UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State women's hockey team will play its last series before a 28-day holiday break when it travels to Pittsburgh this weekend for a two-game conference set against Robert Morris.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, Nov. 30 | Saturday Dec. 1
Place: RMU Island Sports Center, Colonials Arena
Times: 7:05 Friday | 5:05 Saturday
Watch: Stretch Internet ($$, Both Games)
Statistics: Live Statistics
Twitter: @PennStateWHKY
Game Notes: Penn State Game Notes
LAST TIME OUT: RIT
The Nittany Lions put together one of their most complete team efforts of the season when they needed it most against RIT Nov. 20-21. Penn State swept the Tigers on home ice to earn its first four CHA points of the season and bounce back to an even record at 7-7-2.
Penn State tallied its most shots in a game since 2013 when the team fired 51 shots in Tuesday's 3-0 shutout win. Natalie Heising and Shea Nelson each had even-strength tallies with Anna Promersberger adding an empty-net goal. The shutout was the second in the last three games for goaltender Jenna Brenneman.
In game two, the Nittany Lions put together another stout defensive performance with a 2-1 win. Heising notched another game-winning goal, this time on the power play, and Katie McMillan began the scoring in the second period.
RIT managed to get on the board in the third period and had some decent scoring chances in the third, but the Penn State defense led by Brenneman stopped the Tiger surge to preserve the victory.
ALL TIME SERIES
Robert Morris leads the all-time series 16-4-5 over the Nittany Lions. In 2017-18, the two teams tied their first three matchups of the season before Robert Morris won the final matchup of the regular season and the semifinal game in the CHA Tournament 7-2.
LOOKING AT THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris enters the weekend with a 6-8-4 overall record including a 4-1-1 mark in CHA play. The Colonials have a 0-3-3 record in their last six games, including posting a tie and loss in their last three series versus #10 Colgate, Minnesota State, and #7 Cornell.
Robert Morris features the top scorer in the CHA in junior forward Jaycee Gebhard. Her ten goals and 17 assists both lead the conference and she is currently riding an 11-game point streak dating back to 10/20.
Senior forward Amber Rennie is second on the team with six goals. Sophomore forward Lexi Templeman has 15 assists. The blue-line is anchored by seniors Kirsten Welsh (10 points) and Maggie Lague (12).
The Colonials have split time between senior goaltender Lauren Bailey and freshman goalie Arielle DeSmet. Bailey has a 2.32 GAA and .897 save percentage in 14 starts, while DeSmet has posted a 2.07 GAA and .909 save percentage in four starts (five games played).
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Penn State has improved its power play to 84.9% (45/53) this season after 17-straight penalty kills dating back to 11/4 vs. Syracuse (five-straight games). In addition, the Nittany Lions remain the least penalized team in the CHA with 121 total penalty minutes at 7.6 minutes per games. Meanwhile, Robert Morris sports the conference's top power play at 18.8% (16/85) with at least one power play goal in the last four games. Over the last six games, the Colonials have scored on the advantage eight times.
GOING OUT WITH A BANG
Over the past four seasons, the Nittany Lions have come up with some big conference wins just before the holiday break. They are 4-2 in their last 6 games against CHA opponents to end the first half of the season. Last season, the Nittany Lions swept RIT with two shutouts by a combined 7-0 score. In the 2014-15 season, Penn State swept #6 Mercyhurst in two games on home ice in what remains one of the most memorable milestones in Penn State women's hockey history.
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The Nittany Lions continue to sport one of the best defensive teams in the nation and have the statistics to back it up. Penn State leads the CHA and is tied for 11th nationally allowing just 2.0 goals per game, this after allowing just two goals over the last four games.
The Nittany Lions have out shot its opponents 11 of 16 games this season, much due to getting in lanes and blocking shots. Penn State has 242 blocked shots on the season compared to its opponents which have blocked 200 shots.
CLIMBING THE PROGRAM RANKS
Sophomore forward Natalie Heising continues to quickly etch her name into the Penn State record books just halfway through her sophomore season. Among Penn State players with at least 50 career games played, Heising ranks first in program history with 0.88 points per game.
She also ranks fourth in program history with 27 career goals and is tied for fourth with 11 multi-point games (Hannah Hoenshell).
ELITE IN THE CREASE
Jenna Brenneman has won back-to-back CHA Goaltender of the Week awards after posting a pair of shutouts and just two goals allowed over her last four games. For the season, Brenneman is tops in the CHA in GAA at 1.62 and tied for the conference lead with seven wins.
The last time Penn State had a goaltender win back-to-back CHA Goaltender of the Week awards was 10/3 and 10/9 when Hannah Ehresmann and Daniela Paniccia won the award back-to-back weeks. The last individual Nittany Lion to do so was Celine Whitlinger 12/8 and 12/15 in 2014.
FRESHMEN ON THE RISE
Freshmen Izzy Heminger and Loli Fidler have become two of the most productive freshmen in College Hockey America in the their first season with the Nittany Lions. Heminger's presence on the blue line has been very noticeable the last five games when she's posted four points on two goals and two helpers. Her plus-minus rating on the Nittany Lions' four-game unbeaten streak is +3 and she ranks second in the conference among freshmen defensemen with six points (Taylor Kirwan, LU, 7).
Fidler is tied for second among all CHA freshmen with seven points on a pair of goals and five helpers (Lauren Bellefontaine, SU, 9). Since her two-goal game against Mercyhurst on 10/27, Fidler has continued to produce several scoring chance for the Nittany Lions with 27 shots on goal in the last seven games, including a season-high eight 11/20 vs. RIT.
HAVING A RECORD YEAR
Junior forward Katie McMillan and sophomore forward Shea Nelson have set career-high goal marks halfway through the 2018-19 season. McMillan scored her fifth goal 11/21 vs. RIT and Nelson notched her third of the season 11/20 vs. the Tigers.
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