Feb. 18, 2014
By Jackson Thibodeau, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - "I think for us as seniors, we got a chance to be in a position that a lot of people aren't lucky enough to have and that's starting a new program, starting a new culture and making history," said senior goaltender Nicole Paniccia following the final home series for the women's hockey team.
Penn State came up short in both games against No. 8 Mercyhurst over the weekend, dropping Saturday's (Feb. 15) contest, 4-0, and Sunday's (Feb. 16) battle, 4-1, to the Lakers. For captain Taylor Gross, assistant captains Lindsay Reihl and Jenna Welch, and fellow seniors Paniccia and Tess Weaver--Sunday was the final time these Nittany Lions skated out in front of their home crowd.
"Obviously it is really emotional and I'm an emotional person," said Gross, who served as the program's first-ever captain. "It's been an awesome two years here and I would make the same decision over and over and over again."
The decision Gross is referring to was the choice to transfer to Penn State from Connecticut after her sophomore season. Welch and Paniccia also began their careers as Huskies and transferred in the same season that Gross did.
"The collective culture that they've created here has been outstanding," said head coach Josh Brandwene. "What they've done is `pay it forward' for this program for years to come, and I'll never stop being grateful for that."
Following Sunday's tight contest, the senior class was honored with a ceremony on the ice in front of their teammates, families and friends.
"This was a special weekend for this program for so many reasons," Brandwene said. "With our seniors--I don't even know where to start to describe how grateful I am for their leadership and how well they've represented this program."
The weekend series was special for reasons beyond appreciating the senior class. The Blue and White put up a very impressive performance against the No. 8 team in the nation, holding the Lakers to eight goals compared to their last series in which they allowed 15.
"I've been saying this pretty consistently the past few weeks and it's who this team has become in the last six weeks," Brandwene said. "You can sharply see the `compare and contrast' from the end of our first semester against Mercyhurst to now."
To hold the visitors to nearly half the goals as the last series in December, the Nittany Lions exhibited a calm and collected demeanor. Paniccia and fellow goaltender Celine Whitlinger turned away a combined 78 shots against the 11-time College Hockey America champions.
"This weekend was a gritty effort, especially in our defensive zone," Brandwene said. "For us to go right down to the wire with them [Mercyhurst]--that's playoff style hockey."
The only Penn State goal of the weekend was scored by sophomore Hannah Hoenshell in Sunday's contest--it was her fifth strike of the season.
The home schedule is all wrapped up for the inaugural season inside Pegula Ice Arena, but the season isn't over yet for Brandwene's squad.
This weekend the squad will head to Neville Island, Pa., to take on Robert Morris for the final regular season series of this campaign. Following that, the Nittany Lions will compete in the first round of the CHA Tournament at the conference's highest seed.
"I am going to be really sad for this experience to end but we still have games left," Gross said.
When the five seniors step off the ice for the final time, it certainly won't be the last time their presence is felt in Happy Valley.
"They are special people and they are leaving a tremendous legacy behind," Brandwene said.