No. 6 Penn State Women’s Hockey Defeats No. 15 Mercyhurst 6-1
No. 6 Penn State women’s hockey team (8-0-0, 4-0-0 AHA) defeated Mercyhurst (3-5-0, 0-2-0 AHA) 6-1 at home on Saturday afternoon.
The Nittany Lions were led on offense by Grace Outwater’s pair of goals, combined with Katie DeSa’s strong performance in net, to continue their undefeated season.
How It Happened
The Nittany Lions started the game off aggressively as they unleashed multiple shots on goal within the first six minutes of the period, and held a defensive clinic.
Mercyhurst’s defense struggled to contain Penn State’s strong front as Maddy Christian circled the net, unleashing a shot from outside of the right circle, which was put back by Grace Outwater. The Nittany Lions strike first, taking a 1-0 lead early in the first period.
About 11 minutes into the first period, Matilde Fantin was called for interference, sending Mercyhurst to a power play, but the Lakers could not take advantage of it.
Then, with under three minutes to go, a small scuffle led to dueling roughing penalties assessed to Tessa Janecke and Holly VanNetten. The teams went on to skate four-on-four.
The penalty ended up being costly for Mercyhurst as Katelyn Roberts took advantage of the four-on-four as she skated down the ice and let a wrister fly from the Big Ten logo, making it a 2-0 lead with 1:15 to go in the first period.
Just seconds after, Maddy Christian found herself in front of the goalie with only Bach to beat, and slipped the puck under her pads to give Penn State a 3-0 lead to end the first period.
6:40 into the second period, Penn State earned its first power play as VanNetten was called for cross-checking. Penn State was dominating the game on the offensive end with 16 shots on goal compared to four from Mercyhurst at the midway point of the second period.
Mercyhurst had its best opportunity of the game with seven minutes to go in the second period, forcing DeSa to make back-to-back saves to keep the Nittany Lions’ lead of 3-0.
Penn State went back on the power play minutes later when Makayla Javier body checked a Penn Stater. Katelyn Robert found Janecke for an open shot that was blocked by a Mercyhurst defender.
Immediately after, Sofia Nuutinen found herself on a short-handed breakaway and was tripped by Outwater, sending it to a four-on-four for 49 seconds.
Penn State got its third power play of the period when Abby Poitras was called for tripping at 18:51.
With under 30 seconds to go in the second period, Christian had a point-blank opportunity but was denied by Magdalena Luggin as the Penn State lead remains 3-0.
Tensions started to rise as Sofia McKinley punched Abby Stonehouse in front of the Mercyhurst bench two minutes into the third period, resulting in a five-minute major and a game misconduct for McKinley.
With time expiring on the power play, Janecke found Mikah Keller and backhanded it through the goalie’s glove, into the net. Penn State held a 4-0 lead with 12 minutes left to play.
Mercyhurst was given another power play minutes later, and Regina Metzler put a shot on goal, but DeSa came up with yet another save.
Tessa Janecke threw a shot into the middle of the ice, which deflected off a Mercyhurst defender and bounced into the net with 4:21 to go. Penn State’s lead grows to 5-0.
Mikah Keller, facing a 2-on-1, found Grace Outwater for her second goal of the game. Penn State leads 6-0 with three minutes to go.
Defense
— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) October 18, 2025Offense
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With thirty seconds remaining, Metzler spoiled DeSa’s shutout with a power play goal, putting Mercyhurst on the board. Time expired shortly after, with Penn State defeating Mercyhurst 6-1.
Takeaways
- Penn State controlled possession through all three periods, outshooting Mercyhurst 32 to 15.
- DeSa was seconds away from notching her fifth shutout of the season in eight games played, showcasing an elite start to the season.
- Although Penn State committed seven penalties, the special teams unit held up strong, denying Mercyhurst of a power play goal until the last thirty seconds of the game.
What’s Next
The Nittany Lions will return to action at 2 p.m. on Friday, October 24, at Pegula Ice Arena. The game can be streamed on BTN+.
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