Dec. 19, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Dec. 19, 2014 - The Nittany Lions were well-represented in the College Hockey America (CHA) monthly awards, as Laura Bowman (Minnetonka, Minn.) earned CHA Player of the Month honors and Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) captured the Goaltender of the Month award for December after leading Penn State to a 3-1 record during the month, the conference office announced today.
These are the first two CHA monthly honors awarded to a Nittany Lion in program history.
Bowman scored four goals and dished out three assists for seven points in December. She finished the month +6 and took 18 shots. Bowman earned CHA Player of the Week honors on Dec. 15 for the second time this season after she 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. In Penn State's first win of the weekend, Bowman had the primary assist on the eventual game-winner, the game's first goal. In the Nittany Lions' first December series, a split at Robert Morris, Bowman netted a shorthanded goal in the weekend finale and recorded two assists in the series-opening 5-0 win. At the end of the fall semester, Bowman leads the Blue and White with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists).
The CHA's only Goaltender of the Week for December games, Whitlinger finished the month with a 0.50 goals against average, a .987 save percentage, 78 saves and two wins, including a shutout at Robert Morris. In a 5-0 win against the Colonials, the junior turned away a season-high 42 shots including 33 in the final 40 minutes to keep the Colonials off the board for just the second time this season. The solo shutout was the second in program history and the second in as many games for Whitlinger. The win improved her record to 5-4, marking a career-high win total. 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.