No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (6-3-0) lost to No. 11 Cornell (1-1-1) 2-0 on Friday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, in the Ice Break Tournament.

Penn State was shut out for the first time this season, while Cornell picked up its first win of the season.

How It Happened

Cornell started strong in the first seconds of the first period, dominating the offensive zone and firing shots at Katie DeSa. Captain Tessa Janecke took the puck from the Big Red and shot to get a quick start but was denied.

Cornell took the puck back and fired a shot past DeSa into the net, but the referees waived the goal off due to the play being offside.

Penn State cleared the puck after the no-goal, scrambling not to give Cornell another chance to score. However, Cornell continued to dominate the play eight minutes into the first.

Grace Tullock had a breakaway to tilt the ice back in the Penn State favor. Annelies Bergmann saved her shot, but that play allowed Penn State to bring out fresh skaters for the next offensive draw.

Penn State turned the puck over for a breakaway for Cornell. The puck landed in the gloves of DeSa but continued the momentum for Cornell.

Midway through the first period, Cornell outshot Penn State 5-2.

Penn State continued to dump the puck in the offensive zone unable to get a shot off to generate offense.

Four-on-four hockey action started when roughing was called on Abby Stonehouse for Penn State and Ashley Messier for Cornell.

Alyssa Machado fought for the puck, but the Cornell defense was ready to stop her before she could generate a shot. The penalty trickled down with one shot on goal coming from Penn State.

The Nittany Lions finally had a chance to score when Kendall Butze skated from the top circle to shoot but Bergmann was ready.

With 10 seconds left in the first period, Lily Delianedis for Cornell took advantage of the Nittany Lions floating on defense to skate up and score.

The score was 1-0 with Cornell in the lead at the end of the first.

Penn State came out of intermission with two shots from Stonehouse and Brianna Brooks, where they met Bergmann.

Janecke took the puck, shot it, and tried to get the rebound but was denied, giving the puck back to Cornell. Tiffany Hill took the puck from Janecke’s rebound, getting a good look at the puck, but Bergmann was there to meet her.

Janecke passed the puck to Stella Retrum behind the net to backhand the puck into the net when Bergmann made yet another big save.

Although Penn State was more dominant throughout the second period, Cornell’s defense and goaltending stopped the Nittany Lions from scoring.

Penn State went on the power play for the first time when Cornell was called for slashing.

The Nittany Lions set up on the advantage, but Bergmann continued to be a wall that Penn State couldn’t break through.

Retrum tried a one-timer from Janecke where a Cornell defenseman deflected the puck from reaching the net.

The power play ended for the Nittany Lions with barely any offense brought to the advantage.

Seconds after the Big Red killed the power play, they took another penalty for hooking, putting Penn State back on the power play.

The Nittany Lions still could not get past Bergmann, even on the advantage. Maddy Christian came from around the net but met the glove of Bergmann. That was the only shot for the Nittany Lions on the second power play, making two unsuccessful power plays.

Machado had the puck to shoot in, but the Cornell defense was in front of the net to meet the puck.

Cornell took over on offense when Nicole Hall took a penalty for cross-checking.

The Big Red started to fire shots at DeSa who had a relaxing period due to Penn State dominating on offensive opportunities.

DeSa gloved each shot coming at her, but special teams could not clear the puck into the offensive zone. Cornell generated three shots on goal during the advantage. Penn State killed the power play with 30 seconds left in the second period.

To try to tie the game, Penn State pulled DeSa for the final 10 seconds of the period but was unsuccessful in the attempt to score.

Cornell went into the final frame leading Penn State 1-0.

Penn State quickly took possession of the puck, desperate to even the score in the third period.

Janecke tried to skate in and shoot in front of the net but could not get past Bergmann.

Cornell took the puck back and shot toward DeSa, but Stonehouse blocked the puck from going in. The Big Red tried redirecting the puck into the net when DeSa extended her glove to cover the puck.

Getting the puck back, Janecke took a shot from just in front of the blue line when it went wide of the post. Leah Stecker and Retrum tried both scoring but were denied again by Bergmann.

With a pass from Lyndie Lobdell, Janecke tried to score but lost her edge on the way to the net. Christian came off the wing to shoot on the goal line, but Bergmann was wise to the shot.

Christian was called for holding, putting Cornell on the power play. The Big Red could not set up for the power play when one of their own took a penalty for slashing, which started four-on-four hockey.

The penalty did not give either team a chance to score.

With eight minutes left in the third, Penn State was desperate to even the score. Butze tried herself but was blocked from shooting by the Cornell defense.

Penn State challenged a no-call penalty on Cornell, hoping to go on another power play. The referees determined that there was no penalty on Cornell.

Janecke was fighting to get her shot into the net, but Bergmann was there for any chance she had. Tullock also looked for a spark to tie the game but could not set up her shot.

With less than two minutes left in the game, Penn State pulled DeSa to get an extra skater on the ice.

Butze’s shot was blocked by the Cornell defense when it took the puck from her and shot it down the ice to put the game away. The score was 2-0 in favor of the Big Red.

Time ran down and Penn State could not score, losing the game.

Takeaways

• Penn State could not generate a successful offense with a powerhouse goaltender like Bergmann. Although the Nittany Lions led the Big Red in shots, the puck could not get past her gloves. This kept the Penn State offense from scoring more.
• The power play died down after the past few weeks of being successful. The offense on the advantage looked the same as it did in week one against Northeastern.
• Penn State did not take as many penalties as the team had been in the season. This kept Cornell from mounting attacks as aggressive as the Nittany Lions saw earlier in the season.

What’s Next?

Penn State will take on the loser of Ohio State and Stonehill on Saturday, October 26, at either 1 or 4 p.m.