Nov. 14, 2013
By Jackson Thibodeau, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For a program that is only in its second year of existence, the Penn State women's hockey team possesses an astonishing amount of leadership and experience.
How is it that a young team, still in the early stages of development, can own these qualities?
A trio of veteran leaders that bring chemistry, experience, and most importantly--character.
Seniors Taylor Gross, Nicole Paniccia and Jenna Welch all transferred to the University Park campus from Connecticut to play for the newly crafted Division I hockey program in 2012.
Each player had successful freshman and sophomore campaigns with the Huskies, but couldn't turn down the opportunity to play in Hockey Valley for Penn State's fledgling program.
"I can't say enough about their leadership," said head coach Josh Brandwene. "They stepped into this program with a type of `been there, done that' experience and an unbridled enthusiasm for being Penn Staters."
The first to arrive in University Park after leaving Connecticut was Gross, who joined the women's club hockey team in January 2012 and enrolled in the university for the spring semester. Gross received a warm welcome from the team and from Brandwene, who coached the club squad for a season in 2011-12 to help transition the program from club to varsity competition.
"Honestly, I felt like a Penn Stater the second I got here," said Gross. "My heart was always with Penn State and all the girls on the club team were very welcoming so it certainly made my transition easier."
As Gross took classes and competed at the club level in Happy Valley that spring, Welch and Paniccia finished out their sophomore seasons at UConn before deciding to transfer. After visiting the campus together in March and corresponding with their former teammate, they knew Penn State was where they wanted to be.
"I knew Penn State was starting a new program and it was just an incredible opportunity that I couldn't pass up," said Welch. "After getting my release from UConn and visiting here, I knew right then and there that Penn State was the place for me."
On and off the ice--their impact was immediate.
In last year's inaugural season, Gross was named the program's first-ever captain and the trio as a whole helped lead the team with the chemistry and bond they had built while with the Huskies. Welch and Gross combined for 29 points on the season, while Paniccia established herself as a brick wall in the net, recording 1,028 saves, the second-most in the NCAA.
The familiarity they had with one another helped pave the way for chemistry and friendships to be built immediately on a young team. Paniccia and Welch were roommates for both years Hartford, Conn. and the trio has lived together since coming to Penn State.
"Having the bond that we do certainly helped us all when we first got here," Paniccia said.
Now--nearly two years removed from their arrivals in Happy Valley, these Nittany Lions are continuing to embody these veteran characteristics, but at a whole new level.
"I think that because they have the volume of experience that they do and with the character of people that they are--they're great players, they're even better people--and that makes them tremendous mentors for a young hockey team," Brandwene said.
Their leadership styles are all different, yet all effective. Some are more vocal than others but regardless; their presence is always felt on the ice and in the locker room.
Gross is wearing the "C" patch for the team again this season while Welch has skated her way into an assistant captain role. Paniccia continues to be a force in the net with 206 saves and a .900 save percentage in six starts this season.
"Certainly as a coach and alum I know that they are Penn Staters in every sense of the term," Brandwene said, "and I think that's the highest compliment anyone can get."