Jan. 19, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - By Tyler Feldman, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior goaltender Celine Whitlinger stopped 53 shots over the course of two games to help lead Penn State (12-9-3, 7-4-1 CHA) to a series sweep of conference foe RIT (8-14-3, 2-9-1 CHA) this past weekend at Pegula Ice Arena.
In Saturday's matinee, Whitlinger kicked away 27 bullets to push the Nittany Lions to victory, 2-1. Then, in Sunday afternoon's contest, Whitlinger posted 26 saves to preserve the win, 3-1.
"Celine was so efficient, so poised, so square all weekend long," said head coach Josh Brandwene. "I'm tremendously proud of her. It's all about her effort and it's all about the great job she's doing."
Freshman defenseman Bella Sutton, who had two goals and an assist on the weekend, echoed the words of her head coach.
"Having Celine back there is a huge weight off my shoulders just knowing we have great goalies behind us, so I'm just doing whatever I can to help her out and make sure I can block any shots that she can't see," said Sutton.
In game one, both teams skated out to strong starts. Despite a scoreless first period, the Nittany Lions outshot the Tigers, 12-8, and were on the doorstep of finding the back of the net.
After a misdirected shot by RIT's Jess Paton trickled past the left pad of Whitlinger 2:22 into the second period, Shannon Yoxheimer's power play goal tied things up at the 8:04 mark. Yoxheimer beautifully redirected Sutton's shot from the point to bury the biscuit.
"I love the work and the growth that both of our power play units continue to put in," said Brandwene. "I thought we had great looks on even the power plays that we had before. We broke through and scored, so we had great puck movement, great communication. And again, you got a good low shot from Bella and Shannon perfectly placed in front of the net."
Just over two minutes had ticked off the clock following Yoxheimer's goal when a wrist shot from Sutton atop the right wing circle provided the Nittany Lions with the game-winning goal.
"I got the puck at the point, and really I was just trying to throw it on net," said Sutton. "My teammates did a good job of screening and getting me that puck, so I just threw it on net and hoped for the best."
The Blue and White carried momentum into game two, as Laura Bowman netted her second shorthanded goal of the season at the 8:49 mark in the second period.
"Honestly, I was trying to go for a pad pass, but it ended up hitting the inside of [Binnington's] pad," said Bowman who has 12 goals on the season. "She does have a pretty open five-hole."
Sutton continued her "offensively-minded defenseman" mentality into the second game. The Shoreview, Minn., native gave Penn State a 2-0 lead when, on the power play, she fired a shot from the point through traffic past RIT's net minder, Ali Binnington.
"There was traffic in front...so I just got a nice shot through, hoping to get one on the net for my teammates to tip in or rebound in," said Sutton.
RIT cut the lead in half at the 12:31 mark in the third period when Cassie Clayton scored her second goal of the season. However, junior forward Hannah Hoenshell put the fans at ease just over a minute later when she found the back of the net for her fourth tally of the year to give the Blue and White a two-goal lead.
"Just from this weekend we know that when we stick to our game plan and everyone is doing their job that we will get the results we want as long as we're working 110 percent every shift," said Sutton.
The key for Penn State over the weekend was special teams play. The Tigers finished 0-for-9 on the power play, while the Nittany Lions managed to score one power play and one short-handed goal.
"Our team really prides ourselves on our special teams," said Bowman. "We have one of the best percentages in the league. Sometimes we actually get excited for the power play and penalty kill." With the two triumphs, Penn State notched its second home series sweep of the season
"It feels great," said Sutton when asked about the series sweep. "It's really cool that our hard work is paying off, but we have to look forward to the next weekend. Enjoy this, but be ready to work hard this week to prepare for next weekend."
The Nittany Lions will look to extend their two-game winning streak next weekend, Jan. 23-24, as they travel to New Hampshire for their final two non-conference games of the season.