No. 8 Penn State Women’s Hockey Sweeps Lindenwood As Tessa Janecke Breaks School Record

No. 8 Penn State women’s hockey (24-4-1, 15-0 AHA) swept Lindenwood (3-22-1, 2-11-1 AHA) to remain undefeated in conference play.
Tessa Janecke made history by becoming Penn State’s career points leader in men’s and women’s hockey program history with 141 career points.
Game One
Lindenwood won the faceoff to start the game, but Penn State took control of the puck immediately. Within four minutes of bombarding Anna LaRose, Mckenna Walsh tapped the puck from Brianna Brooks to put the Nittany Lions ahead 1-0 early.
The Lions tried to get their offense rolling for the next four minutes. Katie DeSa stood on her head early in the game to keep Penn State in the lead. The puck started to go back and forth between the teams, neither could control the ice.
Midway through the first period, Penn State started dominating the offensive front. Abby Stonehouse had a good look at the back of the net but was stopped by the Lindenwood defense.
Walsh tried to skate in for her second goal of the period but was stopped by LaRose as time winded down in the first period.
Lindenwood started the period fast by peppering DeSa with shots. A penalty for a delay of game halted the Lions’ momentum and put the Nittany Lions on the power play.
Katelyn Roberts and Lyndie Lobdell shot toward the net but couldn’t get the puck past the defense on the advantage. Moments later, Grace Outwater nearly found the back of the net, but her shot rang off the post.
The power play trickled down for the Nittany Lions, as they couldn’t capitalize on their advantage. After the power play, Lindenwood started to come to life in the offensive zone. Just like before, the Lions slipped up just when the ice started tilting their way. Lindenwood was called for a tripping penalty.
From the top of the circle, Roberts was passed the puck from Kendall Butze to fire a shot that slipped past LaRose for a power play goal. Midway through the second period, Penn State was up 2-0.
The Nittany Lions controlled the puck for the rest of the period until again, they found themselves back on the power play for the third time this period.
Unlike the last advantage, Penn State couldn’t find a groove on the power play. Lindenwood killed the penalty with ease. Right after, Lindenwood was put on the power play after a slashing penalty on Roberts.
Lindenwood could not capitalize on the opportunity. To end the period, Lindenwood was desperately trying to climb out of the two-goal deficit.
The final frame started with a Lindenwood goal to cut the Penn State lead in half. Despite scoring, the Lions put the Nittany Lions on their fourth power play of the game. Penn State was scattered for the advantage, not being able to find the net.
After the power play, Stella Retrum positioned herself in front of the net to receive the rebound from Tessa Janecke to pull away from the Lions.
The Nittany Lions kept up the intensity until they were called for too many men on the ice. Lindenwood had a quiet power play as Penn State killed it. The last five minutes were quiet for both teams, as Penn State skated away with the win.
Game Two
Penn State won the faceoff to start the game. The Nittany Lions started strong by attacking LaRose with shots to get head early into the period.
The ice tilted toward the Lions as they started to get closer to DeSa. The team started getting shots off but the Penn State defense deflected each one. Penn State took the puck back over from the Lions as the clock hit the midway mark.
While the puck was in the sticks of the Nittany Lions, they couldn’t find the back of the net. LaRose batted away the shots that were coming her way. After a Lindenwood timeout, Penn State continued to blast shots toward LaRose.
After knocking on LaRose’s door, Janecke slipped in to make the score 1-0 at the end of the first period. With that goal, Janecke became Penn State’s career points leader in men’s and women’s hockey program history with 141 career points.
The second period started with all of the momentum toward the Lions when Butze was called for cross-checking. The momentum didn’t last long for Lindenwood as Penn State killed the penalty quickly.
Maddy Christian tapped the puck into the net to make the score 2-0.
Alyssa Machado was called for interference to put Lindenwood back on the power play. The power play was, once again, handled swiftly by the Nittany Lions. Moments after the power play ended, Roberts was called for high sticking to put the Lions on the power play for the third time in the second period.
On a breakaway, Outwater made a quick move to her backhand and slipped the puck past LaRose to make the score 3-0.
The Lions stayed on the power play and peppered DeSa, desperate to try to get back into the game. The Nittany Lions killed the power play once again. Midway through the period, Penn State was dominating on both sides of the ice.
Janecke was called for contact to the head to put Lindenwood back on the power play. Despite being on multiple advantages, Lindenwood couldn’t find the back of the net each time.
Penn State was then put on the power play when the Lions were called for tripping. Despite finding success on the power play before, the Nittany Lions couldn’t score.
As the period came to an end, Penn State held a comfortable lead.
For the final frame, Penn State won the faceoff. Yet again, Lindenwood went on the power play when Taya MacDonald was called for hooking. The Nittany Lions successfully killed the penalty to keep Penn State in the lead.
Midway through the final period, both teams had been quiet on the offensive side of the puck.
Lindenwood was called for interference, putting Penn State back on the power play. Christian was able to skate toward LaRose but couldn’t seal the deal. The power play was killed by Lindenwood.
The next three minutes continued to be quiet for both teams. The Nittany Lions looked to close out the series. Nicole Hall was able to find the back of the net to make the score 4-0.
Hall was then called for a tripping penalty for the final two minutes of the game. The Lions were unsuccessful on the power play and could not score to end the game.
Takeaways
- The team all around played six solid periods of hockey throughout the series. The defense and offense both worked cohesively, with the defense preventing goals and the offense creating quality scoring opportunities.
- Penalties are still a problem for the Nittany Lions. The penalties continued to disrupt the team’s momentum and limit more scoring opportunities.
- The Nittany Lions showcased a strong penalty kill throughout the series, which was needed after drawing so many penalties. Their ability to clear the puck and even score while down a player was crucial for the win.
What’s Next?
Penn State women’s hockey will compete against Robert Morris to continue conference play at 3 p.m. on Friday, January 31, at Clearview Arena.
Your ad blocker is on.
Please choose an option below.
Purchase a Subscription!