Penn State women’s hockey (14-9-4, 7-3-2-2 CHA) dominated Cornell (10-10-2, 8-7-2 CHA) in a 5-0 win on Tuesday in Ithaca, New York.

The game’s first period was dominated by the Nittany Lions, who scored three unanswered goals. Penn State proceeded to score in the second and third periods to split the season series with the Big Red.

How It Happened

Penn State immediately came out swinging. At 8:10, Mya Vaslet opened the scoring with assists from Amy Dobson and Rene Gangarosa. That play would set the tone for how the rest of the first period would play out.

The Nittany Lions continued bombarding Cornell with shots. At 15:25 in the period, it was 2-0 once Kiara Zanon took full advantage of her team’s power play and capitalized to give the Nittany Lions an insurance goal.

Soon after, Penn State wasn’t skating back into the locker room quietly. Zanon once again scored a goal to keep Penn State rolling.

The opening period ended 3-0 in favor of Penn State. Although the Nittany Lions had such big of a lead, Cornell played closely and trailed the shot count 16-15, testing Penn State goalie Josie Bothun.

Penn State and Cornell traded back-and-forth action to begin the second period’s first half. The scoring extravaganza was not finished, though. At 8:40 in the period, Alyssa Machado tapped in an even-strength goal in what was, at that point, a 4-0 thumping for Penn State.

Penn State did not score the rest of the period, but the Nittany Lions had the most comfortable lead they’ve had for a long time. The last time the Nittany Lions had a lead of four or more goals was back on January 14 when they defeated RIT 5-0.

In the third period, Penn State continued to dominate the game, practically imposing its will on Cornell. Rachel Weiss scored a goal to put her team up 5-0. Penn State gave Cornell payback for the previous matchup when the Big Red won 6-1.

Overall, it was a tremendous effort by the Nittany Lions. Beating an opponent that just easily beat Penn State is tough.

What’s Next?

Penn State will hit the road and face Long Island University on February 11 and 12. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.