No. 12 Penn State Women’s Hockey Defeats Syracuse 5-2
No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (9-3, 2-0-0) defeated Syracuse (2-9, 0-2-0) 5-2 on Friday afternoon at Pegula Ice Arena.
Lauren Barbro was in the net for Penn State. Scores came from Maddy Christian, Abby Stonehouse, Leah Stecker, and Stella Retrum.
How It Happened
Syracuse won the face-off to start off the second game, continuing the intensity from the night before.
Tessa Janecke took the puck back from the Orange to get the first shot on goal for the night. Tiffany Hill skated up to the net and put the puck into the center of Allie Kelley.
Penn State then lost the edge, returning the puck to Syracuse. Nicole Hall was called for hooking for the first power play of the evening. The Nittany Lions killed the power play with a couple of breakaway chances.
Brianna Brooks, who had the overtime-winning goal in the previous game, tried passing the puck to Janecke but was intercepted by the Orange. This led to Syracuse taking a penalty for body-checking.
Penn State could not set up on the power play, barely putting any shots toward the net as time ran down on the Nittany Lions’ first advantage.
The Orange tried scoring themselves but could not get a grip on the puck. Stella Retrum intercepted the puck, bringing it into the offensive zone, where she lost her stick in the process.
The Penn State power play returned after the Orange were called for slashing.
Maddy Christian positioned herself in front of the net to bounce the puck in, making the score 1-0.
The Nittany Lions continued on the attack, keeping the puck in the offensive zone. Getting too excited, Mckenna Walsh took a penalty for interference. Time winded down in the first period with a minute left in the Orange power play.
Penn State led shots 13-4 and the score 1-0 at the end of the first.
Syracuse started on the power play and quickly capitalized on it, scoring in front of the net on the advantage.
Right after the Orange scored, four-on-four hockey began due to a holding call on Grace Outwater and an interference call on Syracuse.
Neither team could set up for the power play until Janecke tried shooting from the side of the net, meeting Kelley. Both teams killed the penalty.
Katelyn Roberts came from behind the net to take her chance but went wide of the net.
Janecke and a Syracuse player collided, turning into a penalty review for boarding. The referees determined that the call stood, ejecting the Penn State captain and giving the Orange a five-minute major. Tensions in Pegula started to rise.
Penn State special teams came through, breaking up passes from going toward the net on the major. The Nittany Lions cleared the puck multiple times and even took a couple of shots of their own.
Toward the end of the major, Syracuse took a penalty for tripping. Brooks had a good look with the puck barely missing the end of the crease to take the lead.
Penn State continued to look promising during the second power play of the game, setting up shots. The power play was killed, but Syracuse went back into the box after a slashing call.
Although this was the third chance on the power play for the Nittany Lions, the team could not set up enough to take the lead. Syracuse killed the penalty.
Brooks skated between the Orange into the offensive zone, losing the chance to score when the puck was turned over.
The last minute of play in the second period was all Syracuse. The Orange kept firing at Barbo, though she kept stopping each one.
The second period ended tied with Penn State leading in shots 26-16.
Brooks intercepted the pass from the Orange and set up Retrum to shoot, but she could not get a handle on the bouncing puck.
Keeping up the energy, Abby Stonehouse came from around the corner and flicked the puck in to take the lead early in the third.
Alyssa Machado then took a penalty for cross-checking, putting Syracuse back on the power play. Ten seconds into the power play, the Orange took a penalty of their own for interference.
Both teams could not get a solid chance throughout four-on-four hockey.
Midway through the final frame, Penn State was still dominating on shots 27-17.
As the period hit the midway point, the Nittany Lions took over offensively. Stecker positioned herself for a one-timer as the puck flew past Kelley into the back of the net to make the score 3-1.
Seconds later, Retrum broke away on a pass from Grace Tullock to hammer the puck past Kelley.
However, Syracuse skated down and put the puck in to keep the score close at 4-2.
Hill tried extending the lead but met the gloves of Kelley. Retrum then passed the puck to Brooks to shoot the puck in but Kelley elbowed it away.
Syracuse was desperate to bring the game back within reach, attacking Barbro.
The Orange were called for roughing, putting the Nittany Lions on the power play for the last time this series. Christian put the game away with a power play goal with less than one minute to go in the game.
Takeaways
- The power play looked stronger in this game. Christian had two power-play goals in the first period and third periods.
- The penalty kill allowed a power-play goal. This allowed the Orange to tie the game early in the second period.
- Discipline still seems to be a recurring issue for the Nittany Lions. Penn State took six penalties in the second game.
What’s Next?
Penn State will go on a bye-week before facing Lindenwood at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 15, at Pegula Ice Arena.
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