Player Spotlight: Andrew Sturtz

Story posted October 15, 2015 in CommRadio, Sports by Ryan Ruff

Upon entering the 2015-16 season, the Penn State Men’s hockey program gained an extremely valuable recruit. Andrew Sturtz, a freshman from Buffalo, N.Y., was a prolific scorer for the Carleton Place Canadians of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL). In only two seasons, Sturtz tallied 217 points and was named the CCHL MVP. On top of those figures, Sturtz was awarded the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Player of the Year in the 2013-14 season, by leading the league in scoring with 51 goals.

Despite a long list of collegiate hockey program offers, Sturtz comfortably felt that his home lied in Hockey Valley.

“I chose Penn State because of the atmosphere on the campus at all times,” he said. “I look forward to the four years I get to spend in the Penn State community. I also look forward to playing some great games in front of the best student section in college hockey.”

Coming into the year, head coach Guy Gadowsky felt strongly that Sturtz would prove to be a top commodity for this year’s team. Gadowsky speaks volumes about the freshman and feels that he can be a “leader both on the ice and in the community.” Prior to the beginning of team workouts, Gadowsky told the media: “We expect Andrew to hit the ground running…His tenacious, competitive nature combined with an ability to consistently create offense will make him a handful for opposing defensemen.”

With just two games played in Nittany Lion blue and white, Sturtz has found himself playing in good company in the right wing position alongside Dylan Richard and Tommy Olczyk. Guy Gadowsky feels that not only will this line prove to be fluid and generate a great deal of offensive production, but also allow Sturtz to grow as a collegiate athlete under the wing of two veterans on this team.

So far this season, in only one game of recorded statistics, Sturtz remains relatively quiet on the score sheet. Recording only two shots on goal and one block, Sturtz’s second line remained scoreless in the 6-1 blowout against Canisius. However, those numbers will rapidly change in due time.

There is no doubt that Penn State fans are excited to see this young gun in action. This coming weekend, The Nittany Lions will welcome the Notre Dame Fighting Irish into Pegula Ice Arena for the first time in program history. Notre Dame, a notorious collegiate hockey powerhouse, will certainly be a test for Sturtz and this young Lions team.

You can find all of this weekend’s action on ComRadio including pregame analysis with expert interviews and live play-by-play. Coverage of Friday night’s game will begin with the ComRadio Men’s Hockey Pregame Show airing at 6:30pm and on Saturday at 2:30pm. Tune in this weekend to find out how the Nittany Lions will fare against the Fighting Irish and if Andrew Sturtz can record his first collegiate goal.

Ryan Ruff is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ryanruff8@gmail.com.