Dec. 13, 2014
3 #6 Mercyhurst (17-4-2, 7-3-0 CHA) |
Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) University Park, Pa. • Pegula Ice Arena • Attendance: 1257 | 5 Penn State (10-7-3, 5-4-1 CHA) |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Dec. 13, 2014 - The third-highest attended game in Penn State women's hockey history witnessed the program's first College Hockey America (CHA) series sweep over the sixth-ranked team in the country, Mercyhurst, following a 5-3 win over the Lakers on Saturday.
Laura Bowman (Minnetonka, Minn.) scored the second hat trick in program history and the Nittany Lions put up a three-goal third period en route to team's third victory in four games.
"This team is so resilient," head coach Josh Brandwene said. "Playing the number six team in the country, we never wavered and stuck with the game plan. That was a big time effort from our hockey team."
Penn State (10-7-3, 5-4-1 CHA) and No. 6 Mercyhurst (16-4-2, 7-3-0 CHA) were tied 2-2 with goals from Bowman and Caitlin Reilly (Chanhassen, Minn.) heading into the third period. But just over four minutes into the frame, Hannah Bramm (Tampa, Fla.) maintained the Nittany Lions' success on the special teams. She deked a Mercyhurst defender and ripped a shot passed the goalie blockerside, giving Penn State a 4-3 lead.
At 10:23, Emily Janiga's second of the game knotted the score at 4-4.
But as the game clock wound down, the Blue and White pressed on and their offensive prowess paid off with less than two minutes left in regulation. Bowman stripped a Laker of the puck at center ice, skated around three players and sniped it from the top of the farside faceoff circle. The game-winning goal trickled five hole for Bowman's second of the game.
Bowman earned Penn State women's hockey's second hat trick with just one second left in the game. She won the faceoff at center ice and ripped it into the net for her 11th of the season.
Hannah Ehresmann (Minnetonka, Minn.) turned away 26 shots in her fourth win of the year.
The 1,257 fans at Pegula Ice Arena witnessed the first sweep against Mercyhurst since 2012.
"This sweep shows just how far we've come," sophomore Amy Petersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) said. "It shows just how far we've come in our third year as a D1 program. It shows that we're capable of doing anything we set our minds to and we can if we all work together as a team."
The Nittany Lions return to action by hosting Ohio State on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.