March 1, 2013
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Sixth-seeded Penn State women's hockey dropped a hard fought 1-0 game to RIT in game one of the College Hockey America Tournament first-round series on Friday at Ritter Arena. Junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia (Oakville, Ont.) stopped 34 shots, but Penn State's offense couldn't generate a goal in the program's first postseason game.
The Tigers (15-15-3) took a 1-0 lead with an even-strength strike 9:22 into the first period. Marissa Maugeri used a backdoor slant to score off a feed from Erin Zach.
RIT controlled much of the first two periods, owning a 29-11 lead in shots, but Penn State (7-25-2) played the Tigers even in the third period. Shots in that frame were 6-5 for the Tigers.
The Lions pulled Paniccia in the final minute, but couldn't set up in the RIT zone with the six skaters on the ice before the Tigers killed the game off. RIT out-shot PSU 35-16 for the game.
Penn State employed a floating forward during much of the game, alleviating some of the defensive end pressure. The strategy nearly paid off as Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) and Micayla Catanzariti (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) each had chances on net behind the RIT defense. Yoxheimer finished with four shots, Catanzariti posted two.
In the faceoff circle, Emily Laurenzi (Townsend, Del.) was the most proficient Nittany Lions, posting a 7-7 record. RIT won the faceoff battle 25-18 for the game.
PSU held RIT to its lowest goal output of the season series. In the four previous games between the two teams, RIT had averaged 3.25 goals. For the second straight game, however, RIT kept Penn State off the score sheet.
The two teams meet tomorrow afternoon for game two of the first-round series at Ritter Arena. Game time is set for 2 p.m. Should Penn State win, game three will be played Sunday at 2 p.m. in Rochester.
--NITTANY LIONS--