Penn State Women’s Hockey Splits Series Against Syracuse
Penn State women’s hockey (14-11-1, 9-3 CHA) returned to Pegula Ice Arena to face off in a weekend series against conference rival Syracuse (5-19-2, 2-9-1 CHA).
After sweeping the Orange in Syracuse in late October, the Nittany Lions couldn’t secure another sweep after a disappointing Friday night was capped off with an injury to star goalkeeper Josie Bothun. The Nittany Lions rebounded behind a dominant team effort Saturday afternoon to salvage the series split.
How It Happened
Game One
Maddie Christian was assessed the first penalty of the game at 5:52 of the first period, sending Syracuse to the power play. The Orange cycled the puck at the point with Kate Holmes dishing a pass to Alexandra Weiss, who unleashed a slap shot that found the back of the net, giving the Orange the opening goal and a 1-0 lead at 7:29 in the period.
Searching for the equalizer, Penn State turned up the heat on Syracuse after the Nittany Lions surrendered the opening goal. The scoring chances were abundant for Penn State as it dominated possession. If Syracuse managed to take control of the puck and enter the offensive zone, it was short-lived as Penn State swiftly regained possession.
With just over two minutes remaining in the first period, Penn State was sent on its first power play of the game. Rachel Teslak was sent to the penalty box for tripping at 17:53. The best chance for Penn State came off the stick of Maggie MacEachern, who fired a shot from the right circle, forcing goalie Allie Kelley to make the save. Kelley surrendered a rebound in the slot, and the follow-up from Penn State sailed just wide of the net. Unable to capitalize on its power play, Penn State headed to the locker room trailing 1-0 after one period.
Syracuse nearly doubled its lead just under three minutes into the second period as Haley Uliasz seemingly snuck a wrap-around past Bothun. Upon review, the officials determined the puck never crossed the goal line and nearly everyone in the arena could hear the jubilation of the Penn State bench as the official signaled no goal. Play continued with Syracuse maintaining its 1-0 lead.
Penn State was awarded its second power play of the game as it continued to search for its first goal of the contest. Maya D’Arcy was whistled for the tripping penalty and Penn State broke through shortly after. Mya Vaslet crashed the net and attempted a pass to Brianna Brooks, but the puck deflected off the skate of Syracuse defender Jocelyn Fiala and past Kelley at 6:04, tying the contest at 1-1.
Unable to maintain its momentum from the goal, Penn State found itself on the penalty kill as Katelyn Roberts was sent to the penalty for a tripping minor at 9:20. Thanks to strong play from the Penn State penalty kill, Syracuse was stymied and the game remained knotted at one.
Only 27 seconds after the penalty to Roberts expired, Penn State was seemingly once again heading to the power play. Kailey Langefels took a seat as she was whistled for body checking, but an official review was triggered for potential game misconduct on Tessa Janecke. A five-minute major was awarded to Janecke and she was ejected from the game. Maeve Connolly served the penalty for Penn State.
The two minutes of four-on-four play were uneventful as both teams spent much of it in their neutral zones. Facing a three-minute penalty kill, Penn State was bailed out thanks to Teslak getting sent to the penalty box for tripping, leading to yet another two minutes of four-on-four hockey. This round of four-on-four was more eventful, climaxing with a scrum in front of the Syracuse net.
Penn State killed off the remaining minute in the penalty to Janecke and returned to even-strength hockey, with just over three minutes remaining in the second period. Without much action in the final minutes, the horn sounded and the teams headed to the locker room tied 1-1 after two periods.
Darci Johal was sent to the penalty box at 0:11 of the third period, giving Penn State its fifth power play of the night. Despite missing Janecke, Penn State nearly scored multiple times but was unable to solve Kelley. The Nittany Lions had their chances in high-danger areas, but Kelley continued to impress by thwarting each scoring opportunity.
Just over one minute after its unsuccessful power play, Penn State was once again headed to the power play at 3:24. This time, it was D’Arcy serving the penalty. Just 24 seconds in, Penn State surrendered a breakaway to Johal who put a nice move on Bothun to give Syracuse the lead at 3:48 of the third period. Bothun appeared to have hurt herself attempting the save, and she was pulled from the game and replaced by backup Annie Spring. With an injury to Bothun and Janecke’s ejection, Penn State was without two of its stars.
Julie Gough fired a shot from the slot at Kelley that appeared to have been saved with her glove before crossing the goal line, but the officials wanted to take a closer look and issued a review at 10:24. After the lengthy review, the call of no goal stood, and Penn State remained down one goal with under 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Searching for the game-tying goal late in the third, Penn State was sent to the power play at 18:04 with Teslak being sent to the penalty box for a third time. Penn State head coach Jeff Kampersal used his timeout and pulled Springs to best position the Nittany Lions in their search for an equalizer. MacEachern nearly tied the game with under 20 seconds remaining, but her shot from the left circle went just wide of Kelley. Syracuse then retrieved the puck and fired it into the empty net from its defensive zone to make it a 3-1 game.
As the final horn sounded, the Syracuse bench let out screams of joy as they secured the upset and just their second win in CHA play.
Game Two
Penn State was without star goalie Bothun for Sunday’s contest, as she was held out of the lineup after sustaining an injury in game one. Katie DeSa started in place of the injured Bothun.
It was a fast start to game two despite the afternoon start. Vaslet was sent to the penalty box for tripping, sending Syracuse to the power play for the first time in the contest. The Penn State penalty-kill unit suffocated Syracuse, not allowing the Orange to set up anything of substance and kept things easy for DeSa. Christian thought she had scored a short-handed goal to give Penn State the early lead, but an official review upheld the initial call of no goal.
Kelley continued her stellar play from Friday night to begin the game Saturday. Penn State threatened to score a few times, but the Syracuse goalie held strong. Her exclamation point to this stellar start was a sliding save on Roberts in the slot to keep the game scoreless with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first period.
Marielle McHale was sent to the box at 11:58 for tripping, sending Penn State on its first power play of the game after going a mere 1-6 with the advantage in game one. MacEachern nearly beat Kelley with a shot from the slot, but her shot rang off the post and Kelley earned a stoppage in play. Penn State was unable to capitalize on the ensuing face-off, and the power play came to another unceremonious end.
Neither team was able to sustain much of anything in the final minutes of the period and headed to the locker room scoreless at the end of one.
Much like the opening of the first period, Penn State came out flying in period two. It continued to put pressure on Kelley and the Syracuse defenders in its search for the opening goal.
The elusive goal finally came for the Nittany Lions at 5:39 of the second period off the stick of Lyndie Lobdell. She fired a shot from just in front of the center line and it snuck past Kelley. She was promptly tackled by her teammates knowing they had secured the hard-fought 1-0 lead. The Roar Zone loved it, as the students were sent into a frenzy following the goal and broke out its patented post-goal heckling of Kelley.
The Nittany Lions controlled the game in all facets and found themselves on the power play thanks to Charlotte Hallett being sent to the box for elbowing. Penn State nearly doubled its lead with some nifty passing, but the shot from Brooks went just wide of Kelley. The chances were there on the Penn State power plays, but they found themselves unable to convert as Hallett skated back to the Syracuse bench.
Penn State struck again at 14:23 with Alva Johnsson taking a pass in the slot from Brooks and firing it above the glove of Kelley. The goal caps off extended pressure from the Nittany Lions as they have been on the attack for the duration of the period and took complete control of the game.
Just 31 seconds after the goal, Penn State was sent to the power play for the fourth time. Janecke finally put her name on the scoresheet with a one-timer from the right circle after a nice pass from Butze, giving Penn State a commanding 3-0 lead at 15:30. The goal was Janecke’s 10th of the season and a great way to get back on track after her game one ejection.
Going to the locker room with a commanding lead and all of the momentum, Penn State opened the third period looking to close out Syracuse and salvage the series split. In the absence of Bothun, the Nittany Lions made life easy on DeSa.
Penn State began the third period on a mission to protect its lead. Even with the Nittany Lions reverting to a more defensive play style, Syracuse still struggled to possess the puck. Penn State was sent on its fifth power play at 4:05 when D’Arcy was sent to the box for tripping. Nothing came of the advantage for Penn State as D’Arcy skated out of the box and the teams went back to full strength with Penn State continuing to hold its 3-0 lead.
Syracuse appeared to be regaining some momentum but sent Penn State to the power play at 11:41 when Teslak was sent to the box for tripping. If the game wasn’t already over, Vaslet ensured it was with her ninth goal of the season and second of the series at 12:55.
Roberts dished a pass to Vaslet who was camped out in front of Kelley, where Vaslet deflected the pass over the shoulder of Kelley, giving Penn State a 4-0 lead. The power play for Penn State appeared to be gaining steam with two goals in its last three attempts.
Butze decided she wanted to get in on the fun for the Nittany Lions and scored at 18:17 to put her team ahead 5-0. As if scoring a fifth goal wasn’t enough, McHale was sent to the penalty box for body-checking and allowed Penn State to end the game on the power play. This closed to book on an outstanding effort from Penn State as the final horn sounded. The Nittany Lions had likely hoped to leave with a sweep, but the dominant victory was a nice consolation prize.
Takeaways
- Shoutout to Nittany Nation for showing up to support this team in game two as the announced attendance was 1,070. The Penn State Hockey Band rocked the arena throughout, and it was a strong showing for The Roar Zone and fans alike. Get to Pegula, folks.
- After injuring herself late in game one, Bothun sat out game two of the series and it is uncertain just how much time she will miss. Bothun has been a mainstay for Penn State not only this season, but her entire career and a possible extended absence this late in the season would hurt. In the meantime, Kampersal must rely on backups Desa and Spring, who have started in just four combined games this season.
- Game two was as dominant of a performance as you will see in a hockey game from Penn State. It never felt as though Syracuse was in the game, and when the Nittany Lions finally solved Kelley, the floodgates opened. The Nittany Lions outshot Syracuse 53-12 en route to their afternoon win.
- Penn State continues to battle Mercyhurst for first place in the CHA and Nittany Lions cannot afford to drop games to teams like Syracuse. Penn State is the better team and it must beat the teams it is supposed to beat if the club wants to remain atop its conference.
- While she was largely unchallenged throughout the contest, making a mere 12 saves, DeSa did what she needed to on Saturday and gave the Penn State skaters enough confidence to continue attacking on offense. A team down its star goalie may be timid and less willing to take risks on offense, but the play of DeSa kept Penn State from playing this way.
What’s Next?
Penn State will return to Pegula Ice Arena for another CHA showdown with Lindenwood. The games are set for 2 p.m. on Friday, January 26, and 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 27. Both matchups can be streamed on BTN+.
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