Oct. 23, 2015
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By Jack Milewski, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬"The Penn State women's hockey team is a very balanced program from top to bottom. That balance is evident in all four of their lines and their defensive pairings. Nowhere is that balance more evident than in net as the Nittany Lions boast a terrific goaltending combination. The team, as it did at the beginning of last season, is splitting time between goaltenders Celine Whitlinger and Hannah Ehresmann.
Whitlinger and Ehresmann have both started three games this year performing very well with .957 and .912 save percentages respectively. Both goaltenders stepped up their game this past weekend, recording the first two shutouts of the season for the Nittany Lions on back-to-back nights. This also marked the first time in program history that Penn State shutout a Division I program on back-to-back nights.
On Saturday it was Whitlinger, making all 11 saves against Union in a 3-0 victory. The following afternoon, Ehresmann stopped all 16 pucks she saw to finish of the weekend sweep with the second consecutive 3-0 victory. The two goalies battling week in and week out has helped both to elevate their game.
"They are sisters," said Coach Josh Brandwene. "They feed off each other and they both work so hard."
Though the two didn't have to work particularly hard during the weekend series because of the stellar play of their defense, whom they both credited for their successes, the work that they put in at practice every week has definitely shown through in their play this season and this weekend was a great indication of where the two goaltenders are at in terms of their play.
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