UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – The Penn State women's hockey team put together a rock solid overall effort to get back to .500 on the season with a 3-0 shutout win over College Hockey America foe Lindenwood Sunday evening at Pegula Ice Arena.
Jenna Brenneman made 22 saves in goal to blank Lindenwood (5-14-2, 1-7-1 CHA). Izzy Heminger, Loli Fidler, and Meike Meilleur were the goal scorers for Penn State (9-9-4, 3-6 CHA)
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- Nittany Lions registered eight of the first eight shots in the contest, including five shots on their first power play of the afternoon.
- Lindenwood had its turn on the next two power plays but the Nittany Lions' top penalty-killing unit stalled both chances.
- Penn State broke through on its second power-play chance for the first goal of the game. Kelsey Crow and Christi Vetter both battled for a loose puck that was lodged loose into the left circle where Heminger batted the puck into the open net.
- End of First Period: Penn State 1, Lindenwood 0
- Shots on goal for the period: Penn State 15, Lindenwood 6
Second Period
- Lindenwood seemed to find its legs in early in the second period as they put pressure on the Nittany Lions defense, but Jenna Brenneman made eight saves in the period to keep LU off the scoreboard.
- The Nittany Lions' best chance to double its lead came at 13:11 when two Lindenwood players went to the box at the same time for body checking. Penn State was unable to convert on the two-minute 5-on-3 power play.
- End of Second: Penn State 1, Lindenwood 0
- Shots on goal: Penn State 11, Lindenwood 8
Third Period
- Penn State had a good few shifts in the offensive zone to begin the period and one resulted in its second goal of the game. Shea Nelson stole the puck in the offensive zone and dished to Fidler down near the goal line for the finish and a 2-0 PSU lead.
- Lindenwood had two more power play opportunities on the power play but the Nittany Lions didn't give LU any ground.
- Penn State added its dagger with a late third period goal courtesy of Meike Meilleur. Her shot went through a nice screen by Abby Welch for her second goal of the season. Sophie Slattery and Katie McMillan had the two helpers on the play.
- Final Score: Penn State 3, Lindenwood 0
- Shots on goal: Lindenwood 8, Penn State 6
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Head Coach Jeff Kampersal
- "We've had a quirky schedule, so I thought it was a very good effort from our team, but not our best. I thought we played really well against BU and Cornell; we had a lot of energy. I think our habits could've been a bit better today. But we celebrate the small things and we celebrate wins; that win got us back to .500. I thought our special teams did very well. Our power play did very well. I would've liked to have seen a goal on that five-on-three, so we'll work on that a little bit. Overall, though, I was very pleased with the way we played and, obviously, pleased with a win."
Freshman defenseman Izzy Heminger
- "We were looking for the open lanes. For example, my goal was on the powerplay, and there was a scrum on one side of the net. Crow knows that I'll always be open backdoor if all the pressure is on the puck, so she threw it across and I was able to connect."
GAME NOTES
- Penn State has now won three-straight games against Lindenwood and hold a 14-11-3 all-time advantage over the Lions.
- Brenneman's fourth shutout of the season ties a Nittany Lion single-season record (Celine Whittlinger, 2015-16). Brenneman has also had at least 20 saves in eight-straight games.
- The Nittany Lions' power play has been on fire of late with seven goals on the advantage in the last seven games. Penn State's power play has converted at a 8-for-25 clip (32%) over the seven-game span. The Nittany Lions scored two power play goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 10-16, 2018 at Mercyhurst and home versus RIT.
- Heminger has eight points in her last 11 games and four points her last five times out. She's also had 12 shots on goal over the last five games.
- Fidler's goal came at a critical time for the Nittany Lions and was her first score since her two-goal performance Oct. 27, 2018 at Mercyhurst.
- Meilleur ended up leading the Nittany Lions with six shots on goal for the game in addition to picking up her first goal since Oct. 20, 2018 in a 5-3 win over Providence. She now has 16 goals and 32 points in her career.
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions take on Lindenwood again tomorrow in Penn State's annual Skate For the Cure game in association with the PA Pink Zone. The game will broadcast on the Big Ten Network. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.