In the wake of scoring a life-changing goal, Matthew DiMarsico returned to his Penn State locker room at Allentown’s PPL Center and looked at his phone.
Among the messages the Nittany Lions sophomore forward received, one text in particular stood out.
DiMarsico, fresh off scoring the game-winning overtime goal to send Penn State to its first Frozen Four in school history, said he received a message from Boston University freshman center Brandon Svoboda.
A North Allegheny product, DiMarsico will have the unique opportunity to square off against Svoboda — a 2023 Penn-Trafford graduate — and his perennial power Terriers in next week’s NCAA Division I men’s hockey national championship tournament semifinal.
“We skate all the time in the summer,” DiMarsico said. “We are pretty good friends. He texted me right after the game against UConn. I was letting him know it’s going to be a war against you guys.”
The Frozen Four will be well stocked with players who spent their formative years skating on southwestern Pennsylvania’s rinks in preparation for that very battle.
Penn State will face Boston University with a berth in the national championship game on the line at 8:30 p.m. April 10 at Enterprise Center in the St. Louis, home of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
The national semifinal game will be televised on ESPN2.
Western Michigan will face Denver in the other Frozen Four semifinal. Puck drop is slated for 5 p.m. April 10 at Enterprise Center for the contest, which will also be televised on ESPN2.
“Where the program has gotten to today, it’s really incredible,” said Penn State sophomore center Dane Dowiak, who attended Pine-Richland School District until his junior year before transferring to play hockey at the Frederick Gunn School in Connecticut for his senior season. “I couldn’t be happier in the spot I am now. All I want to do is win for this school.”
Aside from DiMarsico and Dowiak, Penn State’s roster features four additional players from across the Pittsburgh region. Nittany Lions junior defenseman Carter Schade is a Mars native, while junior forward Alex Servagno hails from Gibsonia, freshman forward Braedon Ford is from Pittsburgh, and junior goaltender John Seifarth is an Avonworth graduate.
Western Michigan defenseman Brian Kramer will also be attempting to bring a national championship back to his hometown. The 6-foot, 180-pound graduate student is a Pine-Richland product.
“We have numerous players that have done a great job for us,” said Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky of the southwestern Pennsylvania products on his roster.
Maybe none did more than Dowiak and DiMarsico to win the Allentown Regional over the past week.
DiMarsico netted the game-winning overtime goal in the Nittany Lions’ 3-2 victory against Connecticut in the regional final Sunday night. He also scored two goals in Penn State’s NCAA tournament opening-round victory against Maine.
Dowiak scored the Nittany Lions’ first goal against UConn, and added two goals of his own against Maine, en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Allentown Regional.
“Right before I realized I was going to let it go, I kind of picked the puck up on my backhand and just was looking for net,” said DiMarsico of the goal that sent the Nittany Lions on a course for St. Louis. “I saw some high blocker, so I just decided to fire. As soon as it went in, I didn’t even know how to feel. It was just a rush of excitement.
“I ended up throwing my stick in the stands,” he added, “which was a pretty cool moment.”
The entire experience of playing in the Allentown Regional was equally as special for Dowiak.
With a brother eight years his senior, Dowiak said he was enthralled by the experiences his eldest sibling, Mack, consistently shared of going to Pegula Ice Arena to see Nittany Lions hockey games during his four years in State College.
By the time he turned 14 and was able to see his first Penn State game in person by his 2016 Penn State graduate brother’s side, Dane said he was hooked.
“Ever since I was a little kid I’ve wanted to go to Penn State,” Dowiak said. “Ever since they got a DI team, I wanted to play for Penn State. Being from Pittsburgh, it’s right in your backyard. You want to win for Pennsylvania. You want to win for Pittsburgh.”
The 6-foot, 180-pound DiMarsico is fourth at Penn State in points with 32, notching 17 goals and 15 assists. Aside from initially gaining prominence locally as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite youth travel teams, he also has played for the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League.
Your Allentown Regional Most Outstanding Player, Dane Dowiak!!
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) April 1, 2025#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/efIA4Q21E4
Likewise, Dowiak also rose through the Pens Elite ranks but eventually found a home with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Dowiak has scored 20 points for Penn State this season with 12 goals and eight assists.
“[DiMarsico] has been generating more chances for us than any other player,” Gadowsky said. “We knew it was just a matter of time that when he started finishing, when the shots finally started going in, they did at the most important time. He has been obviously integral for what we’ve done.
“Dane Dowiak was selected as the player of the tournament,” he added, “and that couldn’t be more fitting because, not only did he produce offensively, but much more important to us, it was the attitude that he brings and what a great defensive presence he has shown for this past month.”
Schade has also provided important minutes defensively for Penn State, while also logging nine assists. Ford has scored a goal in 14 games, and Servagno has chipped in an assist in his 17 games of action.
Dowiak said getting the chance to represent southwestern Pennsylvania well on a national stage is important to him and his teammates. He said he looked up to NHL players like Pine-Richland product Brandon Saad, Upper St. Clair native Vincent Trocheck and JT Miller — whose family lived in Coraopolis for four years — in addition to Whitehall native John Gibson.
Both DiMarsico and Dowiak credit West Mifflin native Logan Cooley as a major inspiration. Cooley was selected No. 3 overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2022 NHL Draft.
“Just looking up to those guys kind of made me want to excel in my career and make me want to get where they’re at,” Dowiak said. “I think just for Pittsburgh hockey, it’s huge that there are that many kids who are going to be in this type of event. I think as a kid growing up right now in Pittsburgh it’s an exciting time to want to play hockey and want to play for a Division I hockey team.”
Along with Penn States players, Svoboda and Kramer have also performed well for their respective programs.
Kramer has scored a goal with 15 assists from his defensive position for Western Michigan.
Svoboda, a third-round selection by the San Jose Sharks in the 2023 NHL Draft, has seven goals and two assists for Boston University.
“I think it’s a huge credit to the Pens Elite program,” DiMarsico said. “I think growing Triple A hockey in the region has been great. I think that’s why you’re seeing so many more players play Division I, and then the NHL, like Logan Cooley. I think it’s been great for everyone.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.