Nov. 29, 2012
Game Notes | Live Video ($) | Live Stats | Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour | Yearbook
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State women's hockey will notch another first in the program's young history when it travels to No. 4 Mercyhurst for a two-game series starting Friday night (7 p.m.). Mercyhurst represents the first ranked opponent for the Nittany Lions, who won their first CHA game two weekends ago at Lindenwood. Mercyhurst, on the other hand, is riding a seven-game winning streak and has won the last 10 CHA regular-season crowns. Both games will have live coverage on AmericaOneSports.com ($).
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (5-8-1, 1-6-1 CHA) at #4 MERCYHURST LAKERS (12-1-1, 4-0-0 CHA)
Games 15-16: Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2012 // 7 p.m. & 2 p.m. ET // Mercyhurst Ice Center // Erie, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Mercyhurst Ice Center (1,500)
STREAMING COVERAGE: AmericaOneSports.com Video ($)
SERIES RECORD: 0-0-0
LAST MEETING: n/a, First Meeting, Nov. 30
NEXT SERIES: Dec. 7-8 at St. Lawrence
GAME NOTES
• Penn State travels to Mercyhurst for two-game set on Friday and Saturday
• The Nittany Lions and Mercyhurst meet for the first time in women's hockey
• Penn State split two weekends ago at Lindenwood (5-1 loss, 3-2 win)
• Emily Laurenzi netted the team's first CHA game-winning goal at LU
• Mercyhurst is on a 7-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 35-6 in that span
• Shannon Yoxheimer leads the CHA in shots (86), third in goals (10) and points (17)
• Nicole Paniccia has started 10-straight games dating to Oct. 14 vs. Syracuse
• Paniccia is second in the conference in saves (407) and third in save pct. (.921)
SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Winners of 10 consecutive regular-season CHA titles, No. 4 Mercyhurst (12-1-1, 4-0-0 CHA) is on track for its 11th when it hosts Penn State this weekend. The Lakers have won seven in a row by a combined score of 35-6. Entering Friday's game, Mercyhurst is riding a three-game shutout streak and hasn't allowed a goal in over 234 minutes, dating back to Nov. 2.
Anchoring the defensive ranks is goaltender Stephanie Ciampa, who ranks fourth in saver percentage (.951) and fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.00), allowing just 8 in 478 minutes of work with four shutouts.
Offensively, Mercyhurst is even mor eimpressive, rnaking second in the nation in goals per game (4.79) and scoring margin (+3.29). Junior christine Bestland is third in the country with 2.43 points per game, tallying 11 goals and 23 assists thus far. Freshman Emily Janiga has been a force with Bestland, scoring 11 times with 11 assists. Capping the Mercyhurst offensive force is freshman Jenna Dingeldein (5g, 12a) and sophomore Molly Byrne (6g, 11a).
On special teams, Mercyhurst is fifth in the nation in scoring percentage, tallying 21 goals on 76 attempts (27.6%). On the penalty kill, Mercyhurst ranks 11th (60-71, 84.5%), while adding two short handed goals.
CHA SPLIT AT LINDENWOOD
Penn State women's hockey earned another inaugural milestone on Saturday, Nov. 17, defeating Lindenwood 3-2 for its first College Hockey America victory. Freshman forward Emily Laurenzi struck for the game-winning goal to complete a comeback at Lindenwood Ice Arena. Fellow classmate Jill Holdcroft and junior captain Taylor Gross each notched their fourth goals of the season for the Nittany Lions. Freshman forward Shannon Yoxheimer had two assists to aid the Nittany Lion attack.
Penn State found itself down twice to Lindenwood and each time fought back to knot the game. With 5:50 left in the third period in a 2-2 game, Laurenzi tucked home her second goal of the season as the Nittany Lions held off LU for the final portions of the game. Paige Jahnke and Hannah Hoenshell assisted on the power-play goal.
The previous day did not go as well for the Nittany Lions. Lindenwood scored twice in the second period to break a 1-1 dealock and went on to win, 5-1, for the Lions' first win of the season. Holdcroft scored a power-play goal from Yoxheimer and Gross.
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 Nov. 25, 2012, all the steel has been put in place for the project and the building held its official topping off ceremony on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Construction is set to conclude in time for the 2012-13 season as the building will open Sept. 5, 2013.
Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour
For more information on Pegula Ice Arena, visit page 8 of the game notes.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State finishes its season-long six-game road swing at St. Lawrence on Dec. 7-8. Friday's game has a 7 p.m. opening face-off and Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m.
--NITTANY LIONS--