Penn State women’s hockey (0-3-1) is still winless on the season after falling to No. 7 Boston College (2-0) Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

Despite striking first, the Nittany Lions failed to take home a win in either matchup of the two-game series with Boston College.

How It Happened

Penn State got off to an aggressive start. Senior forward Natalie Heising scored the game’s first goal at the 15:57 mark of the first period. Sophomore forward Kiara Zanon and sophomore forward Olivia Wallin assisted.

After that, the momentum was going in the Nittany Lions’ direction until sophomore forward Caroline Goffredo scored for Boston College. Once the game was tied up, Zanon had an excellent two-on-one scoring opportunity but couldn’t convert.

As the first period ended, the Nittany Lions had five shots on goal, while the Eagles had six. Penn State struggled in the first period in the face-off circle with only four wins to Boston College’s 11.

The second period was off to a quiet start for nearly 10 minutes until Bilka took the puck unassisted, wrapping it around from behind the net for a goal at the 11:48 mark to give Boston College a 2-1 lead.

An excellent save came from sophomore goaltender Josie Bothun with less than half of the second left. Bothun had a handful of highlight-reel-worthy saves throughout the period. The Nittany Lions had an excellent power-play kill right before they got on it themselves. Despite the one goal in the second period and a power-play opportunity for both teams, the momentum seemed to be evenly distributed throughout the second period for both teams.

Boston College won the second period on the stat sheet, but a scoreless period didn’t deter Penn State from putting up a fight with 14 shots on goal and an excellent power-play kill.

While it was a slow start to the third period, Penn State got a chance on an unsuccessful power-play attempt within five minutes. Penn State had quite the offensive push putting up seven shots on goal in just over a minute resulting in Boston College using its timeout. The Nittany Lions had another power-play opportunity cut short due to a minor tripping penalty against junior defenseman Mallory Uihlein.

Penn State got back to full strength after an excellent night of power-play kills. A goal was waved off for the Eagles due to goaltender interference with just over five minutes remaining. With under four minutes remaining in the third period, the Nittany Lions had another power-play for two minutes that proved unsuccessful. With a final offensive push and Penn State pulling its goaltender, the team couldn’t find a way to tie this one up as the game ended.

Player Of The Game

Josie Bothun | Goalie

While Bothun gave up one more goal than her team scored, she played phenomenally. Bothun had 15 saves for the Nittany Lions and gave her team a chance to have a big upset at home. While it didn’t work out, it was fun watching her save several shots on goal that seemed to be sure goals.

What’s Next?

Penn State will be back on its home ice at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 8, as Holy Cross comes to Hockey Valley for a two-game series.