No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (5-4-1) finished its sweep of Franklin Pierce (1-4) on Monday afternoon, cleaning up the Ravens by a score of 4-1.

A dynamic offense was led by Kiara Zanon, who recorded two goals as her side improved its unbeaten streak to four straight games.

How It Happened

From the jump, the Nittany Lions had control of the game. Izzy Heminger’s first shot to open the game was narrowly blocked, but just a minute after the puck drop, Kiara Zanon slipped the puck into the left side of the net for an early lead.

It wasn’t too long after that Penn State took a 2-0 lead from a power play opportunity. Tessa Janecke received a clean pass sitting on the front of the net and slid home the second goal just 90 seconds after the first one.

One touch is all it takes. pic.twitter.com/Nh5VM6maON

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) October 24, 2022

Penn State kept the pressure up, sending another 15 shots toward Franklin Pierce’s Suzette Faucher before Zanon found her second goal and the Nittany Lions’ third with nine minutes left in the first period.

Just seconds later though, that three-goal lead was cut to two, when Avery Farrell benefitted from two Penn State defenders colliding together near the net.

After Farrell’s goal, the Nittany Lions regained comfort in the game. Penn State’s attack gave the Ravens no room to breathe in the entirety of the first period, laying on 16 shots to Franklin Pierce’s four and holding the puck throughout.

Like the first period, it didn’t take long for Penn State to strike in the second. In one clean skate, Julie Gough received a pass from Eleri MacKay and slid it home to restore a three-goal lead.

JUJI with the hot stick! pic.twitter.com/UNIkspwXRU

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) October 24, 2022

Penn State nearly struck again ten minutes into the period, as Janecke’s shot on what appeared to be an empty net, though somehow Faucher managed to get a glove on the puck and fall on it to kill the play.

Throughout the game, Faucher made these types of plays. Again and again, she came up big for the Ravens, by the end of the second period she recorded a whopping 35 saves for her side.

Both sides slowed down coming into the third period. With the game seemingly in Penn State’s pocket, neither team put too much effort into finding the other’s goal.

Outside of two penalty kills, neither team both together any highlights in the final period. Easy enough, Penn State secured its fifth win of the season and its second in a row as moves past the halfway mark in the season.

Takeaways

• The best defense is a suffocating offense. Penn State gave up just 12 shots in total against the Ravens. While the defense deserves credit, you can look at how much time the Nittany Lions spent in possession as a greater factor. Even in penalty kills, Penn State’s offense did the talking for the rest of the team and kept the game from ever being in question. Averaging more than one shot every minute ain’t easy, folks.
• Some credit goes to the other side in this one. Faucher put together a goaltending clinic for her Ravens, recording an incredible 57 saves, plenty highlight reel worthy. She may not have won, but Faucher was the day’s MVP by a country mile.

What’s Next

Penn State will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Lindenwood for a two-game series starting on Friday, October 28 at 8:10 p.m.