Feb. 15, 2013
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Penn State women's hockey team struggled to find an offensive rhythm on Friday night, falling at RIT's Ritter Arena, 3-1, in a College Hockey America matchup. Nicole Paniccia (Oakville, Ont.) was called upon to make 42 saves, while junior captain Taylor Gross (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored Penn State's lone goal in the third period.
RIT (13-13-5, 6-6-5 CHA) had its power play rolling early as Kim Schlattman scored off feeds from Kristina Moss and Ariane Yokoyama 7:03 into the game. The Tigers held a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Penn State (7-21-2, 1-14-2 CHA) struggled on the penalty kill again in the second period as Moss scored from Yokoyama and Kourtney Kunichika 6:22 into the frame.
RIT made it 3-0 on Schlattman's second goal of the game. Yokoyama picked up her third assist of the game, while Kunichika earned her second of the night 6:49 into the third period.
Penn State fought back, capitalizing on a Carly Payerl high-sticking penalty. Jordin Pardoski (Rochester Hills, Mich.) teed up a shot from the point that found its way to Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.). In the scramble, Yoxheimer found Gross for the junior's fifth goal of the season.
Yoxheimer's assist was her team leading 15th, while Pardoski picked up her seventh helper on the year. Pardoski has 10 points this season, the only Nittany Lion defender to reach double digit points.
For the game, RIT out-shot Penn State 45-22 for the game, including a decisive 19-5 edge in the third period. Yoxheimer and Gross led the team with five shots apiece. The loss stretched Penn State's winless streak to a season-long 10 games.
The two teams return to Ritter Ice Arena on Sunday for a 7 p.m. faceoff. The game will be carried live by Time Warner Cable Sports in Western and Central New York, while being streamed on AmericaOneSports.com.
--NITTANY LIONS--