No. 13 Penn State Women’s Hockey Swept By No. 10 Cornell
No. 11 Penn State women’s hockey’s (1-6-1) struggles continued over the weekend after it was swept by No. 3 Cornell Big Red, losing 4-1 Friday and 5-2 Saturday.
Penalties plagued the Nittany Lions, but Katelyn Roberts scored two goals during the weekend while Lyndie Lobdell secured the third goal of the weekend.
Game One
Penn State started allowed five shots in the first four minutes of Friday’s game, but led time of possession as most of Cornell’s shots came in transition. Penn State dominated the forecheck early and made it tough for Cornell to clear the puck.
Cornell was eventually able to put together a meaningful offensive zone possession and managed to break through as Katie Chan got past goalie Josie Bothun and put Penn State down 1-0 early in the first period.
Penn State couldn’t stop a Cornell team that had all the momentum after the goal. Cornell rattled off a barrage of shots but wasn’t able to get past Bothun. Forward Tessa Janecke also played a defensive role early, blocking a shot that temporarily sent her to the bench.
Bothun allowed a long rebound on an odd-man advantage, but Chan couldn’t control the puck and the Nittany Lions survived another close call.
After a faceoff in Penn State’s defensive zone, Chan collected her second goal of the night after Cornell’s Izzy Daniel secured possession from the Nittany Lions and found Chan streaking through the middle of the ice.
Penn State responded to a Cornell breakaway with one of its own as Roberts found herself alone with the goalie and the Nittany Lions cut the deficit in half with three minutes left in the first period.
Cornell was called for a hold with 0.2 seconds left in the first period, and the Nittany Lions went to the break down 2-1 with a powerplay to start the second period.
Penn State couldn’t do much with the player advantage, though, and managed just one shot on goal to open the second period.
Cornell was called for a cross-check two minutes later and the Nittany Lions returned to the powerplay. The game’s second powerplay wasn’t much different than the first, and the Nittany Lions failed to create any meaningful chances.
Maggie MacEachern was called for a cross-check with eight minutes gone in the second, and Cornell cashed in three seconds off the faceoff and pushed the Big Red’s lead to 3-1.
After a period of back-and-forth action, Janecke was called for interference and Cornell went back on the powerplay. Penn State’s penalty kill did its job the second time around as Bothun stopped everything sent her way.
Janecke charged out of the penalty box and immediately committed another penalty, this time for tripping. Penn State couldn’t kill the penalty and Cornell’s Kaitlin Jockims found the back of the net to put the Big Red up 4-1 as the second period drew to a close.
Neither team recorded a shot in the first three minutes of the final frame. Cornell was once again sent to the powerplay after Alyssa Machado was sent to the box after a high-sticking call. Cornell crashed the net and kept putting pucks on net throughout the penalty but couldn’t break through on the advantage.
The third period proved to be a defensive masterclass on both sides, with neither team able to find any room to shoot the puck consistently through the halfway mark of the frame.
With eight minutes left in the third period, Penn State was sent to the powerplay on a Grace Dwyer interference call, but the Nittany Lions couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. The Nittany Lions couldn’t find any offense for the rest of the game and fell to Cornell 4-1.
Game Two
Penn State faced adversity early in Saturday’s game after a boarding call gave Cornell a five-minute power play. Penn State managed to kill off most of the power play, but Mckenna Van Gelder struck with just under 13 minutes to go in the first frame to give Cornell a one-goal lead.
The penalty bug struck again less than three minutes later as Cornell went back on the power play with under ten minutes to play in the first period. Penn State had to kill only thirty seconds before Cornell was called for a five-minute major after a hit to the head.
After the four-on-four action, Cornell successfully killed its penalty and went back to full strength.
Penn State was gifted with another five-minute power play after a Cornell boarding call, and Lobdell took advantage and tied the game to take a 1-1 draw to the locker room.
Penn State started the second period with just over one minute left on the power play, but couldn’t get anything going as Cornell recorded another successful kill.
Cornell took the momentum from its big penalty kill and scored another goal with just over four minutes gone in the second period to retake the lead 2-1.
Penn State continued to attack the net at full strength and eventually broke through to tie the game at 2 on the heels of a Roberts goal.
Penn State continued its problem with penalties and was called for a hold with nine minutes left in the period. The Nittany Lions managed to kill the penalty and keep the game tied at 2.
Cornell struck again just a minute after the penalty was killed and led 3-2.
The rest of the second period was relatively back-and-forth until both teams had roughing penalties called after a scrum that led to four-on-four action. Neither team scored during the penalties, and the second period ended 3-2.
Penalties continued to plague the Nittany Lions after a slashing call, but they managed to kill the penalty.
After eight minutes of evenly matched play, the Big Red struck again, pushing their lead to 4-2.
The latest goal took the wind out of the Nittany Lions’ sails, and Cornell managed another goal near the end of the game and eventually won 5-2.
Takeaway’s
- Penn State needs to be more disciplined. Penalties plagued the Nittany Lions during the weekend series and with a penalty-killing unit that isn’t quite clicking, it proved to be very detrimental.
- Lobdell played in her 100th game for the Nittany Lions during Saturday’s loss and recorded a goal during the outing.
What’s Next?
Penn. State women’s hockey will travel to Syracuse, New York, in two weeks for its matchup with Syracuse at 1 p.m. on October 28.
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