No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (1-1) defeated No. 13 Northeastern (1-1) 2-1 on Friday afternoon at Pegula Ice Arena.

Late in the second period, captain Tessa Janecke put the Nittany Lions on the board, and Maddy Christian followed to give Penn State the win.

How It Happened

Rebounding from Thursday night’s 3-1 loss, Mya Vaslet won the faceoff for Penn State, skating into the offensive zone. Moments into the first period, Janecke took a body-checking penalty.

Special teams for Penn State came out much stronger, killing the penalty and allowing two shots on goal for the Huskies.

Killing the penalty allowed the momentum to swing toward the Nittany Lions, who started to dominate on offense. Maddy Christain took the puck in front of the net but was denied by Northeastern goaltender Paige Taborski. Katelyn Roberts tried on the rebound, but Taborski was ready.

Stella Retrum set up for a clear shot between the pipes but went wide right. The Huskies took the puck down to Penn State’s end, but Alyssa Machado put her stick out, getting the puck back for the Nittany Lions.

The Northeastern defense was on top of Penn State, not allowing any player to shoot toward the net.

Kristina Allard took a hooking penalty, putting the Nittany Lions on the power play. Taking more chances than last night, the Nittany Lions kept firing at the net. Time winded down on the advantage and Taborski denied Penn State any chances of scoring. Shots came from Janecke, Roberts, and Kendall Butze.

The puck went back and forth between zones in the last minute of play when Northeastern’s Skylar Irving took it in herself to give the Huskies the lead. Jaden Bogden and Éloïse Caron were on the assist.

At the end of the first, Northeastern led Penn State 1-0, while Penn State led in shots 5-4.

Northeastern took control offensively as the Huskies leisurely skated into Penn State’s end to start the second period. Caron took the puck in herself but was denied by Penn State goaltender Katie DeSa. Ella Blackmore rebounded Caron’s shot but immediately met the gloves of DeSa.

Three minutes into the period, Penn State took the puck back into the offensive zone.

Nicole Hall came up from the right zone but went wide of the net. However, her shot gave Penn State the energy to keep attacking Taborski.

The Penn State defense stepped up throughout the first half of the second period, not letting the puck cross the blue line.

A turnover from Penn State brought the puck into the hands of Northeastern. A huge save from DeSa came when the Huskies shot right into the bread basket. Penn State took the puck back, desperate to even the score. Janecke had a chance but whiffed on her wind-up. Roberts shot the puck in front of the goal, but Taborski was there to stop her.

Skating from the Huskies, Janecke took the puck past Taborski to even the game. With five minutes left in the second, the score was even 1-1.

6:22 | 2nd: Tessa!!! Janecke scores her first goal of the season to even the score at 1-1! #WeArePennState #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/EONeldFcxN

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) September 27, 2024

Vaslet took a call for tripping to put the Nittany Lions back on the penalty kill. Tristan Thompson tried to take the lead back but her shot was blocked by Karley Garcia. The penalty was almost over when Christian broke away, received a sliding pass from Janecke, and put Penn State in the lead for the first time this game.

3:20 | 2nd: MADDY!!!! Christian scores her first goal of the season to give the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead! #WeArePennState #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/rwdkFhOTXO

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) September 27, 2024

Off the excitement, Janecke took an interference call to put Penn State back on special teams. The Nittany Lions took a defensive stance by only allowing one shot at the last minute of the period.

The Huskies started the third period on the power play. The score was 2-1, with Penn State leading 17-13 in shots.

Penn State shone on the penalty kill to start the final frame. The lonesome shot came from Huskie Holly Abela.

The Huskies didn’t give up, though, trying again and again to tie the game. Abela, Irving, and Blackmore wouldn’t let up, but DeSa met them each time. Northeastern was catching up to Penn State on shots, 17-16.

Midway through the third, the Nittany Lions tried to close out the game against the Huskies. Roberts took a shot from in front of the goal but missed, giving Janecke the puck on the rebound where she was met by Taborkki’s stick.

Penn State took control in the last five minutes of the game offensively, with shots coming from Roberts and Hall from behind the net.

Northeastern took Taborski out of the net with one minute to go, desperate to tie the game. The Huskies were unsuccessful, splitting the series with Penn State.

Takeaways

• Penn State took a while to generate offense, with the first goal coming late into the second period. The offense struggled the first half of the game but took off in the second.
• The Nittany Lions led shots for both games, but accuracy was a constant problem.
• Janecke, as a leader, set the tone for the rest of the game with her goal. The captain changed the momentum of the game in her breakaway goal, giving Penn State what they needed to win the game.

What’s Next?

Penn State women’s hockey will compete against UConn at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 4, at Toscano Family Ice Forum.