UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's hockey team saw its third-period comeback bid fall short in its 2-1 loss Saturday afternoon at Pegula Ice Arena in front of a program-record crowd of 1,804.
Katie Rankin scored her first goal of the season in the third period. Anna Promersberger and Kelsey Crow earned assists on the play.
Penn State goaltender Jenna Brenneman made 24 saves in her fourth-consecutive start in goal.
The Nittany Lions (1-2-1) trailed 2-0 after the first period after Merrimack (3-0-1) scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart. Jessica Bonfe started the scoring at 15:50 in the first for the Warriors.
Megan Fergusson followed up with Merrimack's second score at 18:57.
In the second period, Merrimack nearly scored again to take a 3-0 lead, but Brenneman made a great sprawling save on a loose puck in the goal crease to keep the deficit at just two.
Penn State got on the board to cut the lead in half at 3:43 in the third. Crow's shot banked off the back boards right to Promersberger on the goal line who sent a pass to Rankin in the slot.
Late in the third period, the Nittany Lions came up just shy after pulling Brenneman for an extra skater. Merrimack was called for a cross-checking penalty with just 27 seconds remaining to give Penn State a two-skater advantage for a brief time, but Merrimack was able to hang on to finish with the 2-1 win.
GAME NOTES
The previous attendance record for the Nittany Lions was 1,795 set on Feb. 1, 2014 against RIT...Penn State led in shots on goal 31-26 for the game, including 12-4 in the third period…Merrimack held a 30-22 advantage in the faceoff circle…Rankin's score was the eighth of her Penn State career…Both Penn State and Merrimack's penalty-killing units did not allow a goal in this weekend's series (Penn State: 4-of-4, Merrimack: 5-of-5)…The Nittany Lions next series will be on the road at Union next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 12-13.
