Nov. 16, 2012
WENTZVILLE, Mo. - Penn State women's hockey dropped its first College Hockey America road test, 5-1, to Lindenwood Friday night in Wentzville, Mo. The Nittany Lions (4-8-1, 0-6-1 CHA) tied up the game midway through the first period but couldn't overcome the Lady Lions (1-10-0, 1-2-0 CHA), who tallied four unanswered goals in the second and third periods.
The teams meet again at 3 p.m. ET Saturday for the series finale at Lindenwood Ice Arena.
Freshman Jill Holdcroft (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa.) claimed the lone goal for the Nittany Lions on a powerplay rebound attempt in the first period for her third score of the season, while classmates Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) and Jordin Pardoski (Rochester Hills, Mich.) were credited with assists. The helper is the fifth of the season for Yoxheimer and the first for Pardoski. Holdcroft also led Penn State in the circle, winning 8-of-12 faceoffs. Junior Nicole Paniccia (Oakville, Ontario) stopped 32 shots in goal in the effort, her eighth game this season with 30 or more saves.
The Nittany Lions battled the penalty bug all night, finishing with six trips to the box while allowing a pair of powerplay goals from Lindenwood, who produced a 37-16 lead in shots and a 30-29 advantage in faceoffs. Kendra Rasmussen (Sartell, Minn.) and Jess Desorcie (Westford, Vt.) tallied 7-9 and 6-6 marks in the circle for Penn State, respectively.
Lindenwood snatched early momentum in the clash as the team converted its first powerplay chance in the opening minutes. Following a hooking call against the Nittany Lions just over two minutes into the game, LWU's Samantha Redick powered home a rebound past Paniccia with 16:17 remaining. Holdcroft answered back for Penn State in the latter half of the first period, tying the game with a follow-up shot from Yoxheimer's attempt just 19 seconds into a powerplay opportunity.
Mirroring the first period, Lindenwood struck early in the second frame. LWU's Lyndsay Kirkham corralled a loose puck behind the net and wrapped around to put a shot on goal before Kendra Broad buried the rebound to reclaim the lead for the Lady Lions with 18:42 remaining in the second. Twelve minutes later, LWU struck again on the powerplay as Allysson Arcibal redirected a shot from Chelsea Witwicke on the point to extend the lead to 3-1.
Arcibal continued the scoring for Lindenwood in the third, grabbing her second goal of the game just 1:30 into the period. The junior sent home a pass from Jordyn Constance to give the Lady Lions the three-goal advantage. Alison Wickenheiser set the final score at 5-1 with 1:24 remaining as she skated around a Nittany Lion defender in front of the crease before finding the back of the net on a shot over Paniccia's left shoulder.