Jan. 17, 2015
 1 RIT (8-13-3, 2-7-1 CHA) |
Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) University Park, Pa. • Pegula Ice Arena • Attendance: 564 |  2 Penn State (11-9-3, 6-4-1 CHA) |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Jan. 17, 2015 - The Penn State women's hockey team used a goal and an assist by Bella Sutton (Shoreview, Minn.) to diffuse one of the top goaltenders in the nation and beat College Hockey America (CHA) rival RIT by a 2-1 margin in Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday.
RIT (8-13-3, 2-7-1 CHA) beat Penn State (11-9-3, 6-4-1 CHA) to the scoreboard first, getting a 1-0 lead nearly two-and-a-half minutes into the second period. Emilee Bulleid sent a blast to Celine Whitlinger's (Garden Grove, Calif.) net and the Tigers' leading scorer Celeste Brown was able to dig it past Whitlinger for the 1-0 lead.
But the Nittany Lions fought back and scored a pair of goals just over two minutes apart for the only lead they would need. "I loved our response after they [RIT] got that goal," head coach Josh Brandwene said. "We really elevated our game to another level and that was really important for us."
Penn State knotted the score eight minutes into the middle frame. Caitlin Reilly (Shoreview, Minn.) drew a tripping penalty in front of the Tigers' net and a minute later, Kelly Seward (Williamsville, N.Y.) served the puck to Sutton in front of the blueline. The freshman then sent a low wrister to the front of the net where Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) tipped in the game-tying goal, her ninth of the year.
"I love the work and the growth that both of our power play units continue to put in," Brandwene said. "We had great puck movement and great communication."
Nearly two-and-a-half minutes later, the Blue and White secured its 11th win of the year. Micayla Catanzariti (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) picked up the puck along the nearside boards and sent it directly behind her to Sutton. Along the wall at the top of the nearside faceoff circle, she threw a shot at Ali Binnington's net that went in for the final 2-1 score. The goal resulted in the first multi-point goal game of Sutton's career.
"My teammates did a good job of screening and getting me that puck," Sutton said. "I just threw it on net and hoped for the best."
During the conference battle, Whitlinger turned away 26 shots, as her record improved to 7-5-0. Binnington (6-6-1), who boasted the nation's top save percentage (.956) before arriving in Happy Valley this weekend, made 25 saves.
The Nittany Lions and Tigers face off again on Sun., Jan. 18 at 2 p.m. in Pegula Ice Arena.