have a great senior night, the underclassmen really learned from the seniors this year." Said red shirt sophomore goaltender Gary Biggs. Although this was a loss for the Penguins, they knew it was not about a win or a loss tonight it was more about competing for the seniors who gave so much to the program. Everyone at the Ice Zone Saturday could agree that even with the loss the Penguins ended the season on a good note and are looking to come back strong next season.

The Penguins could not have found a better time of the year to find their scoring touch. Youngstown State is in the midst of trying to catch the University of Pittsburgh Panthers for the final spot in the CHMA playoffs. Fridays 6-2 win over Indiana University of Pennsylvania showed the conference what the Penguins are capable of. IUP sits third in the CHMA playoff picture, and the Penguins dominated their squad from start to finish. "We played a complete game and we stayed disciplined, it was one of our best performances all year." Said head coach Brad Patterson. Everytime these two teams meet up it tends to be a physical match up. "They are tough team to play against, they will beat you up physically and then capitalize on you're mistakes." Explained Coach Patterson. "We stayed out of the non-sense and played our game, which ended up being the difference tonight." Added Patterson. The Penguins have won two consective conference games and look to make it three against The University of Pittsburgh. The game will be played at the Ice Zone in Boardman at 8:45 on Tuesday Feb. 16. For all up to the minute CHMA playoff action check out wwww.Collegehockeymidamerica.com.