No. 15 Penn State Women’s Hockey Sweeps Mercyhurst
No. 15 Penn State women’s hockey (18-11-1, 13-3 CHA) swept Mercyhurst (14-15-1, 10-6 CHA) in its biggest series of the 2023-24 season.
Katie DeSa had a shutout in game one and turned in a solid effort in game two while Maggie MacEachern scored in overtime in game two.
How It Happened
Game One
Penn State and Mercyhurst couldn’t get much of anything going during the first five minutes of play, and both teams spent much of it in the neutral zone. When one team did manage to penetrate the opposing defense, it was lucky to fire a puck toward the net before having to cede possession and retreat to the middle of the ice.
As the period raged on, Mercyhurst had its first real scoring chance of the game with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first period. Sofia Nuutinen dished a pass to Vanessa Upson who was skating alone in the slot. Upson fired a one-timer at Katie DeSa, and the Penn State goalie made an impressive glove save to keep the game scoreless.
For Penn State, its first scoring opportunity came off the stick of Tessa Janecke. Katelyn Roberts collected a loose puck near the Penn State bench and fired a cross-ice pass to Janecke, who skated into the Mercyhurst zone uncontested. The ensuing wrist shot from Janecke was fought off by Ena Nystrom, and Mercyhurst cleared the puck away from any further danger.
The Mercyhurst duo of Nuutinen and Upson nearly connected to open the scoring with Upson sending a cross-crease pass to Nuutinen, but the quick shot from Nuutinen was saved by the glove of a lunging DeSa. The Penn State goalie has continued to look sharp in the absence of starting goalie Josie Bothun.
Penn State found itself on the power play for the first time as Mercyhurst was given a penalty for repeated face-off violations at 11:43 of the first period. Spending nearly the entire power play in the Mercyhurst zone, Penn State capitalized and secured the opening goal. Karley Garcia collected a rebound from Lyndie Lobdell’s initial scoring chance. Garcia passed the puck back to Lobdell, who fired a shot from just below the blue line that made its way through traffic and past Nystrom to give Penn State the 1-0 lead at 13:38 of the period.
The Nittany Lions struck again just 38 seconds later as Brianna Brooks sprang Leah Stecker up the ice with a nice pass off of the boards. Stecker then found an oncoming Maddy Christian who put a nice move on Nystrom to double the Nittany Lions’ lead to 2-0 at 14:16. Nystrom made the initial lunging save with the toe of her pad, but Christian promptly put her follow-up shot past the Mercyhurst goalie.
Mercyhurst was given its first power play of the game as Penn State was found to have too many players on the ice at 16:08. The Penn State penalty kill continued its strong play and did not allow Mercyhurst any room to operate, clogging passing lanes and keeping the puck out of its zone.
Penn State nearly scored short-handed as Christian fired a shot at Nystrom, who made the save with her shoulder but could not immediately cover the puck. The loose puck nearly rolled inside the goal post, but it went just wide and Mercyhurst regained possession. The Nittany Lions killed the remaining 30 seconds of the penalty and returned to full strength.
The remaining time ticked off the clock and Penn State would return to its locker room with a 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Nittany Lions needed a strong start and two goals in the opening period of the series did just that.
The first 10 minutes of the second period were eerily similar to the opening minutes of the first period with neither team establishing possession or a presence in the offensive zone. Follow-ups to initial shot attempts were scarce and the defenses held strong.
The best scoring chance of the period came courtesy of Stella Retrum, who took a no-look pass from Janecke and promptly fired a shot at Nystrom. Using her right shoulder, Nystrom fought off the shot and Mercyhurst cleared the puck away and up the ice toward the Penn State zone.
Nystrom settled in after giving up two first-period goals and made an outstanding save with just over three minutes remaining in the second period to keep Mercyhurst’s deficit at two. After making an easy save on a Maggie MacEachern shot from the blue line, Nystrom thwarted the follow-up from Mya Vaslet as she lunged across the crease and kept the puck out with her right pad.
As time continued to dwindle, Penn State finally broke through for its third goal of the contest at 18:38 of the second period. Brooks and Stecker found themselves on a two-on-one with Brooks skating the puck up ice. Brooks attempted a pass to Stecker, who would have had a wide-open net upon receiving the puck, but a diving Megan McKay blocked the pass. Unfortunately for McKay, the deflected puck shot into the air and over the head of Nystrom, finding the back of the net and giving Penn State a 3-0 lead.
Just as the period was about to expire, Mercyhurst found itself heading to its second power play of the game with Garcia being sent to the box for holding at 19:43. After attempting a shot from the point that was blocked by Janecke, Sydney Pederson attempted to skate to the loose puck with Janecke and was called for holding while doing so. Janecke still managed to retrieve the puck and found herself on a breakaway but was stopped by Nystrom. With the penalty to Pederson, the two teams began the third period playing four-on-four hockey.
Beginning with four-on-four play, the start of the third period saw Penn State establish control of the puck to set up its abbreviated power play. This abbreviated time with the player advantage was just 10 seconds, but Penn State made it count. Lobdell attempted a cross-ice pass to Janecke who was camped out near the boards, but it was broken up by Thea Johansson. Janecke scooped up the loose puck and flung a shot at Nystrom, who was unable to make the save giving Penn State a 4-0 lead at 2:01. While not officially a power-play goal, the sequence was set up by the Nittany Lions’ abbreviated advantage.
Penn State continued to apply pressure while maintaining its four-goal lead, as Lexi Bedier nearly scored another goal for the Nittany Lions with just over 10 minutes remaining in the contest. Bedier put a nice move on a Mercyhurst defender and got in alone with Nystrom. The ensuing backhanded shot went just wide and the Penn State lead remained four.
Penn State found itself on the power play as Henlee Mahoney was sent to the penalty box for body-checking at 10:21. Looking to extend their lead further, the Nittany Lions continued to put pressure on Mercyhurst. The Lakers nearly scored shorthanded as Sarah Boucher rushed up the ice and fired a shot from the right circle at DeSa, but the Penn State goalie made the save to keep the Penn State lead at four. Mercyhurst settled in after this opportunity and killed the remaining penalty to Mahoney.
Just after the penalty to Mahoney expired Penn State would head to the power play as Stecker was sent to the box for tripping at 12:30, sending Mercyhurst to its third power play. Intent on keeping its lead, the Penn State penalty kill did its job and shut down any glimmer of opportunity for Mercyhurst. Key blocks from Retrum and the other penalty killers clogging passing lanes made things easy for DeSa.
The final five minutes merely solidified Penn State’s dominant win, and as the final horn sounded, the Nittany Lions would head into game two with a commanding four-point lead over Mercyhurst in the conference standings.
Game Two
Knowing it must leave Pegula with a split to remain within striking distance of first place, Mercyhurst came out of the gates flying on offense. The Lakers spent much of the first minutes of the game dominating within Penn State’s zone and maintaining possession when Penn State should’ve been able to clear the puck away.
Despite a slow start from the Nittany Lions, they continued to weather the Mercyhurst onslaught and began to turn the tide of the period. Penn State got its legs as the halfway point of the period approached, with Lobdell having a nice chance from the point that was swept away by Nystrom.
Mercyhurst was awarded its first power play of the afternoon as Bedier was sent to the box for tripping at 16:49. The Lakers moved the puck with ease, but the Penn State penalty kill clogged any shooting lanes and blocked nearly every attempt at the net from the Lakers. Climaxing with a scramble for the puck in front of DeSa, Penn State escaped the Bedier penalty unscathed and went back to full strength.
As the action continued to pick up, Penn State found itself on the power play for the first time thanks to Makayla Javier being sent off for holding at 19:02. The abbreviated power play for Penn State yielded some chances, but the horn sounded and the Nittany Lions headed to the locker room with 1:02 left on the power play.
Penn State was unable to take advantage of its power play to begin the second period and Mercyhurst killed off the remaining penalty to Javier. Continuing a theme from the opening period, Penn State’s passing was not as crisp as it needed to be if the Nittany Lions wanted to leave the weekend with a sweep.
Searching for the opening goal, Janecke skated into the Mercyhurst zone and delivered an impressive back-handed pass to an onrushing Roberts. The Penn State forward nearly put the Nittany Lions ahead 1-0, but Nystrom once again denied Penn State and kept the game scoreless.
Penn State appeared to be heading to heading to the power play at 6:35 thanks to a trip from Javier, but the penalty was overturned after a coach’s challenge. Penn State was found to be offside when the penalty occurred and the teams remained at full strength.
Mercyhurst finally solved DeSa just 14 seconds later as Nuutinen dished a nice pass to Upson, who got her shot past the Penn State goalie to give the Lakers the opening goal at 6:49.
On the ensuing face-off, Mercyhurst struck again with Johansson firing a shot past DeSa to give Mercyhurst the 2-0 lead at 7:07. Penn State went from receiving a power play with a chance to take the lead to down two goals in just under one minute.
Mercyhurst has shut down the middle of the ice for the duration of the first two periods, causing Penn State to operate on the edges and not get the scoring chances the Nittany Lions are used to having. Whether it is Janecke, Vaslet, or Roberts, Penn State cannot maintain possession in the offensive zone and has had to retreat after only managing an initial shot on Nystrom.
Penn State headed to the locker room at the end of two periods down 2-0 and searching for a goal to regain momentum in the game.
Head coach Jeff Kampersal began the third period with Penn State’s top line in an attempt to claw its way back into the game. This line, and more specifically Janecke, spent much of the opening minutes of the third period on the ice as Penn State searched for its first goal.
The Nittany Lions found themselves on the power play thanks to Mary Sweetapple being sent to the penalty box for body-checking at 8:27. The ensuing power play yielded constant pressure for Penn State, something they hadn’t had since the second period. Penn State finally solved Nystrom as the power play expired, with Stecker firing a shot past Nystom to cut the deficit to one at 10:27.
Kampersal pulled DeSa with just under two minutes remaining in the game as Penn State tried to tie the game. Just after pulling DeSa, Penn State would head to the power play Mahoney being sent to the box for tripping at 18:20, giving Penn State a six-on-four advantage. Just 23 seconds later, Brooks took a loose puck at the end boards and skated into the left circle, then fired a shot over the shoulder of Nystrom to give the Nittany Lions the tying goal at 18:43.
Mercyhurst nearly scored again as time expired but was unable to score the go-ahead goal, meaning the contest headed to overtime. Penn State went into the third period appearing to be heading for a split, but the Nittany Lions battled back.
Overtime was over just as quickly as it began as the Nittany Lions immediately found themselves in the Mercyhurst zone. Tessa Janecke skated into the zone and dished a pass to Roberts. Roberts quickly passed the puck to MacEachern who fired a one-timer past Nystrom to give Penn State the game-winning goal, sending the Penn State faithful into a frenzy. MacEachern’s goal came just 19 seconds into overtime.
Takeaways
- After its win on Friday, Penn State secured its spot in the CHA Tournament. The Nittany Lions will have a chance to win their second consecutive conference championship should they win the tournament.
- Highlighted by her 22-save shutout on Friday night, DeSa continued to impress in the absence of Bothun. Since taking over for the star goalie, DeSa has given up two goals or less in all five of her starts while notching two shutouts. Additionally, the Nittany Lions are 5-0 in games started by DeSa since the Bothun injury.
- With the sweep against Mercyhurst, the Nittany Lions now hold a six-point lead over the Lakers in the CHA standings. Only two weekends remain in regular-season play and Penn State is in the driver’s seat for yet another regular season championship.
- All season, the Nittany Lions have dominated in the shots on goal column against opponents and this series was no different. Penn State outshot Mercyhurst 70-41 en route to the sweep.
What’s Next?
Penn State women’s hockey will head on the road for another conference showdown with Robert Morris. The games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, February 9, and at 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 10.
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