Jan. 28, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team continues its eight-game homestand this weekend with College Hockey America (CHA) opponent RIT Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. The Nittany Lions have two more home series in the 2015-16 regular season following this weekend.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with live stats and live video for free courtesy of GoPSUsports.com.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
The first 200 fans in attendance Friday night will receive a Penn State women's hockey drawstring bag. Also, the first 200 fans in attendance Saturday afternoon will receive a Penn State women's hockey lanyard.
Saturday's game is a Family 4-Pack game. For $30, fans can purchase four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks.
Fans that bring their ticket stub from the Penn State men's hockey game against Michigan (1/28) to the Pegula Ice Arena ticket office can purchase $3 single-game tickets this weekend.
BAG POLICY
Fans are reminded that bags may be subject to search upon entrance to the Pegula Ice Arena.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS (6-19-1, 2-9-1 CHA)
RIT enters the weekend with an overall record of 6-19-1 and 2-9-1 in College Hockey America play.
The Tigers are coming off a series split against Syracuse last weekend. RIT won the opener 2-1 in overtime and fell 3-0 in the finale. Jetta Rackleff made 76 saves in the series for the Tigers on 80 shots faced.
The Tigers are led offensively by freshman Reagan Rust. Rust has accounted for 15 points (5g, 10a) during her rookie campaign, which currently leads the team. Rust's 15 points are currently tied for fifth in freshman scoring in the conference.
On the power play, Rust has tallied seven points (2g, 5a), which is tied for fourth in the CHA.
Also for the Tigers, Carly Payerl (8g, 6a) and Jess Paton (5g, 9a) have chipped in for 14 points apiece.
In net, Rackleff has made 299 saves, tallied a goals against average of 2.35 and only allowed in 22 goals in 561:16 minutes of action this season. Also in net, Brooke Stoddart has made 275 saves, posted a goals against average of 3.23 and allowed 33 goals in 613:23 minutes played.
As a team, RIT ranks last in the CHA in scoring offense (1.58 goals scored per game), last in scoring defense (3.31 goals allowed per game), power play (12/123 -- 9.8%) and penalty kill (98/124 -- 79.0%).
On the penalty kill, RIT has scored four shorthanded goals this season. RIT's four shorthanded goals rank fifth in the NCAA.
LAST SERIES RECAP
The Nittany Lions opened their eight-game homestand with a 3-2 win over CHA opponent Robert Morris in overtime.
Bella Sutton netted her fourth-career game-winning goal to capture the 3-2 win Friday night. The series came to close with both teams playing to a 2-2 tie Saturday afternoon.
In the weekend series, Amy Petersen led the Nittany Lions with four points on one goal and three assists. Hannah Bramm chipped in three goals to bring her season total to eight. Bramm scored a pair of goals in Friday's game and scored once in Saturday's meeting.
In net for the Blue and White, Celine Whitlinger made 33 saves in Friday's contest, while Hannah Ehresmann recorded a season-high 40 saves Saturday afternoon. Ehresmann's 40 saves are the third-most of her Nittany Lion career.
SCHOOL RECORDS IN SIGHT
Last season, Laura Bowman set the single-season school record with 16 goals. Currently the junior has tallied ten goals in 2015-16.
Against RIT on Jan. 16, Bowman netted her 36th career goal, which was also her ninth career power play goal. She ranks second behind Yoxheimer in career goals (37) and they both are tied for the program lead in power play goals (nine).
MINNETONKA CONNECTION
Juniors Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen lead the team with ten goals and 13 assists, respectively. Petersen has tallied an assist on six Bowman goals this season. Petersen has netted two goals this season on assists from Bowman.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Victoria Samuelsson ranks ninth in the CHA in freshman scoring with 10 points (1g, 9a) and Hannah England is tied for 15th with five points (2g, 3a).
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER
Hannah Hoenshell is tied for second in the CHA in game-winning goals (three). In her career, Hoenshell has scored six game-winning goals, which is tied for second all-time (Bowman). Shannon Yoxheimer holds the Penn State record (nine).
BACK-TO-BACK
For the first time in program history, the Nittany Lions tallied back-to-back shutouts against a Division I team. Penn State swept Union by a score of 3-0 in each game.
Penn State also recorded its first back-to-back overtime wins in program history. Penn State topped RIT 3-2 in OT on Jan. 16 and bested Robert Morris 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 22.
NCAA RANKINGS
Celine Whitlinger is sixth in save percentage (.943) and she ranks 10th in goals against average (1.66) in the NCAA this season.
SUTTON EXCELS ON THE POWER PLAY
Bella Sutton has netted two power play goals this season, which gives her seven in her career. The sophomore is tied for third all-time at Penn State in power play goals. Bowman and Yoxheimer hold the program record with nine apiece.
ALL-TIME SAVES RECORD
Celine Whitlinger captured the all-time Penn State women's hockey saves record Friday, Oct. 30, at Lindenwood. Nicole Paniccia held the previous Nittany Lion all-time saves record with 1,801.
NITTANY LION ATTACK
The Nittany Lions have tallied at least five goals in a game twice this season. The two five-goal outings are the 10th and 11th in program history.
STARTING OUT FAST
On Oct. 9, 2015, against No. 7/8 BU, Laura Bowman scored 43 seconds into the game, which is three seconds shy of tying the program record for the fastest goal to start a game. The record, held by Bowman, was set on Oct. 26, 2013, against New Hampshire.
100 GAMES
Two Nittany Lions have eclipsed the century mark in games played this season.
In the season-opener against Minnesota, Jill Holdcroft became the seventh Nittany Lion to skate in 100 career games and Micayla Catanzariti became the eighth Nittany Lion to post 100 games played on Oct. 31.
Laura Bowman, Sarah Nielsen and Amy Petersen are on track to become the next Nittany Lions to skate in 100 games. The trio of Minnesotans have played in 99 games each.
CHA HONORS
Four Nittany Lions have garnered weekly or monthly CHA honors this season.
Ehresmann was named the CHA Goalie of the Week after tallying 74 saves in the series against the No. 10 Princeton Tigers Dec. 11-12. Ehresmann made 38 saves in Friday's game and recorded 36 saves in the series finale.
Petersen was named the CHA Player of Week for the first time in her career after the Robert Morris series Jan. 22-23. In the series, Petersen tallied a team-leading four points on one goal and three assists. In Friday's 3-2 overtime win, Petersen dished out two assists and in Saturday's 2-2 tie, Petersen scored her fourth goal of the season and dished out her team-leading 13th assist of the 2015-16 season.
Samuelsson has been named the CHA Rookie of the Week twice this season. In the Union series, Samuelsson dished out two assists Saturday night and added one more in Sunday's game. Samuelsson was also named the CHA Rookie of the Week following the Robert Morris series Jan. 22-23. In the series, Samuelsson tallied her ninth assist of the season.
Whitlinger has been named the CHA Goalie of the Week twice in the 2015-16 season. Whitlinger tallied 41 saves against the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers for the first plaudit and made 65 saves in a weekend series against Robert Morris for the second award. For the third time as a Nittany Lion, Whitlinger was named the CHA Goalie for the month for October. In the month of October, Whitlinger made 158 saves, tallied a goals against average of 1.66 and posted a save percentage of .940.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State hosts Syracuse in its second-to-last regular season series at the Pegula Ice Arena of 2015-16 on Feb. 5-6. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. with Saturday's game live on the Big Ten Network.