Oct. 17, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Behind a trio of Nittany Lions lighting the lamp, the Penn State women's hockey team defeated Union, 3-0, Saturday night at the Pegula Ice Arena. Senior Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) tallied a goal and an assist in the game for the seventh time in her career.
Penn State struck first midway through the first period on its first power play attempt of the game.
Hannah Hoenshell (Plano, Texas) netted her second goal of the season off assists from Yoxheimer and freshman Victoria Samuelsson (Leksand, Sweden) at the 11:36 mark in the first period.
Ten seconds into the Nittany Lion power play, Samuelsson passed the puck to Yoxheimer, who then fired a shot on goal. Yoxheimer's shot hit the pipe and Hoenshell found the puck behind Union goalie Melissa Black and Hoenshell pushed the puck across the goal line for the go-ahead goal.
Penn State carried its one-goal lead into the first intermission. During the opening frame, Penn State (2-3-0) outshot Union (0-2-2), 12-5.
The Nittany Lions then recorded a pair of goals within a three-minute span in the second period of play.
Yoxheimer tallied her 35th goal as a Nittany Lion with a little more than seven minutes left to play in the second period. Freshmen Meike Meilleur (Marquette, Manitoba) and Samuelsson recorded assists on the Yoxheimer goal. From the right side of the ice, Yoxheimer fired a left-handed shot that beat Black, hit the pipe and bounced into the net for the 2-0 lead.
Laura Bowman (Minnetonka, Minn.) then tallied her team-leading third goal of the season at the 15:43 mark in the second period. As was the case in the previous game, high school teammate Amy Petersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) recorded the assist on the Bowman goal.
Union held the puck in the Nittany Lion zone following a Union power play, but Penn State was unable to clear the puck. With the Union power play ending at 15:21, Union continued to move the puck around the Penn State zone. After Kelsey Crow (Deephaven, Minn.) blocked a shot, Bowman picked up the puck and started the Nittany Lion attack. Bowman then passed the puck to Petersen in the neutral zone and then she played the puck back to Bowman inside the Union zone and then Bowman beat Black glove-side for the goal.
The Nittany Lion defense kept the Dutchwomen offense in check throughout the game, as Union only tallied 11 shots in the contest. Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) stopped all 11 shots and now is 19 saves shy of setting the all-time Penn State saves record. Whitlinger also recorded her fourth career shutout in the Blue and White.
Penn State converted on one of its two power plays, while the Nittany Lion defense stopped all three Union power play attempts.
The series concludes tomorrow inside the Pegula Ice Arena at 2 p.m. Tomorrow's game is the annual THON game and is also a Family 4 Pack game. Following the conclusion of tomorrow's game, fans will be able to skate with the Nittany Lions.