No. 12 Penn State Women’s hockey (16-4-1, 8-0-0 AHA) defeated Bemidji State (4-16-1, 2-12 WCHA) and No. 3 Minnesota (15-4-1, 9-4-1 WCHA) over the weekend in the East West Showcase.

On Friday, the Nittany Lions overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Beavers while on Saturday the team came out firing and put up four goals in the first period of a 6-2 win over the Golden Gophers.

Game One

The Nittany Lions got off to a quick start on Friday as Maddy Christian fired a shot at Bemidji State goaltender Eva Filippova less than a minute into the game. After a few shots from the Beavers, Makenna Deering was booked for roughing and the Nittany Lions went on the power play.

After three shots on the advantage, Leah Stecker was called for bodychecking and after a brief period of four-on-four action, the Beavers had a power play of their own. Morgan Smith cashed in on the penalty off a feed from Kate Johnson and Bemidji State led 1-0 with a little over thirteen minutes remaining in the period.

Back-and-forth action followed with both teams trading shots before Grace Outwater found the back of the net and evened the score with 5:57 left in the frame.

Bemidji State struck again with just six seconds left in the period after Isa Goettl beat Katie DeSa and gave the Beavers a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.

Makenna Deering was called for a high stick 11 seconds into the period as the Nittany Lions went back on the power play. There was nothing doing for Penn State’s special teams as they managed three shots. Full-strength hockey didn’t last long and Grace Outwater was called for a hook and the Beavers went back on the power play.

Bemidji State’s power play struck and Genevieve Hendrickson pushed the lead to 3-1. Nearly five minutes later, Penn State pulled back to within one off of an Abby Stonehouse goal that made the score 3-2.

After an offensive flurry of shots from the Beavers, Stecker tied the game at three apiece on a shot from the top right slot. McKenna Walsh was called for hooking, giving Bemidji State another power play, but they couldn’t connect.

After the Penn State kill Riley Reeves was called for interference and Penn State went on a player advantage. The Nittany Lions couldn’t find the back of the net and the teams skated into the third period tied at three.

Penn State took its first lead of the game with a little over 14 minutes left in the game after Tessa Janecke snapped a shot on the net and beat Filippova. Five minutes later, Outwater struck again and the Nittany Lions found themselves with a two-goal lead heading into the final nine minutes of play.

Izy Fairchild got one back for the Beavers with three and a half minutes left, but it wasn’t enough as Alyssa Machado hit the empty net and secured a 6-4 win to open the East West Showcase.

Game Two

Janecke won the opening faceoff over Minnesota, but the Golden Gophers registered the first shot of the game.

After trading shots through the first four minutes, Stella Retrum got the Nittany Lions on the board with a shot from in front of the net. The Nittany Lions piled on with a goal from Outwater only three minutes later.

Minnesota managed sustained pressure in the offensive zone, registering four shots, but Stonehouse beat Golden Gopher goaltender Hannah Clark and pushed the lead to 3-0 before the midpoint of the first period.

Minnesota called an early timeout and had another stint in the offensive zone. Christian took the puck and scored on the other end, though, and the Nittany Lions quickly found themselves up 4-0.

Nicole Hall was called for tripping and Minnesota went to the power play with just over four minutes left in the period. The Golden Gophers had six shots on the advantage but couldn’t beat DeSa as the period expired.

Minnesota began the second period with a shot and the team proceeded to trade possessions before Outwater was called for a trip and the Golden Gophers went back on the power play.

Sydney Morrow beat DeSa early on in the advantage and the Nittany Lions lead was cut to 4-1. Just 45 seconds later, Retrum scored her second of the game and put Penn State back in front by four at 5-1.

The Nittany Lions went on the power play with eight minutes left in the second frame after Abbey Murphy was booked for slashing. The Nittany Lions had three shots during the penalty but couldn’t find paydirt as Minnesota returned to full strength.

The teams skated out the period as the second frame came to a close with the Nittany Lions still up 5-1.

The third period began fast for both teams offensively and Morrow narrowed the Penn State lead to 5-2 with a little over 17 minutes left in the game. The Golden Gophers continued to keep the pressure on DeSa and the Nittany Lions, but the period approached the midway point with the score still at 5-2.

Emma Kreisz was called for tripping and Janecke scored quickly on the advantage, pushing the lead back to four at 6-2. Matching roughing penalties and an extra body-check penalty on Minnesota put Penn State back on the power play with just over nine minutes left in the game.

The Nittany Lions couldn’t score on the power play and it was back to full-strength hockey with seven minutes left.

Outwater couldn’t convert on an open look two minutes later before Murphy was called for charging and Penn State had yet another power play with two minutes left. There was no score on the power play and the teams skated out the rest of the game as the Nittany Lions beat Minnesota 6-2.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lion offense proved it could score when it needed to on Friday as the team overcame a two-goal deficit and beat Bemidji State in comeback fashion.
• Katie DeSa was a bright spot for the squad all weekend and made 32 saves against Minnesota on Saturday.
• Grace Outwater was a star for the blue and white this weekend, scoring four goals in the showcase.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will return for a two-game series against RIT. Puck drop for the first matchup is at 2 p.m. on Friday, January 10.