Oct. 3, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Nittany Lion women's hockey team went up against the best team in the nation Friday night and fell, 8-0, to No. 1 Minnesota at Ridder Arena. The loss is the first for Penn State in a season opener in its young varsity time.
Penn State (0-1-0) controlled the first seven minutes of play, putting the Gophers under pressure with quality passing and puck control. The Nittany Lions earned a power play just 70 seconds into the game and had Minnesota chasing the play even after the power play expired. The Lions kept the Gophers without a shot over the first six and a half minutes of the game.
The tide turned when Jordin Pardoski (Rochester Hills, Mich.) was whistled for boarding, setting up a power play for Minnesota. Milica McMillen scored at 8:04, putting away a rebound for the 1-0 lead.
Ninety-two seconds later, Lee Stecklein fired a bullet through traffic that snuck by Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) to double the lead. Whitlinger (40 saves) saved nine shots in the opening period.
Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) nearly cut the lead in half eight minutes shy of the final horn as she intercepted a Gopher pass at center ice and rifled a slap shot that was saved by Sidney Peters. Her follow up effort was also stopped by Peters. Despite that flurry, UM led the shot tally, 11-5.
Minnesota came out with a greater urgency in the second period and eventually made it 3-0 by way of a Sticklein blast, deflected by Hannah Brandt, at 6:08.
In the middle of the second period, Amy Petersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) had a short-handed opportunity to cut into the lead, but her breakaway chance was stoned by Peters. The Gophers went back the other way and McMillen scored her second power-play goal of the night for a 4-0 lead at 10:27.
Minnesota's high-powered offense continued to roll as Dani Cameranesi put away a loose puck off the left post at 14:07 for a five-goal margin. Minnesota posted a 20-6 shot margin in the second period.
In the third, the Gophers added to the lead with two more power-play goals from Megan Lorence at 2:48 and Cara Piazza at 15:00 for a 7-0 advantage. Off the ensuing faceoff, Kelsey Cline scored 12 seconds later for the final tally of the night.
The Gophers held decided advantages in every offensive category, out-shooting Penn State, 40-15, while going 4-for-6 on the power play. The Nittany Lions were 0-for-4 on the player advantage. Minnesota also out-drew Penn State 35-19. Emily Laurenzi (Townsend, Del.) was the lone Lion with a winning record at the dot (5-4).
The Nittany Lions will look to rebound Saturday evening when they take on St. Cloud State at Ridder Arena. Game time is set for 5:07 p.m. ET.