Jan. 3, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Penn State women's hockey dropped its series opener to Ohio State, 8-0, on Friday night at OSU Ice Rink. The two teams complete the series Saturday at 4:07 p.m. in Columbus.
Ohio State (6-11-2, 2-10-2 WCHA) took advantage of two early Penn State (3-15-2, 1-9-0 CHA) penalties in the game's first 12 minutes. Sara Schmitt scored her fifth goal of the season 8:30 into the contest before her sister, Kari Schmitt, doubled the lead at 11:53. Goaltender Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) saved 19 of 21 Ohio State shots.
The second period was controlled by the Buckeyes as Katie Matheny scored just a few seconds following an OSU power play for a 3-0 lead 5:52 into the second period. The Buckeyes scored again 62 seconds later through Claudia Kepler. Ten minutes later, Kepler scored again for a 5-0 lead before Danielle Gagne scored with 1:44 remaining in the second period.
In the third period, Taylor Kuehl and Kendall Curtis tallied goals for Ohio State at 8:26 and 12:59 for the final score line.
The Buckeyes held a 56-19 edge in shots in the teams' first meeting in women's hockey. Whitlinger finished the contest with 48 saves to pace the Nittany Lions. Senior Jenna Welch (Austin, Texas) rattled off four shots to lead Penn State.