Oct. 19, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team stumbled at Sacred Heart on Friday night, falling 2-1 to the Pioneers at the Wonderland of Ice. Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) scored a late third-period goal, her third of the season, but Penn State (1-4-0) couldn't find the equalizer. The teams meet Saturday at 2 p.m.
Sacred Heart (1-2-0) scored just 2:22 into the game on an Alanna Woodford goal from Catie Ladner and Melissa Robbins. The Pioneers outshot Penn State, 10-8, in the opening frame.
Penn State came out with more fire in the second period, holding a 17-13 edge in shots. The home side would capitalize on a checking penalty with four minutes remaining to double the lead on a Sara Hanna strike.
The third period was all Penn State as the Nittany Lions attacked repeatedly, holding the Pioneers to just five shots while putting 17 on net. The Nittany Lions pulled goaltender Nicole Paniccia (Oakville, Ont.) in the final minutes as Yoxheimer scored with the advantage to cut the lead in half. Birdie Shaw (Troy, Mich.) and Taylor Gross (Colorado Springs, Colo.) were credited the assists.
Unfortunately for Penn State, despite another rush at net in the final 2:31, the Lions couldn't punch another past Alexius Schutt (41 saves) as the Pioneers captured their first NCAA victory of the season.
On the night, Penn State was 0-for-2 on the power play, while Sacred Heart was 1-for-4. Paniccia made 26 stops as she fell to 1-2-0 in net.
Penn State won the faceoff battle, 27-25, with Jess Desorcie (Westford, Vt.) leading the way, 13-3.
The Nittany Lions and Pioneers tangle Saturday (2 p.m.) at the Wonderland of Ice. Penn State women's hockey's official Twitter account (@PennStateWHKY) will have scoring updates throughout the game.