No. 6 Penn State women’s hockey (7-3, 5-1 AHA) once again came from behind on the road against St. Lawrence (2-8, 0-0 ECAC) on Saturday afternoon, prevailing in overtime, 2-1.

Strong goaltending on both sides held down both offenses, but the Saints struck first to take the lead into the third.

A power play goal early in the third and an overtime winner by Grace Outwater sealed the deal on a weekend sweep in upstate New York.

How it Happened

The two sides opened this non-conference bout with relatively even play through the first eight minutes, albeit with a slight edge for the Nittany Lions, who controlled pace.

St. Lawrence took the game’s opening penalty as Abby Hehl went off for tripping at 7:59. Penn State spent much of the ensuing two minutes in the offensive zone, but couldn’t get a puck on net.

An ill-advised offensive zone cross-checking penalty from Kylie Amelkovich cut the power play short at 9:31, but the Saints struggled to maintain the zone before a missed shot was quickly turned into a breakaway for Abby Stonehouse, who was slashed by Rylan Haslam at 10:47 to end St. Lawrence’s power play.

After more 4-on-4 time, Penn State got an abbreviated power play that only lasted 14 seconds until yet another penalty on the Nittany Lions, this time on Lorelai Nelson for hooking at 11:45.

Finally, the teams stopped the parade to the penalty box as the following two minutes expired, with no problem getting them back to five-a-side.

After four minutes of chaos, the two teams settled down. Sofia Ismael unleashed a snapshot from the right circle that was stopped by Kassidy Lawrence on one end, while Morgan Stickney made a stop on a shot from Sonia Mehta on the other.

An undisciplined first period for both teams saw yet another penalty for Penn State at 17:48 when Danica Maynard went off for tripping, but the Nittany Lions’ penalty kill kept the Saints at bay for much of the power play, ending a chaotic period without conceding any dangerous chances.

Grace Outwater opened the second period with the best chance of the night for either team, as after a minute of St. Lawrence pressure, she burst free on a breakaway, only to be stopped by Lawrence at 1:20.

The Nittany Lions routinely tried to use their speed to catch the Saints sleeping in transition, but struggled to get any dangerous chances. On the other end, St. Lawrence occasionally threatened Stickney, but were mostly kept to the outside.

A 2-on-1 led by Outwater forced Lawrence to make a tough save at 8:59. A good shot off transition by Mae Severn at 10:26 forced one of Stickney’s better stops of the night.

The scoreless tie came to an end soon after. Barbora Jurickova made a nifty move around a pair of Nittany Lion defenders and put the puck right on the tape of Mehta for her first career goal at 11:26 of the second period, giving St. Lawrence a 1-0 lead.

The ice tilted after the Saints took the lead over the Nittany Lions, who were repeatedly unable to convert. Stonehouse tried a toe-drag to get around a defender at 14:30, but her shot was blocked. Repeated shots from the blue line trickled to the net, but not through Lawrence.

Late in the period, the Nittany Lions finally started generating the more dangerous chances they were missing, but the St. Lawrence goaltender refused to budge. Close shots from Amelkovich and Nelson in the crease were smothered, with the latter coming at the end of a dangerous odd-man rush at 18:38.

The period ended with the Saints maintaining their 1-0 cushion despite being outshot 19-12.

The desperation that the Nittany Lions came out with in the third period turned into a penalty, as Grace Tullock went off for hooking after trying to prevent a Saint from getting a partial breakaway at 1:33.

St. Lawrence would manage two shots on net, but Stickney stayed sharp as it was killed off.

Penn State’s relentless pressure soon earned them its first power play since midway through the first period, as St. Lawrence’s Alexia Cote went off for cross-checking at 5:25.

That was just what the doctor ordered for the Nittany Lions’ slumbering offense, as just 27 seconds later, a thundering shot from the point by Megan Hosman tied the game at one at 5:52.

The momentum that Penn State seemed to be building hit a snag at 7:20, as Stonehouse took a roughing penalty on the forecheck, giving the Saints another power play.

The Nittany Lions stayed aggressive even on the penalty kill, as McKenna Walsh fired a shot on net at 8:13 after a great forecheck continued to bleed time off the clock.

Pace picked up from there. Stickney was forced to make a save in tight on Brooke Mulvihill at 8:33 and another one 30 seconds later, but the Nittany Lions would once again kill off the penalty.

Penn State would dominate the final 10 minutes of regulation, repeatedly peppering Lawrence on net while the Saints struggled to break through to Stickney. With limited drama in the final minutes, this game went to overtime.

Penn State controlled the puck for the first minute of overtime, but only yielded one shot on net from Outwater. 

A giveaway in the open ice sprung St. Lawrence’s Jaylee McKinnon for a partial breakaway, but Stickney made the stop. Not long after, Outwater was all alone in front of the net, but fired wide in the slot.

Possession was firmly in the Nittany Lions’ grasp the entire overtime, and the dam eventually broke. Outwater weaved through the open ice, skated around her defender, and deposited the game-winning goal at 4:29 of overtime to win the game.

Takeaways

• There were several times in this game when the Nittany Lions just seemed a tick off offensively. Whether it was a missed pass in transition or failing to control the puck in a great scoring position, they left a lot of meat on the bone whenever they entered the offensive zone.
• Another 19-save gem for Morgan Stickney continued the strong play in net by both Penn State netminders. St. Lawrence was also held to 0-for-5 on the power play.
• St. Lawrence eliminated Penn State in consecutive NCAA Tournaments in 2024 and 2025, and although the Saints haven’t quite been the same since, it definitely feels good for the veterans on staff.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions continue their long road trip with a trip to Rochester, New York, to face RIT for a weekend series, beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 30. The broadcast information is to be determined.