No. 6 Penn State Women’s Hockey Edges RIT 4-3
No. 6 Penn State women’s hockey (15-0-0, 11-0-0 AHA) narrowly defeated RIT (8-9-0, 4-5-0 AHA) 4-3 on Saturday afternoon, completing the season sweep.
In a back-and-forth game, the Nittany Lions managed to hold on to their undefeated streak and come out on top over RIT in its only one-goal decision of the season so far. Penn State struggled to stay out of the box, and the Tigers made them pay, with two goals on six power play opportunities.
Danica Maynard netted the game-winner with ten minutes remaining in the third period. Freshman Maddy Campbell earned her third start of the season, but was pulled to begin the second period after allowing 2 goals on 5 shots. Katie DeSa took over for the Nittany Lions in net, stopping 12 of 13 shots to earn her 14th win of the season.
How It Happened
Penn State entered the game aggressively and drew a penalty against RIT quickly. Emma Pickering headed to the box, and the Nittany Lions got their first power play opportunity of the game just two minutes into the first period. Penn State was able to win the faceoff to begin the power play with Katelyn Roberts making a pass from the point to a wide-open Danica Maynard, who walked in alone on goaltender Sofia Bellina and shot the puck just over her blocker. The Nittany Lions held the lead 1-0 two minutes and 11 seconds into the first period.
The Nittany Lions pushed hard and dominated possession for the next few minutes. RIT responded with a chance from Addie Alvarez, who skated down the right side and wristed a shot off the left post. Shortly after, Penn State took advantage of a turnover from a Tigers defenseman in the corner, and Abby Stonehause slipped a pass to Tessa Janecke in the slot, who one-timed it past Bellina to put the Nittany Lions up 2-0. Janecke scored the 74th goal of her career at Penn State, tying the program’s all-time record.
After some back and forth between the two teams, the Tigers were able to capitalize after a beautiful no-look pass from Alvarez found Jaidan Fahrny for the one-timer in front. Penn State’s offense struggled to generate much for the remainder of the period, with careless turnovers in the offensive zone costing them key scoring opportunities.
Bellina stood strong in the net for the Tigers, stopping a few dangerous opportunities from the Nittany Lions. Alvarez took a penalty for an illegal body check, but Penn State could not capitalize on its second power play of the game after a beautiful save from Bellina robbed Maddy Christian on the rebound try.
A minute after the power play, Mikah Keller took a penalty for cross-checking and headed to the box. With 30 seconds left in the power play, RIT’s Madison Buziak threw a shot on net from the point that was tipped by a wide-open Fahrny for her second goal of the game. Penn State’s initial 2-0 lead was diminished quickly by the Tigers, who tied the game at two.
The period ended even, with Penn State still leading 14-5 in shots.
The second period began with a goaltending change for the Nittany Lions after Campbell let in 2 goals on 5 shots in the first. Katie DeSa took over to start the second for Penn State.
The Tigers came out aggressively, and their defense was able to hold Penn State off in the opening minutes. Penn State received its third power play opportunity with 15 minutes remaining in the period, but RIT’s penalty kill was stellar.
The Nittany Lions took a penalty for too many men on the ice with 30 seconds remaining in the man advantage, and the teams headed to four-on-four for 34 seconds, with a 1:25 power play opportunity coming afterwards for RIT. Penn State was able to kill off RIT’s man advantage, but not without a couple of key stops from DeSa, who saw her first real action of the game.
At the 9:30 mark, Roberts caught a beautiful end-to-end pass from Maynard and shot one past Bellina on the breakaway, putting the Nittany Lions back on top 3-2. RIT continued pressuring Penn State, but Roberts was able to use her speed to create another breakaway opportunity, but her try was ushered aside by Bellina.
A big hit along the boards from Christian on RIT’s Zoe Ziotas resulted in another power play for the Tigers. Penn State took another penalty with a minute and 27 seconds remaining in the man advantage for RIT, and the Tigers received a 5-on-3 for 1:20.
DeSa made two massive back-to-back saves, but a weird bounce allowed RIT’s Brac Kelley to whack the puck past her, tying the game at three. The Nittany Lions struggled for the remainder of the period, with more careless turnovers in the defensive zone plaguing them and allowing RIT some dangerous chances.
Penn State earned another power play in the final minutes of the second period, but was not able to take the lead against another strong Tigers’ penalty kill. The period ended tied once again, this time knotted at 3-3.
At the start of the third period, both teams traded chances, but neither team could come up with a goal. DeSa and Bellina both made some solid stops to keep the game tied at three. A few minutes into the period, Maynard took a penalty for tripping, the sixth penalty of the game for Penn State.
After a solid defense effort for Penn State on the penalty kill, Taya MacDonald received an interference call, forcing the Nittany Lions to attempt to kill yet another 5 on 3 for the Tigers. DeSa made a massive glove save to keep the Nittany Lions from surrendering another 5 on 3 tally, and Penn State came out unscathed.
RIT’s Cassandra Kehler took a penalty for interference during RIT’s power play, and both teams played 4-on-4 for 50 seconds. Penn State headed to the power play for just under a minute, but could not capitalize.
The Nittany Lions seemed to gain the momentum back after their power play chance, and Maynard picked up her own rebound off a wrister that bounced off Belina’s pad, and backhanded the puck just past the goaltender. Penn State regained the lead with 10 minutes and 4 seconds left in the third period, leading the Tigers 4-3.
The Nittany Lions played the remaining ten minutes almost entirely in the offensive zone, but were not able to put any more pucks past Bellina. Penn State pulled off the 4-3 win over RIT, in their closest game of the season so far.
Takeaways
- Penn State finished the night with six penalties, two of which allowed 5-on-3 opportunities for RIT. The Tigers capitalized on 2-of-6 power plays, but the Nittany Lions must focus on staying out of the box if they want to continue their winning streak. The penalty kill was strong, but giving up half a dozen power plays is not how to win games.
- Danica Maynard scored the game-winner for Penn State, notching two goals and one assist. Maynard had a strong showing and was one of the bright spots in a game that was probably much closer than Penn State would have preferred.
- This was the Nittany Lions’ first one-goal game of the season. RIT was strong defensively, and Bellina was outstanding in net, stopping Penn State’s offense from scoring the amount they normally would.
- Penn State led 38-19 in shots. It received five power plays, but could only capitalize on one. A few poorly angled shots led to easy blocks in front of the net for RIT, who were able to kill most of Penn State’s man advantages. Some stronger attention to shooting lanes and fewer meaningless passes could benefit Penn State’s special teams.
- Tessa Janecke tied the all-time program record for goals with her 74th career goal.
What’s Next
No. 6 Penn State women’s hockey will take on Northeastern in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday, November 28th at 3:30 pm.
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