UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's hockey team had a 28-save performance from Jenna Brenneman in goal, but one power-play goal from Syracuse was all that was needed to hand Penn State a 1-0 defeat Saturday afternoon at Pegula Ice Arena.
The Syracuse goal was scored by Anonda Hoppner at 4:56 in the second period with assists to Emma Polaski and Kelli Rowswell.
Rene Gangarosa and Loli Fidler led the Nittany Lions (4-6-1, 0-3-0 CHA) with three shots each. The Orange (3-6-0, 3-2-0 CHA) held a 29-18 advantage in shots on goal for the game.
The first period was evenly played with six shots on goal for each team. Penn State gathered momentum in the second period by registering the first five shots of the stanza, but Syracuse countered by capitalizing on its power play. Hoppner buried a loose puck in the paint for the score.
Brenneman quelled an early run by the Orange in the third with five-straight saves to begin the period and finished with 12 saves in the frame. After six combined penalties (three for each team) in the first two frames, neither team was penalized in the final 20 minutes.
Penn State called timeout with 1:43 remaining and pulled Brenneman for an extra skater, but the Nittany Lions could not take advantage of the extra skater and time expired.
GAME NOTES
Penn State won the face-off battle 25-23…Abby Welch won 8-of-10 draws…Brenneman's 28-save total was her second-highest total of the season…Syracuse leads the all-time series 22-1-4…Both teams are back in action for tomorrow's THON game beginning at 2 p.m.
