Oct. 7, 2012
BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Penn State women's hockey team looked to sweep Vermont on Sunday at Gutterson Fieldhouse, but the Catamounts overcame an early deficit to win 3-1. Freshman forward Birdie Shaw (Troy, Mich.) scored her second goal of the season while classmate Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) made 41 saves in net.
Penn State (1-1-0) started slow as Vermont (1-1-0) pinned the Nittany Lions deep for much of the first period. Freshman Taylor McGee (Pearl River, N.Y.) flung a shot from the right wing and Shaw knocked home the rebound 9:48 into the game. Sophomore Jess Desorcie (Westford, Vt.) tallied her team-leading third assist of the year when she set up McGee's shot.
The Catamounts continued to pressure the Nittany Lion cage, eventually equaling the score on Klara Myren's goal with three minutes remaining in the first. Her short-range effort was assisted by Meghan Huertas and Delia McNally.
The whole story was UVM's unrelenting offense, which maintained loads of possession and shots in the first two periods. Whitlinger was up to the task in the opening two frames, stopping 15 and 14 shots, respectively.
Vermont eventually would wear down the Nittany Lion defense five minutes into the third period when Danielle Rancourt converted a power-play opportunity for a 2-1 lead. Rancourt tipped in a Megan Dalbec shot from distance that snuck by Whitlinger.
Despite Penn State fighting back and putting pressure on UVM starter Kelci Lanthier (18 saves), putting eight shots in frame in the period. Nevertheless, Meghan Huertas put the game out of reach with two minutes left beating Whitlinger on a breakaway for the final 3-1 tally.
Penn State returns to action on Saturday for a 7 p.m. face-off against Syracuse at Greenberg Ice Pavilion. Admission to all home games is free and the first 500 fans will receive commemorative Inaugural Home Opener game tickets. The Syracuse game will also serve as the teams' CHA openers.
--NITTANY LIONS--