No. 11 Penn State women’s hockey opened its season with points in the win and the loss columns following a series split with No. 5 Northeastern.

Despite a shutout in game one, the Nittany Lions walked away with a 2-1 victory in game two Sunday.

How It Happened

Game One

The Northeastern Huskies scored early on after a roughing call on Penn State. Northeastern’s Peyton Compman scored her first career goal on senior goaltender Josie Bothun. The remainder of the first period was scoreless for the Nittany Lions despite opportunities on power plays toward the end of the first period. 

The second period started off hopeful for the Nittany Lions with the defense killing another power play. Still, the offense couldn’t find the back of the net even with two power plays at the end of the period. The Nittany Lions did out-shoot the Huskies 12-5 to finish the second period. 

The third period began with an interference call on Penn State. With 33 seconds into the power play, Northeastern was called for interference creating a four-on-four and giving Penn State the chance to tie the game up. The penalty didn’t give Penn State the points it needed, but it stopped Northeastern from extending its lead. 

Despite outshooting the Huskies 27-23, the Nittany Lions fell short of completing a comeback at the end of the third period.

Game Two

The first period started off with a Nittany Lion power play, immediately creating hope for Penn State but it couldn’t convert.

Soon after, Penn State was called for holding and soon killed the scoring chance for Northeastern. Midway through the first period, the Nittany Lions outshot Northeastern 6-4.

In the final minutes of the first period, Lily Shannon scored the Huskies’ first goal of the game and headed into the second period leading by a point.

The second period began with a Northeastern penalty for cross-checking, giving Penn State a scoring opportunity. At 15:29, the Huskies kill the Nittany Lions’ first chance to come back. At the end of the period, Penn State killed Northeastern’s power play, leaving Penn State momentum to come back in the third period. 

Finally, sophomore Leah Stecker scored Penn State’s first goal of the season with assists from Julie Gough and Tessa Janecke.

With the clock winding down, senior Alyssa Machado scored the game-winner to take the lead over Northeastern. Her goal sealed the first win of the 2023-24 season for the Nittany Lions. 

Takeaways:

• Josie Bothun was a force to be reckoned with in the series and went one-for-two in penalties, but kept the Huskies to just two goals.
• Penalties may continue to be an issue. With 11 penalties on the weekend totaling 25 minutes, the Nittany Lions handed multiple offensive opportunities to the Huskies. 

What’s Next?

Penn State will host a series with UConn at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 29, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 30, at Pegula Ice Arena.