Dec. 2, 2017
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Penn State women's hockey team used a two-goal second period to capture a 2-0 win, and a series sweep, against the RIT Tigers in a College Hockey America (CHA) contest Saturday afternoon at the Gene Polisseni Center.
Despite combining for 28 shot attempts during the first period, neither team was able to find the back of the net. Penn State (4-7-8, 2-2-4 CHA) outshot RIT (4-12-2, 1-7-0 CHA), 17-11, over the first 20 minutes of the game.
In the second period, Brooke Madsen (Eagan, Minn.) opened the scoring with her third goal of the season at 7:09. On Penn State's first goal of the game, Madsen brought the puck into the RIT zone before firing a right-handed shot past RIT netminder Terra Lanteigne. Freshman Sophie Slattery (Edina, Minn.) and sophomore Kate Rydland (Eden Prairie, Minn.) were credited with the assists on the Madsen goal.
Nittany Lion rookie Katie Rankin (Kanata, Ontario) then added to the Penn State lead on her third career goal with 5:58 remaining in the second period.
With the Nittany Lions on the power play, Natalie Heising (Maple Grove, Minn.), from the left side of the RIT zone, passed the puck to the point where Kelsey Crow (Minnetonka, Minn.) faked the shot and then passed the puck to Rankin on the right side of the ice where she connected on the one-timer.
In net, sophomore Daniela Paniccia (Oakville, Ontario) recorded 32 saves, which included 15 saves during the third period to complete the shutout, for the Nittany Lions, while Lanteigne posted 28 saves for the Tigers.
Penn State returns to action with a trip to No. 5 Ohio State, Jan. 5-6, 2018. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio.
NOTES: The all-time series between the two teams is tied, 13-13-3...RIT outshot Penn State, 32-30…Penn State went 1-for-4 on the power play, while RIT went 0-for-3...Madsen extended her point streak to four games (1-4-5), which ties a career-best mark she set earlier this season (10/28-11/4)...Heising extended her point streak to three games (3-2-5)...Rankin extended her point streak to a career-best three games (1-3-4)...Paniccia recorded her fourth career shutout.