Penn State women’s hockey (17-9-4) swept Long Island University (13-12-3) with wins on Friday and Saturday afternoon in East Meadow, New York. 

The Nittany Lions blew the Sharks out in game one in a 10-0 win. The result tied a single-game program record for the most goals scored. Everyone contributed, from Olivia Wallin’s hat trick to Anna Promersberger’s goal and assist. Natalie Heising uncharacteristically did not score in the offensive domination, however.

In game two, the Nittany Lions got off to a fairly slow start until the middle of the second period. Neither team scored until Heising broke her five-game scoring drought.

How It Happened

Game One

The first period was the beginning of a historically great game for Penn State. It didn’t take long before Penn State scored the first of many goals, with Lyndie Lobdell scoring on a wrist shot at 2:15 in the period and Rachel Weiss on the assist. It was Lobdell’s fourth goal of the season and Weiss’ sixth assist of the campaign. 

LOBDELLLLLLLLLL!

Lyndie collects between the dots and rips a great wrist shot! 1-0 Penn State just a bit over 2 minutes in!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/VtXjUzorbg

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 11, 2022

Roughly ten minutes later at 11:15, Karley Garcia doubled Penn State’s lead to 2-0 with assists from Natalie Heising and Kiara Zanon, who is the team’s assists leader with 24. Two minutes later at 13:06, Olivia Wallin scored her first of three goals with an assist from Anna Promersberger. 

The first period ended 3-0 in a sequence dominated by Penn State. The Nittany Lions outshot the Sharks 12-4. The next period wouldn’t be any easier for Long Island, though. 

Penn State built on what was already a comfortable 3-0 lead in the second period. Less than a minute into the sequence at 0:57, Julie Gough scored her tenth goal of the season with assists from Kiara Zanon and Mallory Uihlein. Penn State’s quick attacking capabilities were on full display. 

It wasn’t much longer before Penn State scored again. At 5:15, Mya Vaslet tapped the puck into the net from just beyond the line with assists from Avery Mitchell and Lyndie Lobdell. It was 5-0 Nittany Lions. The lead was huge, but it was only half of what was still to come from the away team. 

Anna Promersberger scored to make it 6-0 at 10:45. Karley Garcia and Julie Gough each assisted in that goal as they had been playing well throughout the game. Promersberger has been a force on the defense, with that being her fourth goal of the season. 

The scoring extravaganza wasn’t over yet, though. Olivia Wallin tapped in her second goal of the day just over a minute later at 11:29. This game was the first time since January 15 that she scored a goal. The second period ended 7-0 in a dominant showing from Penn State. 

The Nittany Lions scored three more goals in the third period. Rachel Weiss scored her sixth goal of the season to make it 8-0 at 6:20 after plenty of back and forth play early in the frame. 

Olivia Wallin completed her first ever collegiate hat trick at 7:55 in the final period. It was her sixth goal of the season, a good day for one of Penn State’s younger players. 

Easy as 1⃣,2⃣,3⃣! Congrats on the hat trick, Olivia Wallin! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/qyh56ifm2L

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 11, 2022

A few minutes later at 12:36 in the period, Izzy Heminger gave her contribution to the scoring with an unassisted goal. After a tremendous offensive afternoon, the Nittany Lions were done scoring. The ten-goal mark tied a program record for most goals scored in a single game, as Penn State blanked Long Island 10-0.

FINAL | Olivia Wallin nets the hat trick and we tied a program single-game scoring record with 10 in our victory this afternoon!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/LS6JpFlImw

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 11, 2022

Game Two

The first period was very uneventful in contrast to game one’s sequence of events from the start. Neither team scored, and Long Island appeared to be playing tough following the blowout.

At 7:04 in the second period, Natalie Heising finally broke the ice with a power play goal. It was Heising’s first goal since her two-goal performance against Mercyhurst at the end of January.

HESINNNNNGG!

Natalie nets one right after a won faceoff on the power play! 1-0 Nittany Lions with a little under 13 minutes to play in the second period. #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/lqw1w0Vi8J

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 12, 2022

At the end of two periods, Long Island was impressively hanging on despite being outshot 51-12. Its defense was keeping the Sharks in the game, with seven blocked shots and solid goaltending from Tindra Holm.

The third period was a struggle for both teams. Long Island couldn’t score, but Penn State had difficulties keeping the puck out of the zone. It remained steady, though, and Josie Bothun made several great saves, including a rebound from close to the net.

It was 12:11 in the third period when Weiss moved in quickly from left to right and went top shelf, giving Penn State a much-needed insurance goal.

WHAT A SHOT FROM WEISS!!!

Rachel picks the upper right corner with a great shot! 2-0 Nittany Lions at the 12:11 mark in the third period!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/ln0S3GGcOj

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 12, 2022

Long Island looked better than it did in game one, but it was too little too late. The Nittany Lions swept the Sharks with that 2-0 win in game two.

Takeaways

• An offensive renaissance has taken place in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions scored ten goals in game one after scoring five against Cornell earlier in the week. This much offense is a welcomed sight for the Nittany Lions. It’s clearly been supported by solid goaltending from Josie Bothun, who hasn’t given up more than two goals in a game since January 11.
• Discipline looks way better for this group, too. Penn State only took one penalty in each game this weekend, and it clearly helped the Nittany Lions keep the pressure up on the offensive end.
• Josie Bothun once again came up big, as she has done all season, with 12 saves in game two. Bothun leads the CHA in goals against average with 1.72 allowed per game, and ranks in the top three in save percentage and saves per game.

What’s Next?

Penn State’s final series of the regular season will be at home next weekend against RIT. Puck drop will be at 2 p.m. on both February 18 and 19.