Jan. 24, 2013
Game Notes | Live Video ($) | Live Stats | Yearbook
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's hockey squad returns to the ice after an 11-day layoff when it plays at Syracuse on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.). Both games are going to be streamed live on AmericaOneSports.com ($) and SUAthletics.com will have live stats.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (7-14-1, 1-8-1 CHA) vs. SYRACUSE ORANGE (12-11-1, 6-3-1 CHA)
Games 23-24: Jan. 25-26, 2013 // 7 p.m. & 2 p.m. // Tennity Ice Pavilion // Syracuse, N.Y.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Tennity Ice Pavilion (1,000)
STREAMING COVERAGE: AmericaOneSports.com
SERIES RECORD: 0-2-0
LAST VARSITY MEETING: Oct. 14, 2012; Syracuse 6-0
NEXT SERIES: Jan. 29 vs. Princeton, 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State travels to second-place Syracuse and returns to CHA play this weekend
• Nittany Lions fell to the Orange twice in October
• PSU coming off weekend sweep at hands of Union on Jan. 11-12
• Syracuse swept Lindenwood last week in its return to CHA play, 2-1 and 8-1
• Penn State is on its third straight road trip to the state of New York
• PSU and SU have five common opponents during the 2012-13 season
• Nittany Lions return to Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Tuesday vs. Princeton
SCOUTING THE ORANGE
The Orange had a mixed week, falling at No. 4 Cornell 8-1 before sweeping CHA foe Lindenwood 2-1 and 8-1. Syracuse (12-11-1, 6-3-1 CHA) returns to Tennity Ice Pavilion for the first time since a 6-0 win over Colgate, upping the home record to 6-5-0.
Shiann Darkangelo, Holly Carrie-Mattimore and Melissa Piacentini lead the team with 18 points apiece. Darkangelo has a team-high 13 goals, while amassing 15 penalties for 41 minutes. A big loss for the Orange came in October when then-leading scorer Laurie Kingsbury went down with a career-ending injury. The offensive loss has been made up by Nicole Ferrara (16 points), Margot Scharfe (13), Akane Hosoyamada (12) and Kaillie Goodnough (12).
In goal, Kallie Billadeau has been fantastic, going 9-6-0 with a .942 save percentage in 857 minutes of play. Billadeau has allowed just 21 goals (1.47 GAA) this season. Jenesica Drinkwater (3-5-1) is the No. 2 with a 3.20 GAA and .879 save percetnage.
LAST TIME VS. SYRACUSE
Penn State dropped both games to Syracuse in its CHA opener on Oct. 13-14. The Orange took the first game 4-0 despite Nicole Paniccia's 53 saves. Syracuse was paced by the aforementioned Laurie Kingsbury who tallied two goals and two assists.
COMMON ENEMIES
Penn State and Syracuse have five common opponents this season. PSU has gone 1-8-1 in those games, while Syracuse is 5-4-1.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
The Nittany Lions travel to New York for the third straight road trip this weekend in Syracuse. This comes after a visit to Canton to face St. Lawrence (Dec. 7-8) and to Schenectady to play Union (Jan. 11-12). In all, Penn State will make at least four trips to the State of New York including a future trip to CHA rival RIT (Feb. 15-16). Penn State could potentially make a fifth trip depending on seeding for the 2013 CHA Tournament.
LIONS DROP ONE GOAL GAMES AT UNION
Penn State dropped both ends of a two-game series (Jan. 11-12) at Union in one-goal fashion, 1-0 and 2-1. Celine Whitlinger's career-high 48-save performance kept PSU in the opener before a late third-period goal propelled the Dutchwomen. Union took a 2-0 lead in the series finale, but Jess Desorcie cut the lead in half. Nevertheless, the Dutchwomen held on for the slim win.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
As is expected with a brand new varsity program, there are many freshmen on the team--17 in all. All 17 freshmen have made an appearance on the ice this season and have accounted for 72.7% of the goals scored (40 of 55).
The rest of the game notes can be found in the PDF document.
PEGULA ICE ARENA 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 Jan. 10, 2013, all the steel has been put in place for the project with installation of glass and some brick on the outside. Additionally, portions of the center-hung scoreboard have been assembled.
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 12 of the game notes.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions return home on Tuesday, Jan. 29 vs. Princeton (7 p.m.), opening a five-game home stand. Penn State then hosts nationally ranked Mercyhurst on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 1-2 at Greenberg Ice Pavilion.
--NITTANY LIONS--