Feb. 13, 2013
Game Notes | Live Video ($) | Live Stats | Yearbook
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State women's hockey travels north to Rochester, N.Y. for a two-game series with RIT on Friday and Saturday nights. Both games are set for 7 p.m. opening face-offs and will be Penn State's first televised women's hockey games. Additionally, fans outside of the Western and Central New York area can watch the game on AmericaOneSports.com.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (7-20-2, 1-13-2 CHA) vs. RIT TIGERS (12-13-5, 5-6-5 CHA)
Games 30-31: Feb. 15-16, 2013 // 7 p.m. & 7 p.m. // Ritter Ice Arena // Rochester, N.Y.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena (2,100)
TELEVISION COVERAGE: Time Warner Cable Sports Central New York
STREAMING COVERAGE: AmericaOneSports.com ($)
SERIES RECORD: 0-1-1
LAST MEETING: 10/26/12, 2-2 (OT)
NEXT SERIES: Feb. 22-23 at Robert Morris
GAME NOTES
• Penn State travels to RIT for its first televised games in program history
• Time Warner Cable Sports will televise the games in Central New York
• Nittany Lions dropped three of four points at home vs. Lindenwood last weekend
• RIT has lost its last three games; two to Syracuse and one to Lindenwood
• Penn State went 0-1-1 vs. RIT in an October series at Greenberg Ice Pavilion
• Freshmen have tallied 76 percent of the team's goals this season
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
RIT (12-13-5, 5-6-5 CHA) has been struggling to find points since a successful three-point weekend against defending CHA Tournament champion Robert Morris on Jan. 26-27. The Tigers tied Lindenwood on Feb. 1 before dropping three straight games; one to the Lions and two to Syracuse. At Ritter Arena, RIT is 4-5-3 going 4-2-3 since Nov. 10.
The Tigers average 2.7 goals a game and allow 2.2 goals a game while outshooting opponents by an average of 6.5 shots a game. At forward, RIT is led by Tenecia Hiller (22 points), who has tallied 12 goals this season, half on the power play. The trio of Kourtney Kunichika (20 points), Ariane Yokoyama (19) and Kim Schlattman (18) rounds out the top four scorers.
In net, Ali Binnington has been remarkable, saving nearly 93 percent of the shots she's faced with a 1.88 goals-against average. Her record this season is 9-7-4.
LAST TIME VS. RIT
After a disappointing 4-1 loss on Thursday, Oct. 25 to RIT, Penn State fought back on Friday and held a tenuous 2-1 lead late in the game. Tenicia Hiller's goal with 89 seconds remaining sent the game to overtime and the Lions earned the 2-2 tie and their first points in College Hockey America. Nicole Paniccia stopped 59 shots in the tie, while Shannon Yoxheimer and Taylor Gross staked Penn state a 2-0 lead in the first 8:06 of the game.
In Thursday's game, Yoxheimer tied the game with just a minute remaining in the first, but RIT rallied off the final three goals to earn the win at Greenberg Ice Pavilion.
LIONS MAKE FIRST TV APPEARANCES
Penn State women's hockey will appear on TV for the first time in program history this weekend. Time Warner Cable Sports, channel 26 or channel 1026 in Central New York, will broadcast both games live from Ritter Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
Two tight contests with fellow CHA newcomers Lindenwood resulted in three points for the visiting Lions as Penn State fell 3-1 and tied 3-3 on Feb. 8-9. In both games, Penn State scored first, but Lindenwood fought back, earning the win on Friday and forcing overtime on Saturday. Emily Laurenzi and Birdie Shaw had standout weekends, each scoring a goal and an assist. Jill Holdcroft and Shannon Yoxheimer also tallied goals, while goaltender Nicole Paniccia fended off numerous Lindenwood chances, accumulating 86 saves.
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 76.1% of the goals scored (48 of 63).
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 wrap up the regular season with a two-game series at Robert Morris, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 22-23. The Friday night game is set for 7 p.m. and the Saturday game will start at 3 p.m.
--NITTANY LIONS--