No. 12 Penn State Women’s Hockey Shuts Out Robert Morris 4-0
No. 12 Penn State women’s hockey (13-3, 6-0 AHA) beat Robert Morris (5-10-1, 0-4-1 AHA) 4-0 Saturday afternoon in Pegula Ice Arena.
Katie DeSa and Maggie Hatch were in their respective nets for Penn State and Robert Morris. DeSa shut out Robert Morris for the entire weekend.
How It Happened
Penn State continued the intense energy right off the bat, winning the face-off to start the last game of the series.
Penn State controlled the puck for the game’s first four minutes while firing at Hatch. The shots came from Leah Stecker, Brianna Brooks, and Tessa Janecke.
The puck quickly went to the Colonials after an icing call. After a turnover, Penn State took the puck back, asserting themselves early into the game.
Robert Morris took a hooking penalty to put the Nittany Lions on the power play after going 1-4 on the advantage in the previous game. However, after excessive review, the referees determined that Penn State was charged with a five-minute major for butt-ending. This was a major momentum swing for the Colonials.
On the four-on-four, Alyssa Machado deflected a shot from Grace Tullock to the back of the goal to strike first.
After time winded down on the four-on-four, Robert Morris remained on the power play for three minutes. The Nittany Lion special teams were on top of the Colonial offense, limiting the shots going toward DeSa.
The power play was unsuccessful for Robert Morris, cementing the dominance Penn State brought to the series.
Kendall Butze lost her edge going toward the net, and on the play, Janecke returned to the sin bin, putting Robert Morris back on the power play.
DeSa met every puck with her glove, blocking any chance Robert Morris had at scoring. The penalty was killed by the Nittany Lion special teams.
Tiffany Hill skated down the ice and passed the puck to Maddy Christian who thought her puck went to the back of the net. After review, the referees waived the goal off, giving Hatch an impressive save.
With two minutes left in the first period, the Colonials could not keep the puck in their zone. Brianna Brooks tried to wrap around the net but Hatch was there to meet her.
The period ended with Penn State leading 1-0 and 15-11 in shots.
The second period started in favor of the Nittany Lions, with Janecke trying to slip the puck in past Hatch. She was denied, but that didn’t stop Penn State from continuing domination.
Butze lost her pass to the Colonials, but DeSa had the shot covered up. Robert Morris was knocking the DeSa’s door but she was ready for each shot.
Janecke continued her physical play by taking the puck back and trying to pass the puck to Hill for a goal. Nicole Hall tried a wrap-around but was not successful on the try.
Penn State went back on the power play after Robert Morris was called for hooking. The Nittany Lions struggled to set up at first, not taking any shots. After settling on the advantage, Butze shot from the top of the circle to extend the lead to 2-0.
Abby Stonehouse was called for slashing, with the penalties adding up for the Nittany Lions throughout the season.
Penn State was all over the Robert Morris offense, especially Machado, staying on top of the Colonials. The penalty was killed by the Nittany Lions special teams.
The Nittany Lions continued the power-play campaign, with Robert Morris being called for high sticking. However, after review, the penalty was ruled a five-minute major.
Christian and Brooks each took their chances to score but were denied by Hatch. Christain tried on the rebound, which caused a scuffle between the Nittany Lions and Colonials.
With less than a minute left, Katelyn Roberts tried to sneak the puck in, but Hatch was ready for her.
The second period ended with Penn State continuing to lead the game 2-0 and shots 32-14.
Penn State will start the final frame on the power play.
The pressure from the Colonials helped them kill the major power play to start the final period. Robert Morris continued to try to score on DeSa but couldn’t get the puck through the net.
Hill was called for a tripping penalty, putting Robert Morris on their fifth power play of the day. The Colonials are 0-4 on the power play.
The Penn State special teams showed up for the fifth time, denying Robert Morris any chance of cutting the score in half. After an unsuccessful power play, the Colonials took their own tripping penalty.
Janecke could not control her rebound, sending it down the ice for a clear. Hill tried to skate it down her own but Hatch continued to block the shots.
The power play was killed by the Colonials. Grace Tullock took a shot from the blue line but it was deflected by Hatch. She tried on the rebound but this time, Hatch gloved the puck.
Stecker fought to keep the puck in the Penn State offensive end to keep Robert Morris from having a chance to score.
With ten minutes left in the third period, Penn State continued to dominate the game.
On a two-on-one, Grace Outwater extended the Nittany Lions lead to 3-0 after a pass from Christian. This was her seventh goal of the season.
After the goal, the referees reviewed a collision between players to see if there was a need for a call, They ruled that there was no need and Robert Morris called Hatch to the bench for an advantage.
A couple of almost empty-net goals for the Nittany Lions caused the Colonials to put Hatch back in the net with three minutes left in the third period.
As soon as time winded down to two minutes left, the Robert Morris coach had to make the hard decision to pull Hatch again.
Despite having an extra skater, Robert Morris could not scramble to find the back of the net, fearing they would be shut out in back-to-back games.
Machado committed a slashing penalty, putting the Colonials on the advantage with six-on-four hockey. Being frazzled trying to score, Robert Morris was called for holding.
Hatch was still out of the net when Janecke skated down to walk the puck in to put the game away for the Nittany Lions.
Time winded down, and Robert Morris could not manage to score on the weekend.
Takeaways
- The penalties will continue to be costly for the Nittany Lions. Although Robert Morris was unsuccessful in the power play, six penalties in one game could create a problem in the future.
- DeSa had a banner weekend. She did not allow a single goal the entire series against Robert Morris. In the second game, she was 24-for-24.
- The offense had a series. With nine goals on the weekend, Penn State was able to dominate the Colonial defense.
What’s Next?
Penn State women’s hockey will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to compete in the Smashville Women’s Collegiate Hockey Showcase. The Nittany Lions will open the tournament against Merrimack at 4 p.m. on Friday, November 29.
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