No. 12 Penn State Women’s Hockey Splits Series Against No. 9 UConn
No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (2-2) split the series this weekend against No. 9 UConn (1-3).
Goals came from Tessa Janecke, Katelyn Roberts, Maddy Christian, Mya Vaslet, Stella Retrum, and Lyndie Lobdell.
Game One
Penn State was strong against UConn to start, firing shots at Husky goalie Tia Chan. Hot after her game-winning goal last weekend, Maddy Christian took her chance from the left but was denied. Five minutes into the game, the Nittany Lions had three shots on goal.
The Huskies did not show any offense in the first half of the first frame. Janecke came from the back of the net, hungry to put the Nittany Lions on the board, but was denied by Chan. Staying in the zone, Leah Stecker came from the right but was blocked by Christina Walker.
UConn started to come alive when Maya Serdchny brought the puck from behind the net, but Christian denied it before reaching the goal. Emma Eryou took the rebound, meeting the gloves of Katie DeSa.
Penn State took back the momentum when Sadie Hotles took a tripping penalty, putting the Nittany Lions on the power play.
The power play looked more productive than last week, generating three shots to put a score on the board for Penn State. Shots came from Kendall Butze, Brianna Brooks, and Janecke. The Husky defense denied any chance for Penn State to score. In the heat of the moment, freshman Abby Stonehouse took an interference penalty.
UConn attacked DeSa, generating shot after shot. Megan Woodworth skated down to score but met DeSa at the end of the ice. Coming from her rebound, Ava Rinker took a shot from the right but met a similar fate as her teammate.
As the power play ended, Penn State kicked into high gear to make up for the penalty. Butze fired two shots but was denied by Chan. Christian then took a call for holding, sending the Huskies back on the advantage.
Penn State took total control, though, on the Husky advantage. Alyssa Machado took the puck from behind the net but missed. Janecke also came from behind to wrap the puck into the net but missed.
The first period ended scoreless with UConn starting the second on the power play.
The Huskies started on the power play but were denied by the Penn State special teams. UConn did not let up, however, and continued shooting at DeSa. Shots came from Livvy Dewar, Sophie Robinson, and Woodworth.
Penn State took control back, racing into the offensive zone. Karley Garcia came up from the middle of the ice to take her chance but was denied by the Husky goaltender.
Positioned in front of the net, sophomore Stella Retrum took the puck from Katelyn Roberts and shot past Chan to score for Penn State.
Coming from excitement, Stecker took a tripping penalty to put the Huskies back on the power play. The Huskies took full advantage of having the upper hand, attacking DeSa, desperate to even the score.
Serdchny came from behind the net to set up the goal for herself but was denied by DeSa. As the penalty came to an end, so did the period.
The Nittany Lions led the Huskies 1-0 going into the final period.
Penn State came out of the locker room ready to put the game away immediately, skating into the UConn zone.
Janecke came from the back to shoot but went wide of the net. Mya Vaslet was in front of the net to tap in the pass that came from Brooks to put the Nittany Lions ahead by two.
To continue the energy, Ashley Allard took a tripping penalty to put Penn State on the power play.
Penn State did not get many opportunities for the advantage, Janecke was the only Nittany Lion to get a shot on Chan.
The power play ended for Penn State and started for UConn when Christian took a tripping penalty.
On the power play, Brianna Ware came up from the blue line to take the rebound in herself to put the Huskies on the board. The penalty ended after the goal.
Penn State did not give up, continuing the campaign to put the game away. Lyndie Lobdell skated up from center ice to meet DeSa’s gloves. To give the team more opportunities, UConn took a penalty for hooking. Janecke and Brooks both took chances but were denied by the Huskies defense.
Claire Murdoch skated down the ice after a breakaway and went through the five-hole, the opposite of what the Nittany Lions wanted on the power play. The game was tied midway through the third.
UConn did not let up or give Penn State the opportunity to pull away and score.
Right away, Brooke Campbell put the puck away to give the Huskies three unanswered goals and the lead for the first time in the game.
Penn State pulled DeSa, but it was not enough to even the score.
Game Two
Penn State did not give up going into the second game of the series, with Roberts, Machado, and Stonehouse trying to score early.
Freshman Grace Tullock came up to the neutral zone to shoot but turned the puck over to the Huskies. DeSa was tested early, getting bombarded with Huskies.
The Nittany Lions took the puck back. Shots came from Christian, Janecke, and Retrum, all going wide with not a lot of control. The team was right at the doorstep of the net but was called for an interference call.
UConn went on the power play for the first time in the game. The Huskies were firing at the net, but Christian took the blocks to deny a goal. The Nittany Lions killed the penalty.
Midway through the first period, Penn State led shots 9-3.
When the Huskies attacked the zone, Penn State met a sea of white jerseys. Sadie Hotles and Serdachny tried on the rebound but DeSa was prepared. Campbell took the puck from the front of the goal and was denied.
Christian and Campbell got into it after the blocked goal, leading to four-on-four hockey late in the first period. Penn State dominated the power play but had nothing to show for it. The first period was coming to a close when the Huskies were back on the power play. Lobdell pushed a Husky into the boards, getting a roughing call.
The second period started with the Huskies on the power play for one minute.
Twenty seconds into the period, Butze joined Lobdell in the penalty box for a cross-checking penalty. The Huskies had the advantage for five-on-three hockey.
Getting through the defense, Christina Walker got through DeSa, scoring the first goal of the game.
Quickly climbing out of the one-goal deficit, Janecke scored a shorthanded goal to even the score.
Looking to find the back of the net on a wrap-around, DeSa killed any hopes of the Huskies taking the lead.
Midway through the second with the game tied, Penn State still led the shots 14-10.
Just after the clock hit 10 minutes left, UConn took a five-minute major penalty after Woodworth made contact with a Nittany Lion into the boards.
At this point in the season, Penn State was 0/10 on the power play. The team had five minutes of uninterrupted ice time to put a dent in the statistic.
Halfway through the major, the Nittany Lions were denied any chance of scoring and even gave the Huskies multiple opportunities to score.
Like last week, Christian jumped on the opportunity of a rebound from Lobdell and scored. This was the first power play goal of the season for Penn State.
The five-minute major came to a close with one goal added for Penn State.
Walker tried for UConn off the release but was denied twice on both shoulders by DeSa.
In the second period, Penn State scored two unanswered goals. The team was given another chance on the power play after a hooking penalty on UConn.
Roberts took the puck top shelf to record a second power play goal for the Nittany Lions.
UConn tried scoring in the last minute of the period but met the Nittany Lion defense, maintaining the lead.
Penn State came onto the ice for the final frame of the series strong, with Roberts generating a shot 30 seconds in.
UConn didn’t let up though, with a shot coming from Dewar. In the favor of the Huskies, freshman Taya Macdonald got an interference call, putting them on the power play.
As a result of the penalty, Meghane Duchesne-Chalifoux wrapped from around the net and scored to put the Huskies back in the game.
Penn State was desperate to not let the same mistake happen from last night, with Janecke firing shots at Chan. The puck flew off the pipe, leading to a turnover for the Huskies. Walker, Allard, and Eryou all took their shots but were denied
Kyla Josifovic hooked a Nittany Lion, leading to another chance for Penn State on the power play.
Christian and Roberts both tried for goals but were unsuccessful.
Midway through the final period of the series, the score was still 3-2, Penn State.
UConn was desperate to tie the game but was still behind the Nittany Lions in shots 32-20.
Penn State kept on top of the offense, maintaining the lead. With three minutes left, UConn pulled Chan, trying to score.
Campbell took a penalty for tripping, denying the Huskies any chance of coming back to tie the game. In the last 10 seconds of the game, Lobdell shot the puck into the net to put the game away.
Penn State won 4-2.
Takeaways
- Special teams finally kick in for the Nittany Lions. The team scored two goals while on the power play. Before game two of the series, Penn State was 0/10 on the power play.
- Maintaining the lead was still a problem for the team. Penn State could not close the night before.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will stay on the road to face off against Union at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 11, in Schenectady, New York.
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