Feb. 4, 2016
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With six games remaining in the 2015-16 regular season, the Penn State women's hockey team hosts College Hockey America (CHA) opponent Syracuse for a pivotal two-game series this weekend inside the Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. Friday night and 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Saturday's contest is Penn State's annual Skate for the Cure game.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with live stats for both games this weekend via GoPSUsports.com. Friday's game will be streamed live on GoPSUsports.com, while Saturday's game will be televised on the Big Ten Network. Rick Pizzo and Laura Halldorson will be on the call Saturday for the BTN broadcast.
PARKING
Fans for women's hockey are encouraged to use the Shields or Wagner building parking lots or Orange-F by Holuba Hall/East Area Locker Room Friday night.
PROMOTIONS
Penn State faculty & staff can pick up a $3 ticket for Friday's game either online via GoPSUsports.com or at game-time Friday. Friday's game is also a Family 4-Pack game. For $30, fans can purchase four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks.
This weekend is also the Penn State Winter Sports Weekend, as fans can attend three home basketball and hockey events for half price.
Fans can save $30 when they buy a three-game basketball and hockey ticket for just $30, half off the regular price if bought individually. The three-game ticket special includes a ticket to the Feb. 5 women's hockey game vs. Syracuse (7 p.m.), the Feb. 6 Nittany Lion basketball clash vs. Indiana (8 p.m.) and the Feb. 7 Lady Lion basketball contest vs. Rutgers (2 p.m.).
Fans who buy the three-game ticket special also will receive for free, at each venue over the weekend, a Penn State Hockey drawstring bag, a Lady Lion Basketball winter hat and a Nittany Lion Basketball keychain, respectively.
Saturday's game is the annual Skate for the Cure game and fans that wear pink will receive free admission and following Saturday's contest, the Nittany Lions are hosting the final post-game skate of the season.
BAG POLICY
Fans are reminded that bags may be subject to search upon entrance to the Pegula Ice Arena.
SCOUTING THE ORANGE (12-13-3, 8-4-2)
The Syracuse Orange enter the weekend series against Penn State with an overall record of 12-13-3 and 8-4-2 in the CHA.
Syracuse is coming off a weekend split against CHA-leading Mercyhurst. Mercyhurst won the opener 4-1 and Syracuse rebounded with a 2-1 overtime win last Saturday.
In the CHA standings, Syracuse ranks second (18) - two points shy of CHA-leader Mercyhurst (20). Robert Morris ranks third with 16 points and Penn State is fourth with 15 points.
The Orange currently feature four of the top-seven point-getters in the CHA. Sophomore Stephanie Grossi currently ranks second in the league with 27 points (8g, 19a) followed by senior Melissa Piacentini in third with 26 points (7g, 19a). Along with Grossi and Piacentini, the Nittany Lions will face Nicole Ferrara, who currently ranks tied for second in the league with 12 goals this season.
Jenn Gilligan has spent the majority of the season in net for the Orange. In 1510:52 minutes of action this season, Gilligan has recorded 455 saves, tallied a save percentage of .896, a goals against average of 2.10 and allowed 53 goals. In her senior season, Gilligan has tallied a record of 11-12-3.
As a team, Syracuse ranks second in scoring offense with 2.43 goals per game (68 goals).
Syracuse, like Penn State, is one of the least penalized teams in the CHA. Syracuse comes into the series second in the CHA averaging 7.4 penalty minutes per game. Penn State leads the league averaging 6.6 penalty minutes per game.
LAST SERIES RECAP
The Nittany Lions swept CHA team RIT inside the Pegula Ice Arena last weekend. Penn State topped RIT, 1-0 and 2-0.
In Friday's contest, Amy Petersen tallied the fifth short-handed goal in program history in the 1-0 win.
In Saturday's game, Shannon Yoxheimer netted two goals for the seventh time in her career for the 2-0 victory.
The Nittany Lion defense kept the Tiger offense in check by only allowing 29 shots on goal. The Nittany Lion netminders stopped all 29 shots securing a pair of shutouts.
Hannah Ehresmann made 15 saves on Saturday, while Celine Whitlinger tallied 14 saves Friday.
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 Shannon Yoxheimer in career goals (39) and power play goals (10).
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 three goals this season on assists from Bowman.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Victoria Samuelsson ranks ninth in the CHA in freshman scoring with 11 points (1g, 10a) and Hannah England is tied for 14th with seven points (2g, 5a).
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 with 10 game-winning goals.
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 (.944) and she ranks eighth in goals against average (1.57) 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 (Holdcroft).
Shannon Yoxheimer holds the Penn State record with 10 power play goals followed by Laura Bowman (nine).
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
Five 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 each skated in their 100th game against RIT on Jan. 29.
Kelly Seward is on track to become the 12th Nittany Lion to skate in 100 games. Seward, a junior, has played in 98 career games.
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
The Nittany Lions end their eight-game homestand next weekend against Lindenwood Feb. 12-13. Penn State will honor its 12 seniors next weekend.