Feb. 14, 2015
4 Lindenwood (22-7-3, 13-4-1 CHA) |
Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) Erie, Pa. • Mercyhurst Ice Center • Attendance: 927 | 0 Penn State (15-13-4, 9-7-2 CHA) |
ERIE, Pa.; Feb. 14, 2015 - Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) had her second-straight game with 30-or-more saves, but Penn State women's hockey lost a 4-0 College Hockey America (CHA) decision to Mercyhurst on Saturday.
With the win, Mercyhurst's fourth-straight, the Lakers (22-7-3, 13-4-1 CHA) capture their 13th-straight CHA regular season title. Penn State is now tied in the CHA standings with Syracuse. Both teams have 20 points.
The Nittany Lions (15-13-4, 9-7-2 CHA) kept the game close during the opening 20 minutes of play, tying Mercyhurst in the shot column, 8-8. With 4:48 to go in the period, Penn State sent a flurry of shots to Amanda Makela's net, recording four shots in 2:10, but was unable to put anything past her.
But Penn State found itself in penalty trouble in the second period and the infractions proved to be costly. Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) was called for tripping, a penalty Bella Sutton (Shoreview, Minn.) matched 44 seconds later. At 9:34 skating 5-on-3, Mercyhurst capitalized on the advantage with a goal from Shelby Bram for the 1-0 margin.
With 3:26 left in the stanza, Paige Jahnke (Oakdale, Minn.) was sent to the box for high sticking and 1:15 into the power play, the CHA's leading scorer Emily Janiga doubled the Lakers' lead, 2-0.
Mercyhurst carried its momentum into the third period, and its offensive prowess paid off as the frame neared its conclusion. Whitlinger turned away three consecutive Laker shots, but Janiga got one through with 4:02 left in regulation for her second of the game and the 3-0 advantage.
Jenna Dingeldein added an empty netter for the final 4-0 score.
The Nittany Lions went 0-for-7 on the power play, while Mercyhurst was 2-for-7 with the player advantage.
Penn State and Mercyhurst tied in the faceoff circle with each team winning 31 puck drops. Emily Laurenzi (Townsend, Del.) was 10-7, a team best.
The Lakers out-shot Penn State, 40-18. Yoxheimer led Penn State with five shots. Sutton and Remi Martin (Littleton, Colo.) each recorded three blocked shots en route to the team's 13 blocked shots.
Whitlinger (11-8-1) made 36 saves for her second-straight game with 30-or-more stops.
The Nittany Lions return to Pegula Ice Arena next weekend for its final series of the regular season, against Robert Morris. The teams square off on Fri., Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 21 at noon.