Oct. 24, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Nittany Lion women's hockey team continues its eight-game home stand this weekend against New Hampshire on Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.) at Pegula Ice Arena. Both games will be streamed live on AmericaOneSports.com.
| PENN STATE (2-3-1, 0-0-0 CHA) vs. NEW HAMPSHIRE (3-2-1, 1-0-1 Hockey East) | |
| Games 7-8: Oct. 26-27, 2013 • Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pa. | |
| VENUE | Pegula Ice Arena (5,782) |
| STREAMING COVERAGE | AmericaOneSports.com |
| LIVE STATS | | |
| SERIES RECORD | 0-0-0 |
| LAST MEETING | n/a |
| NEXT TIME OUT | Oct. 31-Nov. 1 vs. Robert Morris at Pegula Ice Arena |
| Penn State Game Notes | |
TICKETS (Ticket Home Page)
Fans can purchase season tickets for $50 (17 games) or select single-game tickets for $5. All Penn State students gain free entry with valid ID and can sit in the Roar Zone. Men's hockey premium season ticket holders gain complimentary admission as well. Seating will be general admission on the north side of the building behind the team benches in sections 108-112.
PROMOTIONS & PARKING (Women's Hockey Parking Map)
Fans who attend Friday's men's hockey game against RIT can redeem the men's ticket for a free women's hockey ticket on both game days. Fans must visit the Pegula Ice Arena Box Office at Gate A to redeem. On Sunday, the team will host a post-game autograph session with members of the team.
Parking for Penn State women's hockey games is free in certain lots around Pegula Ice Arena including Shields & Wagner Yellow Lots H as well as Orange Lot F near Holuba Hall and East Area Locker Room. The No Bag Policy is in effect for these contests unless contents are in a clear, gallon-sized bag.
GAME NOTES
• Penn State hosts New Hampshire as teams meet for first time in women's hockey
• Nittany Lions split their Pegula Ice Arena opening series with Union last week
• Shannon Yoxheimer, Jill Holdcroft & Laura Bowman tallied goals vs. Union
• Goaltender Celine Whitlinger earned second win this season against Dutchwomen
• Penn State's freshmen and sophomores have tallied 24 of team's 29 points
• New Hampshire coming off 10-day layoff after beating No. 2 Boston College
• UNH represents second Hockey East foe of the season for Penn State
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
New Hampshire (3-2-1, 1-0-1 Hockey East) enters this weekend's series at Pegula Ice Arena well rested having played its last game Oct. 16 at then-No. 2 Boston College. The Wildcats took home a 3-1 win on the back of Vilma Vaattavaara's 36-save performance and Nicole Gifford's two-point game. UNH is 2-0-1 in its last three games as well.
Gifford leads the team with seven points on three goals and four assists, while teammates Sara Carlson (1g, 3a) and Heather Kashman (2g, 2a) each have four points. Nine different UNH players have bagged goals this season including Alexis Crossley (2) and Cassandra Vilgrain (2) who are multi-goal scorers.
In net, Vaattavaara has played the majority of the minutes, going 3-0-1 in four starts with a 1.47 goals-against average and a .952 save percentage. Teammate Marie-Eve Jean is 0-2-0 in 118 minutes of play, saving just 86 percent and posting a goals-against average of 3.55.
LIONS OPEN PEGULA WITH SPLIT
The Nittany Lions used a late third-period goal from freshman Laura Bowman to defeat a stingy Union squad Saturday afternoon (Oct. 19) at Pegula Ice Arena. The win secured a split in the home opening series. Celine Whitlinger stopped 20 shots and Jill Holdcroft scored her first goal in of the season in the first period to pace Penn State. Whitlinger improved to 2-1-0 between the pipes.
With the game tied at one with 5:30 left in the third period, Amy Petersen sent the puck down low to Bowman. She slid a pass in front of net that got past Sara Nielsen. The puck bounced off the boards to Jeanette Bateman who rifled a shot off the pad of Lundberg where Bowman was able to clean up the game-winner. The assist for Petersen was her third of the year and Bateman notched her first point of the season.
On Friday, the largest crowd to see a Penn State women's hockey game saw a hard-fought contest that went the way of the Union Dutchwomen, 2-1, in front of 1,424 fans. Union scored on a pair of power plays to earn their first win in four games, while Penn State found the net on a Shannon Yoxheimer rocket in the second period assisted by Taylor Gross and Jordin Pardoski.
RECORD SETTING PERIOD
The Nittany Lions' opening period on Saturday was one of the best played this season. For the second time this season, Penn State took a lead into intermission on Jill Holdcroft's goal. Defensively, the Nittany Lions were nearly perfect, holding the Dutchwomen to a single shot on net, a new low for a PSU opponent, as Penn State held a 12-1 margin.
PICK YOUR POISON
Penn State has had the fortune of multiple contributors on the offensive end. Eight Nittany Lions have tallied at least two points and six have scored a goal this season. Shannon Yoxheimer leads the team with five points, while linemates Taylor Gross and Sarah Nielsen have each registered four. The Minnetonka connection of Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen have combined for three goals (Bowman) and three assists (Petersen). Hannah Hoenshell also has three points, all of which came in a 4-2 in over Vermont.
WHITLINGER STANDS TALL
Celine Whitlinger, a 5-9 Californian goaltender, has been outstanding in net for Penn State. Whitlinger (2-1-0) has already surpassed her win total from a year ago and has stopped 94.1 percent of the shots she's seen. In 13 appearances for Penn State, Whitlinger has a career .939 save percentage and a 3-8-0 record.
YOUTH SUPPLIES THE OFFENSE
The four additions of freshmen Laura Bowman, Amy Petersen, Sarah Nielsen and Kelly Seward have injected an instant bump in scoring production with 12 of the team's 29 points. Bowman has tallied two goals, Seward has notched two goals, while Nielsen (4 assists) and Petersen (3) combined for seven assists. To prove the youth of the team, 24 of the team's 29 points (82.8%) were collectively tallied by freshmen and sophomores.
BRIEF HISTORY AGAINST HOCKEY EAST
Penn State has played just one Hockey East team in its short varsity history: Vermont. The Nittany Lions are 2-1-1 against the Catamounts in two season-opening series. This season, the Lions face three Hockey East foes including Maine on Nov. 30 at Pegula Ice Arena.
PENN STATE HAS A #NEWDEN
The Nittany Lions opened its new $90 million home, Pegula Ice Arena, on Oct. 18 against Union in a 2-1 loss. The next day, PSU would earn a 2-1 victory for the program's first win at Pegula. In all, Penn State will host 17 games in the state-of-the-art arena that seats 5,782. The team's first season at PIA begins with an eight-game home stand over 23 days.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State continues its eight-game home stand when it hosts Robert Morris next week for the first conference games at Pegula Ice Arena. The series begins on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. and concludes Friday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. Penn State is in search of its first point against the Colonials.