ST. CHARLES, Missouri – The Penn State women's hockey team benefitted from two goals in the third period to take a 3-1 road win to start its weekend series at Lindenwood Friday evening.
With the score tied 1-1 in the final stanza, Penn State's two unanswered scores came from Katie Rankin on the power play and Brooke Madsen.
Katie McMillan had the other marker for the Nittany Lions while Jenna Brenneman earned her 12th win of the season with 22 saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
- Both teams had two chances on the power play in the opening frame with the second power play being overlapping minor penalties which abbreviated the advantages both ways. Neither team came up with goals with the extra skater.
- Jenna Brenneman stopped all eight shots that got to her to keep the game scoreless.
- Shots on goal in the period: Lindenwood 8, Penn State 4
- Score after period: 0-0
Second Period
- Halfway into the second frame, Penn State broke the ice with McMillan's eighth of the season at 10:53. Her even-strength score was assisted by Jessica Adolfsson and Shea Nelson.
- Neither team committed a penalty in the period.
- Shots on goal in the period: Penn State 9, Lindenwood 8
- Score after period: 1-0 Penn State
Third Period
- Lindenwood found its answer on a power-play goal at 2:56 into the third. Megan Wagner scored with assists awarded to Hannah Alt and Sierra Burt.
- The Nittany Lions scored the go-ahead goal on a power play of their own at 11:55. After a slashing call on Lindenwood, PSU went to work and Rankin netted her team-leading sixth power play goal. Loli Fidler and Natalie Heising had helpers on the goal.
- Penn State's game-clinching moment came just under four minutes later when Brooke Madsen scored a big insurance goal for the Nittany Lions at 15:53. The earlier goal scorers Rankin and McMillan were both involved in the play and got assists.
- Lindenwood pulled goaltender Sophie Wolf down two with 1:32 remaining but the Lions managed only one shot attempt which was blocked.
- Shots on goal in the period: Lindenwood 8-6
- Final Score: Penn State 3-1
GAME NOTES
- Rankin now has game-winning goals in the last two games for the Nittany Lions. Her six power-play markers are tied for second in Nittany Lion history for a single season (Heising, 10, 2017-18).
- Rankin now has four points on three goals and an assist in her last four games while winning 60.5% of her faceoffs (43-28) over that span.
- McMillan's multi-point effort was her second this season, with the last coming back on Sept. 29 in a 5-3 win over Colgate.
- Brenneman has allowed two or fewer goals in 23 of her 31 starts this season and has made 20 or more saves in 23 games. She is one win shy of tying Penn State single season wins record set by Celine Whitlinger in 2014-15.
- Madsen and Meike Meilleur led Penn State with three shots on goal each.
- Both teams finished 1-for-3 on the power play.
NEXT UP
- The Nittany Lions conclude their series against Lindenwood and the regular season schedule tomorrow at 1 p.m.