Dec. 15, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Dec. 15, 2014 - Following a historic weekend during which Penn State women's hockey swept No. 6 Mercyhurst for the team's first CHA series sweep and wins over a ranked opponent, two Nittany Lions captured individual weekly honors. Laura Bowman (Minnetonka, Minn.) collected her second CHA Player of the Week award this season and Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) picked up Goaltender of the Week honors for the second-straight week and fourth time this year.
Bowman produced a four-point weekend in the Nittany Lions' sweep over No. 6 Mercyhurst. In the series finale, a 5-3 victory, Bowman recorded the program's second hat trick, finishing the game +4. She netted the Nittany Lions' first goal of the game less than 40 seconds after the Lakers took a 2-0 lead early in the first period. With 2:44 left in regulation and the game tied 3-3, the sophomore alternate captain fired a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that trickled in for the 4-3 game winner. She added an empty netter just before time expired on the game clock. In Penn State's first win of the weekend, Bowman had the primary assist on the eventual game-winner, the game's first goal. On the 4-on-4, Bowman picked up a Mercyhurst turnover in front of the Penn State bench and skated in on the goaltender with Amy Peterson racing down the wing. When she got to the net, Bowman passed the puck behind her to Peterson, who flipped it top shelf for the 1-0 lead. Following the history-making series, Bowman leads the Blue and White with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists).
Whitlinger's outstanding play helped propel the Nittany Lions to the program's first win over a ranked opponent, a 2-1 victory against No. 6 Mercyhurst. Whitlinger made 36 saves, turning away 14 shots in the first and third periods, in her third-straight win, improving her record to 6-4-0. The Lakers' lone goal of the game with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in regulation was the first in her last 179:27 between the pipes.
The Nittany Lions return to action by hosting Ohio State on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 4 at 2 p.m.