Oct. 9, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Following an exciting unbeaten weekend at Vermont, the Nittany Lion women's hockey team travels to Quinnipiac for a two-game series Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.). QuinnipiacBobcats.com will stream the games on YouTube from High Point Solutions Arena at TD Bank Sports Center, site of the 2014 Women's Frozen Four.
| PENN STATE (1-0-1, 0-0-0 CHA) at QUINNIPIAC (1-0-1, 0-0-0 ECAC Hockey) | |
| Games 3-4: Oct. 11-12, 2013 • High Point Solutions Arena at TD Bank Sports Center • Hamden, Conn. | |
| VENUE | High Point Solutions Arena at TD Bank Sports Center (3,084) |
| STREAMING COVERAGE (Fri.) | QuinnipiacBobcats.com on YouTube |
| STREAMING COVERAGE (Sat.) | QuinnipiacBobcats.com on YouTube |
| LIVE STATS | Live Stats |
| SERIES RECORD | 0-0-0 |
| LAST MEETING | First Meeting Oct. 11, 2013 |
| NEXT TIME OUT | Oct. 18-19 vs. Union at Pegula Ice Arena |
| Penn State Game Notes | |
GAME NOTES
• Penn State travels to Quinnipiac for two games at site of 2014 Women's Frozen Four
• Nittany Lions opened season 1-0-1 at Vermont with 3-3 tie and 4-2 win
• Quinnipiac went 1-0-1 last week at St. Cloud State with a 0-0 tie and 3-1 win
• Hannah Hoenshell was named CHA Player of the Week for 3-point game at UVM
• Kelly Seward earned CHA Rookie of the Week for 2-goal weekend at Vermont
• Lions scored 3 or more goals in back-to-back games for first time since Jan. 4-5
• Penn State's freshmen and sophomores have tallied 16 of team's 19 points
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Quinnipiac opened its season in identical fashion to Penn State: 1-0-1. The Bobcats opened Friday at St. Cloud State with a 0-0 tie and came back from a goal down to defeat the Huskies 3-1 on Saturday. The Quinnipiac defense was stout, allowing just one goal in 125 minutes of hockey, but the offense didn't get on the board for the first 117:54 of the season. QU scored three goals in a span of 4:14 late in the third period for the victory.
Freshman Emma Woods supplied the game-winner and the insurance goal in Saturday's victory to earn the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honor. Junior goaltender Chelsea Laden was tabbed the conference's Goalie of the Week as both earned their first weekly awards. Laden was in net for all 125 minutes, posting a 0.48 GAA and saving 97.9 percent of the shots on net. Sophomore Nicole Connery was vital to the QU offense with a goal and two assists on Saturday. Senior Kelly Babstock bagged two assists of her own. Babstock led the Bobcats last year with 55 points on 28 goals and 27 assists. Junior Nicole Kosta was second on the squad last season with 39 points on 11 goals and 28 assists.
LIONS FINISH WEEKEND UNDEFEATED
The Nittany Lions opened their second season in impressive fashion with a 1-0-1 weekend at Vermont. Shannon Yoxheimer notched three points and the Nittany Lions played to a 3-3 tie with Vermont at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Friday night (Oct. 4). Twice Penn State trailed and each time PSU responded with a tying goal. Freshman Kelly Seward scored the game's opening goal and Taylor Gross tied things up at two in the third period. Senior goaltender Nicole Paniccia was spectacular in net making 35 saves to keep the dangerous Catamounts in check.
Penn State scored three of the game's final four goals to defeat Vermont, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 5) at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Hannah Hoenshell tallied a game-high three points on a goal and two excellent assists, while freshman Laura Bowman scored her first two collegiate goals. Hoenshell was a game-high plus-four, while Bowman and fellow linemate Amy Petersen carded plus-three ratings. Sophomore goaltender Celine Whitlinger saved 37 Catamount shots as Penn State went 1-0-1 in its season-opening series. The Nittany Lions improved to 2-1-1 all-time against Vermont.
HOENSHELL, SEWARD EARN CHA AWARDS
Penn State forward Hannah Hoenshell and defender Kelly Seward were named College Hockey America's Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, on Monday, Oct. 7.
A crafty forward with incredible stick skills, Hoenshell propelled Penn State to an undefeated weekend at Vermont, supplying three points and a game-high plus-four rating in Saturday's 4-2 win. Hoenshell was involved in three of Penn State's four goals, tallying a goal and two assists. Her goal was her second career game-winning goal.
Seward was fantastic on both sides of the ice this weekend as she tallied two goals, which ties for the team high after two games. Seward posted a plus-two rating and seven blocked shots for the weekend as well. In both games, Seward scored Penn State's first goal. On Friday it was a power-play tally and Saturday it was a game-tying goal in the first period.
OFFENSIVE BREAKOUT
Last season, Penn State struggled to score, averaging just 1.67 goals per game against Division I competition. In the opening two games, Penn State tallied seven goals (3.5 gpg). Moreover, the Nittany Lions tallied three or more goals in consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 4-5 (10-0 and 4-0 wins vs. Chatham).
YOUTH SUPPLIES THE OFFENSE
The four additions of freshmen Laura Bowman, Amy Petersen, Sarah Nielsen and Kelly Seward injected an instant bump in scoring production with nine of the team's 19 points. Bowman and Seward each tallied two goals, while Nielsen (3 assists) and Petersen (2) combined for five assists. To prove the youth of the team, 16 of the team's 19 points were collectively tallied by freshmen and sophomores.
LIONS SEARCHING FOR FIRST WIN OVER ECAC HOCKEY
Last season the Nittany Lions went 0-5-0 against teams from ECAC Hockey. The Quinnipiac games are the first two of seven matchups against the ECAC, which is comprised of seven Ivy League teams and five other Northeastern schools.
PENN STATE HAS A #NEWDEN
On Sept. 6, Mortensen Construction turned the keys over to Penn State and its new $90 million home, Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions host 17 games in the state-of-the-art arena that seats 5,782 beginning with a series vs. Union (Oct. 18-19). That kicks off an eight-game home stand over 23 days.
BRING `EM BACK
Penn State brings back 24 of its 27 members from last year's team. In those 24 student-athletes, Penn State returns its top 14 scorers and almost 99 percent of its offense along with every member of its stout goaltending corps.
YOXHEIMER MAKES HER MARK
Leading the team in scoring last season was Shannon Yoxheimer, a left-handed forward. Yoxheimer buried 14 goals with 17 assists for a grand total of 31 points, all team highs. She led College Hockey America in shots (169) and put away three power play goals as well as a team-high three game-winning goals. Yoxheimer's numbers ranked her in the top 10 nationally in goals, points and assists for rookies. The CHA coaches named Yoxheimer to the All-Rookie team.
THE PANICCIA WALL
Senior goaltender Nicole Paniccia excelled between the pipes for the Blue and White last year, stopping 1,028 shots with a 92.8 save percentage. Paniccia's save tally was second in all of NCAA Division I, topped only by fellow CHA upstart Lindenwood's Nicole Hensley. Paniccia was in net for six of PSU's seven victories last year as well as both of Penn State's ties.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns to Hockey Valley to open Pegula Ice Arena on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 18-19 against Union. The Union series kicks off eight straight home games for the Nittany Lions. Penn State women's hockey plays eight of the first 11 varsity games at Pegula Ice Arena. The men's team opens PIA on Friday, Oct. 11 against Army.