No. 11 Penn State women’s hockey (19-4-1, 10-0-0 AHA) defeated RIT (11-10-3, 4-5-1 AHA) 3-2 in a nail-biter to remain undefeated in conference play and sweep the Tigers.

Juniors Maddy Christian, Katelyn Roberts, and Tessa Janecke celebrated their 100th career game. Penn State dominated the game for the first two periods but the ice tilted toward the Tigers in the final frame. Despite coming back, RIT could not hold on against Katie DeSa and the Nittany Lions.

How It Happened

Penn State maintained possession after the opening faceoff, immediately taking control of the puck.

The Nittany Lions turned the puck over to the Tigers, leading them to get the first shot on goal of the game, which DeSa denied.

RIT was assessed for a hooking penalty to put Penn State on the power play. The Nittany Lions could not get anything going on the advantage, allowing RIT to clear the puck down the ice continuously.

RIT played aggressively in the first ten minutes, disrupting the Nittany Lions’ offensive power. Penn State started to find its rhythm but could not find open lanes to shoot into the net. Roberts deflected Lyndie Lobdell’s pass from the blue line to strike first to make the score 1-0.

The puck continued to bounce back and forth throughout the rest of the period. However, Penn State started to apply pressure with three minutes to go in the first. As a result, the Nittany Lions went back on the power play after the Tigers committed a cross-checking penalty.

Despite generating more shots, Penn State could not find the back of the net. Sarah Coe stood on her head the entire two minutes to kill the penalty and end the period.

Penn State kept up its intensity throughout the first couple of minutes of the second period. Nicole Hall tried to take a bouncing puck into the net but met Coe’s glove. Janecke could not handle the puck to get a shot off the rebound.

The Nittany Lions were knocking on the door until Abby Stonehouse took the pass from Janceke to snipe the puck into the net to make the score 2-0.

With that score, Janecke tied the all-time points record at Penn State.

Moments later, Brianna Brooks skated up from the backend to dump the puck into the net to create a 3-0 lead. Brooks tallied three goals in the series against RIT.

The Penn State defense stepped up after the team secured a three-goal lead and did not let RIT see the offensive zone.

Janecke headed to the box after a tripping call to put RIT on the power play for the first time in the game. The Tigers continued to cycle the puck around until Brac Kelley shot a one-timer to fool DeSa. The score was now 3-1 and RIT was on the board for the first time in the series.

Moments later, Brooks took a slashing penalty to put RIT right back on the power play. The Nittany Lions struggled to clear the puck but were bailed out of the penalty by DeSa.

Time winded down in the second period but the momentum belonged to the Tigers despite being down two goals.

The third period came down to a conditioning battle with both teams skating back and forth. The Tigers brought the pressure offensively, desperate to cut the two-goal deficit.

On a breakaway, Janecke tried dishing the puck past Coe but the Tiger goaltender read her play. Brooks went to the penalty box for the second time this game for a tripping penalty. The Tigers passed the puck too much allowing the Nittany Lions to continuously clear the puck.

Five-on-three hockey started for RIT when Janecke went back to the penalty box after a cross-checking penalty. Kailey Favro put one past DeSa when she took the rebound in herself, making the score 3-2 in favor of Penn State.

The Nittany Lions special teams still had 90 seconds left to kill the power play. Favro struck again when she went past the Penn State defenders to tap the puck into the net to tie the game. Head coach Jeff Kampersal challenged the goal for goaltender interference, resulting in the goal being waived.

The Nittany Lions killed the cross-checking penalty and kept themselves in the lead midway through the third period. Grace Outwater and Brooks couldn’t connect on the pass to turn the puck back over to the Tigers.

The puck continued to go back and forth between the teams with shots mirroring each other 23-19 in favor of Penn State. With under five minutes to go in the series, Penn State started to maintain possession of the puck.

With less than a minute to go, Coe was pulled from the RIT net in an attempt to even the score. Penn State maintained control of the puck to secure the win.

Takeaways

• DeSa played another brilliant game for the Nittany Lions. RIT fired more shots toward her way and she stood tall, making every effort to keep the puck out of the net despite allowing two goals.
• Penalties still prove to be a weak point for Penn State. There has been improvement from the beginning of the season to now but the team is still taking unnecessary calls. Giving the Tigers multiple chances on the power play allowed momentum to swing their way to inspire a comeback.
• Staying consistent toward the net brought Penn State a three-goal lead in the second period. However, the third period belonged to the Tigers offensively. With conference play winding down, the team needs to keep the intensity up in all three frames.

What’s Next?

Penn State women’s hockey will compete against Syracuse at 6 p.m. on Friday, January 17, at Tennity Ice Pavilion.