Nov. 1, 2012
Game Notes | Yearbook | Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour
FRIDAY: | Free Audio SATURDAY: | Free Audio
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State women's hockey welcomes Sacred Heart to Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (2:00 p.m.). The Nittany Lions are coming off a 2-2 tie with RIT, their first CHA point last week at home. Both games will have live stats on GoPSUsports.com GameTracker, while Penn State ComRadio will provide a free audio stream of the contests.
PROMOTIONS
Spectators in attendance will receive schedule magnets and Pegula Ice Arena water bottles while supplies last.
ADMISSION & PARKING
Fans attending this weekend's games are able to park in Orange Lots C, F or G Monday-Friday after 5:00 p.m. If the free lots are full, paid parking can be found in the Eisenhower Deck located on Eisenhower Road off Bigler Road. Orange Lot H is also available on the east side of University Drive. There will not be shuttle service from Orange Lot H and parking is prohibited in the Nittany Apartments lots.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-5-1) vs. SACRED HEART PIONEERS (1-4-0)
Games 9-10: November 2-3, 2012 // 7:30 p.m. & 2 p.m. // Greenberg Ice Pavilion // University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Greenberg Ice Pavilion (1,300)
STREAMING COVERAGE: ComRadio Audio (Fri.), GoPSUsports.com All-Access (Sat.)
SERIES RECORD: 1-1-0
LAST MEETING: 10/20/12, PSU 6-1
NEXT SERIES: 11/10-11 vs. Robert Morris
GAME NOTES
• Penn State hosts to Sacred Heart for two-game set on Friday and Saturday
• PSU and SHU split a series earlier this year, Lions winning 6-1 after a 2-1 loss
• Nittany Lions picked up its first CHA point in a 2-2 tie last Friday vs. RIT
• Sacred Heart lost 4-0 at St. Anselm last weekend
• Shannon Yoxheimer scored twice and added an assist in the RIT series
• Yoxheimer is riding a four-game scoring streak
• Taylor Gross assisted twice and added a goal vs. RIT
• Yoxheimer and Gross lead the team with eight points each
• Sophomore Jess Desorcie is third on the team in points with five
• Junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia stopped a school-record 59 shots vs. RIT
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart (1-4-0) is coming off a 4-0 loss to Division III St. Anselm last weekend. The Pioneers were out-shot 39-14 in the contest, giving up three second-period goals. Goaltender Alexius Schutt made 35 saves for SHU and St. Anselm went 1-for-4 on the power play. Schutt leads the team in saves (150), save percentage (.898) and has a goals-against average of 4.73.
Opponents have out-scored the Pioneers 26-5 with Sara Hanna leading the team in points with three and Casey Stathopoulos leading in goals with two. SHU has struggled on the power play, going 2-for-22 (0.91) with both goals coming against PSU. On the penalty kill, opponents are 6-for-19 (.316).
LAST TIME AGAINST SACRED HEART
The Nittany Lions split a weekend series (Oct. 19-20) at Sacred Heart, falling in the opener 2-1 and winning the finale 6-1. Penn State was led by freshman forward Shannon Yoxheimer with two goals and an assist.
In the opener, the Pioneers opened a 2-0 lead through two periods and didn't allow the Nittany Lions on the board until Yoxheimer slammed home a scramble in front of the net with 2:31 left in the game and an extra skater on the ice. Taylor Gross and Birdie Shaw were credited with assists as junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia made 26 saves in the loss.
The following day Penn State came out firing, scoring on three straight power-plays en route to a 6-1 rout. Gross, Yoxheimer and Jeanette Bateman tallied each of the power play goals for a 3-1 lead through two periods. Jess Desorcie, Hannah Hoenshell and Jordin Pardoski added a trio of third-period goals as Penn State featured six different goal scorers. Jenna Welch, Madison Smiddy, Gross and Yoxheimer had multi-point days. Paniccia had 25 saves for a 51-save weekend.
COMMON OPPONENT
Penn State and Sacred Heart have shared a common opponent this season: RIT. The Pioneers dropped their opening games of the season to the Tigers by the scores of 8-0 and 7-2. The Nittany Lions fell to RIT, 4-1, before tying the Tigers, 2-2, this past weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
Penn State was 89 seconds away from its first CHA victory on Friday, Oct. 26 vs. RIT, but had to settle with a hard-fought 2-2 tie. After a 4-1 loss to RIT on Thursday, Penn State fell to 0-3-1 in CHA play. Goaltender Nicole Paniccia and forward Shannon Yoxheimer shined for Penn State, providing outstanding defense and offense, respectively. Paniccia made 93 saves last week, including a school-record 59 stops in the 2-2 tie. Paniccia finished the weekend with a .939 save percentage after a 34-save effort in Thursday's matchup.
Yoxheimer scored Penn State's lone goal in the opener and opened the scoring on Friday before Taylor Gross made it 2-0 just seconds later. Paige Jahnke, Madison Smiddy, Yoxheimer and Gross each had an assist in the tie as the Tigers scored once in the first and another in the third. RIT held a 99-36 shot advantage in the series.
The rest of the game notes can be found in the PDF document.
ON SCHEDULE
Pegula Ice Arena, a $90 million state-of-the-art facility, will serve as the home of the Penn State hockey programs in 2012-13. As of Oct. 1, 2012, almost all the steel has been put in place for the project. Construction is set to conclude in time for the 2012-13 season.
Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour
For more information on Pegula Ice Arena, visit page 5 of the game notes.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions continue their six-game home stand by welcoming Robert Morris to Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 10-11. Both games are slated for a 2:00 p.m. puck drop. The games will have live streaming through AmericaOneSports.com, live stats on GoPSUsports.com GameTracker and updates through Twitter (@PennStateWHKY).
--NITTANY LIONS--