UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's hockey team opens conference play in College Hockey America (CHA) this weekend with a road trip to Erie, Pa. to face the Mercyhurst Lakers Oct. 26-27.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Penn State (4-3-1, 0-0-0 CHA) vs. Mercyhurst (3-5-0, 3-1-0 CHA)
Dates: Friday, Oct. 26 | Saturday, Oct. 27
Place: Mercyhurst Ice Center
Time: 3 p.m. both days
Watch: Livestream (Subscription required)
Statistics: Live Stats
Game Notes: Penn State Game Notes
LAST TIME OUT: PROVIDENCE
The Nittany Lions split its home series last weekend against Providence. In game one, Katie Rankin started the game's scoring with a power-play marker in the first period. Katie McMillan tied the game at two in the third period to send it to overtime, where the Friars prevailed 3-2.
In the second game, Penn State pounced on Providence early and led 3-0 at one point in the third period on route to a 5-3 win. Natalie Heising scored two goals, one in the first and one in the third. McMillan netted her second of the weekend in the second period. Six total goals in the third period included the first goals of the season from Meike Meilleur and Shea Nelson (EN).
It was the first ever matchup between the Nittany Lions and Friars.
LOOKING AT MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst enters the weekend 3-5-0 overall with a conference-leading 3-1-0 mark in CHA play. The Lakers began the season with matchups at Minnesota and home against Wisconsin where they finished winless. Mercyhurst has proceeded to win three of its last four, including a series split with Robert Morris last weekend.
The Lakers are led in scoring by sophomore forward Summer-Rae Dobson who has six points on a goal and five assists. Freshman Emily Pinto is tied for the team lead with sophomore Alexa Vasko with three goals each. Junior forward Emma Nuutinen also has five points (2 G, 3 A).
Senior goaltender Sarah McDonnell has been the most effective netminder for the Lakers through eight games. She has started four games and holds a 3-1 record with a 2.26 GAA and a .914 SV%.
SERIES VERSUS MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against the Nittany Lions 3-16-5. In 2017-18, Penn State held a 0-1-3 mark against the Lakers with the last series featuring a pair of ties at Mercyhurst Ice Center. Irene Kirpolis ('18) had Penn State's lone marker in the first period of game one's 1-1 tie.
Natalie Heising scored twice, including a game-tying goal with 15.4 seconds remaining in a 3-3 tie in game two. Bella Sutton ('18) also scored for Penn State.
HOW SWEDE IT IS
Freshman Penn State defenseman Jessica Adolfsson was named to the Swedish Women's National Team roster for the upcoming Four Nations Cup in Saskatoon, Sask. Nov. 6-10. Adolfsson was one of 23 players selected to the team and one of five current NCAA Division I hockey players on the squad.
Adolfsson has a pair of assists and a team-leading 19 blocked shots through eight games this year. She has played in 30 games with the Swedish WNT since 2016 and has scored two goals and four assists.
FIDLER IN MINNESOTA
Freshman forward Loli Fidler was named the 2018 Minnesota Female High School Athlete of the year at the Minnesota Sports Awards Wednesday evening in Minneapolis, Minn. The award was given to Fidler after her outstanding high school career at Edina High School, where she was a three-sport standout athlete in hockey, soccer, and lacrosse.
Fidler won back-to-back state titles at Edina in 2017-18 and totaled 197 points (80 G, 117 A) in 120 high school games. Fidler has two points on two assists through six games with the Nittany Lions.
HIGH PRAISE FOR HEISING
Sophomore forward Natalie Heising is tied for the CHA with 10 points this season after her three-point weekend last weekend. She had an assist on the power play in game one while scoring twice in Saturday's win.
Heising now has nine career multi-point games through 44 career games, which is tied for fifth in program history with Bella Sutton who had nine career multi-point games between 2015-18. Amy Petersen (2014-17) has the most multi-point games in Penn State history with 26.
IT'S EARLY...BUT THEY'RE ON TOP
Eight games into the 2018-19 season, Penn State leads the CHA in both scoring offense and defense.
The Nittany Lions have scored 20 goals in eight games for 2.50 goals per game average (tied with Lindenwood and Syracuse) while only allowing 17 goals in that span, good for a 2.12 goals allowed per game average, good for the outright conference lead.
BE THE HAMMER
The Nittany Lions have the least amount of penalty minutes in the CHA with 50 through eight games. The 6.2 PIM/G mark is the least in the conference by a 2.6 margin (Robert Morris, 8.8). Syracuse has the most PIM/G in the conference (15.2) and Mercyhurst has the most minutes (96).
The Nittany Lions with did not commit a penalty Oct. 13 in a 3-2 win over Union. That marked the first time since 2/7/15 against Lindenwood where Penn State did not have a player in the penalty box for a game.
For the latest updates on Penn State women's ice hockey, follow @PennStateWHKY on Twitter, "like" the Penn State Women's Ice Hockey page on Facebook, and follow @pennstatewhky on Instagram.
