March 5, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - While the opponent may be familiar, the situation will certainly be different for the Penn State women's hockey team this Friday.
When the Nittany Lions take on Syracuse this Friday in the CHA tournament semifinals, it will be the fifth time this year they will have taken on the Orange. The difference however, will be what is at stake.
This time around, the two clubs won't be playing a two-game series like they did on Oct 31-Nov. 1 and Jan. 30- 31. Now, the winner of Friday's contest will move on to the CHA finals, where they will face off against the winner of Robert Morris and Mercyhurst.
So far this season, the Lions are 1-1-2 against the Orange, losing 3-1 and tying to 2-2 the first series and tying 2-2 and winning 4-2 the second.
"I think the familiarity makes for exciting competition this time of year," Penn State head coach Josh Brandwene said. "We are focused on us, our preparation and continued growth as a team and looking forward to competing."
The Nittany Lions reached the semifinals by beating Lindenwood twice last weekend, by scores of 1-0 and 3-1. In those contests, Penn State got big performances from Shannon Yoxheimer, who scored in each game, and Bella Sutton, who registered two goals and an assist in the second victory.
On the backend, the Lions also got an impressive performance from goaltender Celine Whitlinger, who allowed just one goal on 48 shots during the weekend to finish with a terrific .979 save percentage. Whitlinger is now 13-10-1 on the season with a 2.17 goals-against-average.
While winning both games over the weekend was obviously important for the Lions in terms of advancing them to their first ever CHA tournament semifinals berth, it also gives them a much needed boost of confidence at this time of the season.
Prior to last weekend, the Lions had dropped five contests in a row and hadn't won since Feb. 6. Now with two straight wins under its belts, Penn State can go into Friday knowing it's primed for a peak performance.
"We had an excellent week of preparation and looking forward to getting after it," Brandwene said.
As for Syracuse, the Orange had a bye in the first round of the tournament and haven't played since Feb. 21, a 1-0 loss to RIT. In their last six games, the Orange are 4-1-1 but have a 5-6 all-time record in CHA tournament games.
If Penn State can get past Syracuse, it will have a tough test no matter what opponent it gets next. On the season, the Lions are 2-2 against Meryhurst and 1-3 against Robert Morris. The winner of the tournament will also get a automatic bid in the NCAA tournament.
However the weekend does play out, the Lions have taken a major step forward as a program by advancing to the semifinals. No matter what, Brandwene knows his club is moving in the right direction.
"This team's continued success and growth is a credit to the players' commitment to excellence and to the process everyday," Brandwene said. "We're excited and really looking forward to competing."