Jan. 4, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After a month-long break, the Penn State women's hockey team (4-7-8, 2-2-4 CHA) returns to action this weekend for a non-conference series at No. 6/7 Ohio State (12-4-4, 8-2-4 WCHA), Jan. 5-6. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with live stats and live video via OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Viewers must have an account to watch the live stream.
LAST TIME OUT: RIT
The Penn State women's hockey team is coming off a pair of shutout victories at RIT on Dec. 1-2 to close out the 2017 calendar year.
In the opener, Penn State captured a 5-0 victory behind a pair of two-goal outings from Natalie Heising and Christi Vetter.
Then in the finale, Brooke Madsen and Katie Rankin each recorded a second period goal to lead the Nittany Lions to a 2-0 victory.
In net on the weekend, Hannah Ehresmann picked up the victory in the opener behind a 15-save outing before Daniela Paniccia closed out the weekend with 32 saves.
LOOKING AT OHIO STATE
Ohio State enters the series against Penn State ranked sixth in the USA Today poll and seventh in the USCHO.com poll. OSU has an overall record of 12-4-4 and a record of 8-2-4 in WCHA play.
The Buckeyes are coming off a series split at Mercyhurst on Dec. 15-16 to close out 2017. OSU captured a 2-1 win in the opener before falling 6-4 in the finale.
For Ohio State, freshman Emma Maltais leads the team in points (25) and assists (17). Along with Maltais, classmate Tatum Skaggs leads the team in goals (13) and is second in points (20).
In net, junior Kassidy Sauvé has started 18 games, owns a record of 10-4-4, has a save percentage of .923, has five shutouts to her name, has a goals-against average of 2.30, and has made 502 saves on the year.
SERIES HISTORY VS. OHIO STATE
Ohio State leads the all-time series against Penn State, 7-1-0.
The Nittany Lions captured their lone win in series on Jan. 3, 2016 with a 3-2 decision at Ohio State.
PLAYING EXTRA TIME
Halfway into the 2017-18 season and Penn State has played to overtime 10 times, which ties the program record set in 2015-16. Penn State is 1-1-8 in overtime contests this season.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Heading into the Ohio State series, the duo of Natalie Heising and Katie Rankin have made their impact felt among the freshmen in the College Hockey America conference.
Among freshmen in the CHA, Heising is tied for first in shots (62), is tied for first in goals (six), is tied for first in assists (seven), is tied for first in points (13), and is fifth in faceoff wins (88).
Along with Heising, Rankin is first in faceoff wins (246), is fourth in shots (48), is tied for eighth in goals (three), is tied for seventh in assists (five), and is tied for sixth in points (eight).
BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS
The Penn State women's hockey team tallied a pair of shutout victories in its series win at RIT on Dec. 1-2.
Penn State captured a 5-0 victory in the opener before tallying a 2-0 decision in the finale.
CHA HONORS
Four Nittany Lions have combined for eight awards from the College Hockey America (CHA) conference in 2017-18.
Hannah Ehresmann and Daniela Paniccia have both been named the CHA Goalie of the Week.
Freshman Natalie Heising has been named the CHA Rookie of the Month twice, CHA Player of the Week, and CHA Rookie of the Week.
Fellow classmate Sophie Slattery has also brought home CHA Rookie of the Week honors.
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
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 blue line, McMillan recorded 11 points on four goals and seven assists in 35 games played.
2017-18 CAPTAINS
Senior defenseman Bella Sutton is the captain of the 2017-18 Nittany Lions, while Kelsey Crow and Aly Hardy are the alternate captains.
Sutton holds the major scoring program records by a defenseman with 15 goals, 32 assists, and 47 points.
On the power play, Sutton is fourth in points (27), fourth in goals (nine), and is third in assists (18).
Crow, a junior defenseman, served as an alternate captain last season. Crow is tied for second in goals by a defenseman (eight), is fourth in points by a defenseman (18), and is sixth in assists by a defenseman (10).
Hardy, a senior forward, has played in 90 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 11-game road trip at Lindenwood, Jan. 12-13. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (EST) and 2 p.m. (EST) at the Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, Mo.