Oct. 27, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team (2-5-1, 0-0-0 CHA) opens its 2017-18 College Hockey America (CHA) season at the Pegula Ice Arena against the No. 9/10 Robert Morris Colonials (5-1-0, 0-0-0 CHA), Oct. 28-29. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. each day.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both games will be streamed on GoPSUsports.com for free and fans can also follow along with live stats on GoPSUsports.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single game tickets for the 2017-18 season are five dollars each. Fans can purchase single game tickets, group tickets, and Family 4 Pack deals by calling 1-800-NITTANY.
All ticket purchases can be made over the phone (1-800-NITTANY) or by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.).
SUNDAY PROMOTIONS
- Annual THON Awareness Game
- THON Families and Volunteers in attendance and participating in a variety of in-game activities and recognitions
- Silent auction on the concourse benefiting THON. Silent auction will include a team signed stick and a one-of-a-kind FTK jersey.
- Trick-or-Treating on the Concourse
- Cubs Corner Kids Zone will feature a photo booth & a balloon sculptor - all free!
- FREE Post-Game Skate with the Team
LAST TIME OUT: MERRIMACK
Penn State is coming off a weekend split at Merrimack.
Merrimack captured a 2-1 overtime victory in the first-ever meeting between the two teams on Friday, Oct. 20, before the Nittany Lions tallied a 4-3 overtime win in the series finale on Saturday, Oct. 21.
On the weekend, senior defenseman Bella Sutton led the team with three points on one goal and two assists, while freshman forward Natalie Heising netted her first two career goals in back-to-back games.
In net for the Nittany Lions, sophomore Daniela Paniccia got the start in Friday's contest and tallied an 18-save outing and then senior Hannah Ehresmann closed out the weekend with a 29-save performance.
LOOKING AT ROBERT MORRIS
The Robert Morris Colonials enter the weekend against Penn State ranked No. 9 in the USA Today poll and No. 10 in the USCHO.com poll.
On the year, Robert Morris is 5-1-0 overall and 0-0-0 in College Hockey America play.
Senior Brittany Howard has picked up where she left off last season, as she has 14 points on nine goals and five assists in six games played.
Along with Howard, sophomore Jaycee Gebhard has netted 13 points on one goal and 12 assists. Howard and Gebhard rank first and second in points in the CHA, respectively.
Last year, Howard finished 10th in the nation, and first in the CHA, in points scored with 50, while Gebhard finished tied for 13th in the nation, and was the top freshman, in points scored with 46.
In net, Elijah Milne-Price sports a perfect 4-0-0 record in 2017-18. On the year, she leads the nation in save percentage (.974) and is second in the country in goals-against average (0.52).
SERIES HISTORY VS. RMU
Robert Morris leads the all-time series against the Nittany Lions, 14-4-2.
Last season, Penn State went 1-3-0 against Robert Morris. The Nittany Lions captured a 3-2 victory at No. 8 Robert Morris on Feb. 17.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Heading into the Robert Morris series, Katie Rankin leads the freshmen in the College Hockey America conference in faceoff wins (104).
Along with leading the conference freshmen in faceoff wins, Rankin is second in shots (22), is tied for second in goals (two), and is tied for third in points (three).
Fellow classmate, Natalie Heising is fifth in faceoff wins (39), tied for third in points (three), and is tied for second in goals (two).
CHA HONORS
Penn State netminders Hannah Ehresmann and Daniela Paniccia opened the 2017-18 season with back-to-back College Hockey America Goalie of the Week honors.
In the season-opening series at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, Ehresmann made 60 saves, which included a 38-save outing in the series finale. Ehresmann kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard in four of six periods during the two-game series.
A week later against Union, Paniccia made 24 saves, allowed only one goal, tallied a goals-against average of 0.71 and posted a save percentage of .960.
NEW FACES
Along with the seven freshmen, the Penn State women's hockey program welcomes three new faces to Hockey Valley.
The Nittany Lion freshman class is comprised of Chantal Burke, Natalie Heising, Cam Leonard, Shea Nelson, Katie Rankin, Morgan Rolph, and Sophie Slattery.
Behind the bench, first-year head coach Jeff Kampersal brought on Celeste Brown and Allison Coomey to complete his coaching staff.
COACH KAMPERSAL
Jeff Kampersal brings more than 20 years of experience as a head coach to Hockey Valley.
Prior to joining the Nittany Lions during the summer of 2017, Coach Kampersal was the head coach of the Princeton Tigers for 21 seasons. During his tenure at Princeton, Coach Kampersal tallied a record of 327-261-58.
Heading into the 2017-18 season, Kampersal ranks fifth in career victories among active women's hockey coaches with 327, a total that ranks seventh all-time.
SMART LIONS
Seven members of the Penn State women's hockey program were named All-American Scholars for the 2016-17 season, as announced by American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).
Laura Bowman, Kelsey Crow, Katie McMillan, Amy Petersen, Kelly Seward, Bella Sutton, and Christi Vetter were among the 220 Division I-II student-athletes recognized by the AHCA.
HEISING WINS GOLD
Nittany Lion Natalie Heising and the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team defeated Canada, 3-1, to capture its third-straight IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship on Jan. 14, 2017.
Heising, a forward from Maple Grove, Minn., was named one of Team USA's three top players of the tournament.
PRESEASON POLL
After finishing fourth in the 2016-17 College Hockey America (CHA) regular season standings, the Penn State women's hockey team was selected fourth in the 2017-18 CHA preseason poll.
WELCOME BACK
Penn State returns 17 letterwinners to the team for the 2017-18 season, including a pair of College Hockey America (CHA) All-Rookie Team honorees.
In their first year donning the Blue & White, Brooke Madsen and Katie McMillan made their presence felt throughout the season.
Madsen, a forward, played in all 35 games and netted 21 points (7g, 14a). Madsen's season was highlighted with a three-assist outing in an 8-1 victory at Union (10/7).
On the blueline, McMillan recorded 11 points on four goals and seven assists in 35 games played.
2017-18 CAPTAINS
Senior defenseman Bella Sutton will captain the 2017-18 Nittany Lions, while Kelsey Crow and Aly Hardy will serve as alternate captains.
Sutton holds the major scoring program records by a defenseman with 14 goals, 30 assists, and 44 points.
On the power play, Sutton ranks fourth all-time in points (25), fourth in goals (nine), and is third in assists (16).
Crow, a junior defenseman, served as an alternate captain last season. Crow ranks third in goals by a defenseman (six), is tied for fourth in points by a defenseman (13), and is tied for seventh in assists by a defenseman (seven).
Hardy, a senior forward, has played in 79 games and tallied 10 points on three goals and seven assists. Off the ice, Hardy serves as the vice president for the Penn State Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB).
THE 2017-18 SLATE
Penn State is slated to play 34 contests during the 2017-18 regular season, which includes 15 games at the Pegula Ice Arena.
The 2017-18 regular season is highlighted by a trip to Minnesota Duluth (Sept. 29-30), hosting defending NCAA Champion Clarkson (Oct. 13-14), two series against Robert Morris (Oct. 28-29 & Jan. 26-27), a trip to Ohio State (Jan. 5-6), and hosting Princeton (Jan. 30).
NEXT UP
Penn State closes out its four-game homestand against the Mercyhurst Lakers on Nov. 3-4. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. each day.