Feb. 15, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team (6-13-11, 3-6-7 CHA) welcomes the RIT Tigers (4-23-3, 1-15-0 CHA) to the Pegula Ice Arena for a College Hockey America (CHA) series this weekend, Feb. 16-17. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16, and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both games will be streamed on BTN2Go.com, but fans must have a BTN Plus account to access the stream. 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.).
PARKING INFO
Patrons attending the weekend series should tell the attendant at the shields lot they are coming for women's hockey to park.
SATURDAY PROMOTIONS
- Family 4 Pack Game
- Cubs Corner Kids Zone featuring a Balloon Sculptor & a Face Painter
- Free Postgame Skate
LAST TIME OUT: MERCYHURST
The Nittany Lions are coming off a pair of ties last weekend at Mercyhurst, Feb. 9-10. In the series against the Lakers, the two teams played to a 1-1 result before finishing the series in a 3-3 tie.
In the opener, Irene Kiroplis netted her first goal of the year at 7:25 into the game to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead. With 2:53 remaining in the second period, the Lakers tied the game at 1-1.
In the finale, the Nittany Lions rallied back from a two-goal deficit twice to force a 3-3 tie. With 20 minutes complete, Mercyhurst led Penn State, 2-0. At the 16:13 mark of the second frame, Natalie Heising scored her first of two power play goals on the day to put the Nittany Lions on the scoreboard.
After Mercyhurst took a 3-1 lead late in the second frame, Bella Sutton scored with a 1.3 seconds left in the period to make it a 3-2 contest.
On the power play and with an extra attacker, Heising scored the game-tying goal with 15.4 seconds left in regulation to force an overtime result.
On the weekend, Hannah Ehresmann started both games and tallied 24 saves in each contest.
LOOKING AT RIT
RIT enters the series against Penn State with an overall record of 4-23-3 and a CHA record of 1-15-0.
Last weekend, RIT dropped a 7-1 decision at Syracuse (Feb. 9) before falling 6-0 at home against Syracuse (Feb. 10) in a home-and-home series.
Offensively, Kendall Cornine leads the team in points (15) and goals (10). Along with Cornine, three other Tigers have recorded at least 10 points on the year.
In net, Terra Lanteigne has started 18 games, has made 634 saves, owns a save percentage of .912, and has a goals-against average of 3.58.
SERIES HISTORY VS. RIT
The all-time series between RIT and Penn State is tied at 13-13-3.
The Nittany Lions are 7-2-3 against RIT at home and are 11-8-3 in CHA play against the Tigers.
Earlier this season (Dec. 1-2), the Nittany Lions recorded a series shutout sweep of RIT.
Penn State took the opener 5-0 before capturing a 2-0 victory in the finale.
In the opener, Natalie Heising and Christi Vetter paced the Nittany Lion offense with two goals each, while Hannah Ehresmann recorded 15 saves.
In the finale, Brooke Madsen and Katie Rankin each scored, while Daniela Paniccia made 32 saves.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Heading into the RIT 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 first in shots (98), goals (11), points (20), power play assists (five), power play goals (seven), and power play points (12).
Heising is also tied for third in assists (nine) and ranks fifth in faceoff wins (139).
Along with Heising, Rankin is first in faceoff wins (401), fourth in shots (77), sixth in points (14), tied for seventh in goals (seven), and is tied for ninth in assists (seven).
CHA STANDINGS
With four conference games remaining for each team, Robert Morris sits atop the standings with 25 points followed by Mercyhurst with 23.
Syracuse is third in the league standings (21), followed by Penn State (13), Lindenwood (12) and RIT (two).
PLAYING EXTRA TIME
The Nittany Lions have played 15 overtime contests this season, which ties the NCAA record set by Boston U. (2009-10).
Penn State is 1-3-11 in overtime contests this season.
The Nittany Lions are also one tie away from tying NCAA record for ties in a season (12 - Boston U. - 2009-10).
CHA HONORS
Five Nittany Lions have combined for 11 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.
Freshmen Natalie Heising, Katie Rankin, and Sophie Slattery have all been named the CHA Rookie of the Week. In addition to being named Rookie of the Week, Heising has been named the CHA Player of the Week and the CHA Rookie of the Month.
100 CAREER GAMES
On Feb. 9 at Mercyhurst, senior Aly Hardy became the 14th Nittany Lion to skate in 100 career games.
NEXT UP
Penn State closes out the 2017-18 regular season when it hosts Lindenwood at the Pegula Ice Arena, Feb. 23-24. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. each day.