No. 14 Penn State Women’s Hockey Falls To Robert Morris
No. 14 Penn State women’s hockey (18-12-2, 13-4-1 CHA) fell to Robert Morris (12-17-1, 9-8-1 CHA) in its weekend showdown with the Colonials.
Brianna Brooks had three goals for the Nittany Lions and Tessa Janecke recorded three points in the series.
How It Happened
Game One
Aiming to gain momentum early, Penn State had its first scoring chance just over six minutes into the first period as Brooks dished a cross-ice pass to an on-rushing Maddy Christian. The ensuing shot was from Christan was saved by Maggie Hatch, but the chance marked the beginning of a flurry of opportunities for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State found itself on the first power play of the game thanks to Carolina Hall being sent to the penalty for boarding at 7:36. The Nittany Lions kept possession and put pressure on Hatch for the duration of the power play, but the Robert Morris penalty kill held strong and the teams returned to even strength.
Still searching for the first goal of the game, Janecke took control of the puck at center ice and rushed into the Robert Morris zone. Janecke attempted to send a pass through to Stella Retrum, but the pass was deflected by Chloe Puddifant. Unfortunately for the Colonials, the deflected puck squeaked past Hatch and Janecke secured the opening goal for Penn State at 13:35.
Continuing to ride its momentum from the first goal, Penn State headed back to the power play as Mya Neugent was sent to the penalty box for high sticking at 14:39. Much like its first power play, Penn State held possession in its offensive zone and fired numerous shots at Hatch, but the Robert Morris penalty kill did just enough to keep the Nittany Lions off of the scoreboard.
Robert Morris nearly tied the game with just under two minutes remaining in the first period as Alaina Giampietro tested Lyndie Lobdell to get in tight against Katie DeSa. The Penn State goaltender once again came up with the big save and allowed the Nittany Lions to head to their locker room clinging to a 1-0 lead.
As the second period began, Robert Morris came out of its locker room threatening to tie the game at one. The Colonials spent much of the first half of the period in the Penn State zone and peppered DeSa with shots, forcing her to make tough saves.
The Colonials were rewarded for their constant pressure with their first power play of the game, as Lobdell was sent to the box for tripping at 6:37. Penn State immediately punched back with a quick shorthanded goal off of the stick of Alyssa Machado. Janecke and Machado were sprung on a two-on-one where the star forward dished a cross-crease pass to Machado who put Penn State ahead 2-0 just 14 seconds into the penalty to Lobdell.
Now down two, Robert Morris searched for a quick answer with the remainder of its power play and they got just that. Morgan Giannone received a pass in the left faceoff circle from Hall and skated uncontested into the middle of the ice, where she fired a shot over the right shoulder of DeSa to cut the Penn State lead to 2-0 at 8:22.
Just 46 seconds later, Robert Morris struck again, this time courtesy of Janelle Evans. The Robert Morris forward scooped up a loose puck in front of DeSa and snuck the ensuing shot past DeSa to tie the game at 8:56. Just after the goal, Leah Stecker found herself on a breakaway, but her shot was saved by Hatch.
Penn State headed back to the power play as Lindsey Smolen was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at 10:33. Once again, the Nittany Lions threatened but were unable to solve the Colonials’ penalty kill.
Continuing an eventful period, Penn State regained its lead at 13:40 thanks to Mya Vaslet cleaning up a Maggie MacEachern shot from the point to make it 3-2. A mere 43 seconds later, the Nittany Lions scored again to widen their lead to 4-2. Karley Garcia and Brooks rushed up the ice on a two-on-one, where Brooks tipped home a nice cross-crease pass from Garcia over the glove of Hatch.
With just under two minutes remaining in the second period, Robert Morris once again turned up the heat on Penn State. Giannone rushed into the zone and dished a pass to Madison Primeau, who fired another pass to Thalia D’Elia. D’Elia attempted to tip the puck past DeSa, but the Penn State goalie lunged over to make another highlight-reel save and the game remained 4-2.
The horn sounded signaling the end of the period, and Penn State headed into the final period of game one with a two-goal lead.
As the third period began, neither team got much of anything going on offense, and the opening minutes were spent in the neutral zone. Neither team was having success completing its passes as this contributed to the amount of time spent in the neutral zone.
Penn State seemed content with protecting its two-goal lead as the halfway mark of the final period approached. Contrasting with its usual attacking style of hockey, the Nittany Lions continued to sit back and pass the puck between the defenders to bleed time off of the clock.
Robert Morris secured the first scoring chance of the period and didn’t squander the opportunity. Hall scooped up a loose puck and skated into the Penn State zone, then dropped a pass back for Neugent who fired a shot over the glove of DeSa to cut the Colonials’ deficit to one at 10:45.
Just 20 seconds later Penn State had an opportunity to extend its lead back to two as the Nittany Lions would head to the power play. Shailynn Snow was sent to the penalty box for slashing. Once again, Penn State couldn’t capitalize, and play returned to full strength with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
As his team searched for the equalizer, Robert Morris head coach Logan Bittle pulled Hatch to give his team the extra skater. This advantage paid off for the Colonials as Neugent tied the game 4-4 at 19:10. Neugent took a pass from D’Elia and fired a shot through heavy traffic past DeSa. The final 50 seconds ticked off the clock and the game headed to overtime.
Penn State began overtime with an outstanding chance off of the stick of MacEachern, who took a nice chip pass from Katelyn Roberts and got in close on Hatch. The Colonials goalkeeper made the save on the ensuing shot, and Penn State continued its search for the winning goal.
Robert Morris answered with two outstanding chances of its own off the stick of Snow. Her initial shot was an easy save for DeSa, but Snow picked up her rebound and had an open net on the ensuing wrap-around. The wrap-around attempt miraculously went off the skate of DeSa and play continued.
Penn State and Robert Morris traded chances in the final minute of overtime with both Hatch and DeSa making huge saves on two-on-ones at both ends. Time expired and the opening game of the weekend set ended in a 4-4 tie.
Game Two
Trying to rebound after blowing two multi-goal leads in game one, Penn State came out of the gate flying and determined to ensure it left the weekend with one win, and more importantly the CHA regular-season title. The Nittany Lions peppered Emma Gorski with shots from all angles in the opening minutes, but the Robert Morris goalie stood firm.
Penn State’s best chance of the opening 10 minutes came off the stick of Christian, who scooped up a rebound from a Garcia shot. Stationed directly in front of Gorski, Christian fired a shot that nearly got by the Robert Morris goalie, but she recovered and the game remained scoreless.
Robert Morris got its legs with five minutes remaining in the first period and forced DeSa to make tough saves. The best chance of the sequence came off of the stick of Snow, who deked around multiple Penn State defenders and got a shot away as she fell to the ice. Fortunately for Penn State, the shot deflected wide of DeSa and the Nittany Lions quickly cleared the puck away.
As time dwindled in the period, Penn State secured the opening goal and found itself one step closer to securing the regular-season CHA title. Christian fired a shot at Gorski and the goaltender made the easy save. However, Gorski could not secure the rebound and a camped-out Brooks scooped up the puck and put it into the back of the net to give Penn State the 1-0 lead at 17:23.
Looking to expand upon its lead, Penn State found itself on the power play for the first time in game two as Primeau was sent to the box for holding at 18:20. Continuing a theme from the first game of the series, Penn State maintained control in its offensive zone and put pressure on Gorski but was unable to finish. The Nittany Lions will have 20 seconds of carry-over time as the second period begins.
Penn State was unable to do anything with the final seconds of its power play to begin the second, and the teams returned to full strength. The Nittany Lions continued to be gifted opportunities as Robert Morris took penalty after penalty, but Penn State couldn’t capitalize.
Nearly expanding the Penn State lead to two, Garcia took the puck skated around Gorski, and then fired a wrap-around shot at the goaltender which was saved. Gorski couldn’t control the rebound and the loose puck nearly got by her, but a Robert Morris defender fell on it and got a whistle to stop play.
Penn State headed to its second power play of the game as Neugent was sent to the box at 7:03 for hooking Vaslet at center ice. After struggling to finish its chances with the power play for much of the series, Penn State converted on its sixth power play of the series. Kayla Butze took a loose puck in between the face-off circles and fired a slap shot past Gorski to double the Penn State lead to 2-0 at 7:34.
Only 35 seconds after the goal, Penn State headed to the penalty kill for the first time as Stecker was sent to the box for tripping at 7:59. Needing a goal, Robert Morris took advantage of the power play and cut its deficit back to one. Giampietro was left alone at the top of the left faceoff circle where she unleashed a wrist shot through traffic and past DeSa to cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to 2-1 at 8:46.
Hoping to build on its momentum with the skater advantage, Penn State once again found itself on the power play as Hall was sent to the box for body checking. The Nittany Lions converted with the advantage for a second consecutive time to widen its lead to two. Janecke attempted a pass to Vaslet from behind the net, but it never arrived and was tipped by a defender. The puck went right to the stick of Brooks who promptly put it into the back of the net for her second goal of the game at 12:08 to give Penn State a 3-1 lead.
Robert Morris immediately answered with a goal of its own to return its deficit to one goal. Primeau rushed into the Penn State zone with the puck and fired what appeared to be a harmless shot at DeSa from the right circle. The Penn State goalie made the save but was unable to hold onto the puck and it trickled behind her, where Primeau was able to finish the job and cut the Penn State lead to 3-2 at 13:29.
The Colonials were given a chance to tie the game with just under four minutes remaining in the second period. Garcia was sent to the box for tripping at 16:10 and the Nittany Lions would head to the penalty kill. Penn State found far more success on this kill, as it spent just as much time with the puck as it did without it. Janecke nearly scored short-handed as she rushed up the ice and fired a shot at Gorski, but it went just wide of the right post. The Nittany Lions killed the remainder of the penalty and returned to full strength.
Only six seconds after the penalty to Garcia expired, Robert Morris scored to even up the game. Evans picked up a loose puck in the left circle and fired a slapshot past DeSa to tie the game at 18:16. In what felt like an episode of deja vu, Penn State blew multiple two-goal leads in consecutive games.
The Nittany Lions escaped the second period without further damage, but Robert Morris had the home crowd behind them with all of the on-ice momentum.
Thompson was ejected from the game just 40 seconds into the final period, causing Bittle to scream at officials while voicing his displeasure with the call. Despite the dissatisfaction with the ejection, the call stood upon review, and Thompson headed to the Robert Morris locker room.
Tempers continued to flare as post-whistle scrums became common while the period progressed. Gorski covered the puck to get a stoppage in play, and a scrum broke out in front of the net ending with a Robert Morris player shoving Stecker.
Near the halfway point of the third period, Penn State continued its assault in the Robert Morris zone with more consistent pressure. Janecke fired a backhanded pass from the point that found Roberts in front of the net, but Gorski made the sliding save to keep the game knotted at three.
Searching for the go-ahead goal, Penn State was awarded a penalty shot at 11:17 as Puddifant tripped Christian to prevent a breakaway. Staring down Gorksi, Christian skated in and attempted to go five hole on the goalie, firing a quick wrist shot that was gobbled up, keeping the score 3-3.
Penn State found itself headed to the penalty kill with just under two minutes remaining in regulation as Alva Johnsson was sent to the box for interference at 18:08. Despite continuously cycling the puck, Robert Morris couldn’t sustain any real pressure before time expired in regulation, and as a result, game two headed to overtime.
It was an eventful start to overtime for Penn State as Janecke found herself on two breakaways within 30 seconds, both of which were saved by Gorski.
Evans scooped up a loose puck and skated all alone in on DeSa, where she snuck a shot through the legs of the Penn State goalie to give Robert Morris the 4-3 win. Penn State could’ve secured its conference with a win but will instead head back to State College searching for answers.
Takeaways
- It’s a cause for concern any time a team blows one multi-goal lead, but for Penn State, this happened a gaudy four times in its series. Robert Morris is a solid hockey team, but Penn State is better and has further postseason aspirations. With just one series remaining before the CHA Tournament, this ordeal must be a blip on the radar for the Nittany Lions.
- After a disappointing series in Pittsburgh, Penn State must wait to close out its competition in conference play until next weekend. A win in game two would have given the Nittany Lions their second consecutive regular season title.
- You must give credit where it is due, and after getting the nod in game two, Gorski did not disappoint for Robert Morris as she made an incredible 65 saves on 68 shots to beat the Nittany Lions. Finishing has been an issue from time to time for Penn State, and this is yet another area the Nittany Lions must improve upon before beginning postseason play.
What’s Next?
Penn State will close out its regular season with a weekend series against CHA rival RIT at Pegula Ice Arena. The games will take place at 2 p.m. on Friday, February 16, and 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 17. Both games can be streamed on BTN+
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