No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (5-2-0) defeated Dartmouth (0-1-0) 2-0 on Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

The game was scoreless for the first two periods. Penn State broke the tie in the third period and iced the game with an empty-netter to seal the win.

How It Happened

Penn State won the opening faceoff and dumped the puck into Dartmouth’s zone. However, the Big Green quickly turned it over and took a shot on goal, which Katie Desa deflected.

Abby Stonehouse took a tripping penalty five minutes into the game. Despite the one-skater advantage, Dartmouth didn’t take a single shot on goal.

Penalties were a prominent part of the first two periods. Penn State had three, while Dartmouth had two.

Dartmouth goaltender Michaela Hesová dominated the opening two periods in her first career start. The Prague, Czech Republic, native had 23 saves, including several close denials against oncoming Nittany Lion rushes in the second period.

Meanwhile, Desa held her own. She only made 12 saves in the first two periods, and the Big Green didn’t mount any highly dangerous challenges.

Finally, at 8:02 in the third period, Penn State broke the ice. Nicole Hall tapped the puck past Hesová to make it 1-0 Nittany Lions in an unassisted, even-strength goal. The play was received, but the call stood for the Swede’s second goal of the season.

Maddy Christian got a breakaway off a turnover. She charged towards Hesová, who saved the attempt with ease. Dartmouth responded with a near-goal, but Desa kept the Big Green at bay.

Tessa Janecke scored an empty-netter with 27 seconds left in the game, sealing a 2-0 Penn State win.

Takeaways

• Both goaltenders played outstanding games. Hesová was especially dominant, with 41 saves. That’s pretty good for a first career start.
• Execution was a problem for the Nittany Lions. Several passes either weren’t accurate, or shots were off-point.
• Penn State took four penalties. Discipline is important and will need to be addressed in order to help win more games.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions and Big Green finish the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 19, at Pegula Ice Arena.