UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team took another step in officially getting the 2019-20 season underway this week as they held their first media day session of the season.
Third-year head coach Jeff Kampersal as well as senior forwards Katie McMillan (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Brooke Madsen (Eagan, Minn) spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon. The Nittany Lions, coming off a 13-14-9 season last winter, are excited to get the new campaign started beginning with its exhibition this Saturday, Sept. 21 against the Durham West Jr. Lightning of the PWHL.
The game will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday and admission is free for everyone. Live statistics will also be available for the exhibition and can be accessed here: LIVE STATISTICS.
Here are a few takeaways heading into the new season:
Returning Scorers
Last season, Penn State scored 73 goals and 48 of them were scored by freshmen and sophomores, which accounted for 65.8 percent of the team's scoring. They look to continue improving offensively in 2019, led by returning scorer Natalie Heising (Wayzata, Minn.) and a talented group of forwards that includes senior Katie McMillan (Minnetonka, Minn) and juniors Katie Rankin (Kanata, Ontario) and Shea Nelson (Evanston, Ill.). Head coach Jeff Kampersal hopes that his team can continue to develop an offensive identity that eluded the squad at times last season.
"This year, we're definitely an upperclassman-heavy team so we can hopefully rely on players who have been here for their leadership in terms of what coaches are asking them to do," Kampersal said. "But we need to produce more, and we've focused on that during training camp so far."
An Addition to the Staff
Over this past offseason, Krista Patronick was named the program's director of operations prior to the season. She arrives at Penn State following experience in the same role at Dartmouth last season and Colgate during the 2017-18 season. She will help Kampersal with day-to-day operations of the program, as well as coordinating logistics for team travel, and helping with video operations. Patronick has special shoes to fill, as former director of operations, Chris Demczuk, took a position as a video coordinator with the AHL's Stockton Heat.
He is excited to have Patronick around the program, and mentioned how quickly she has been able to adapt to life around Pegula Ice Arena.
"We're excited that she's on board," Kampersal said. "She's very knowledgeable about a whole bunch of things, and she's been getting used to our video system which makes it easier for myself."
Four Newcomers to the Squad
The Nittany Lions were able to add four players to this year's roster. Julie Gough (New Castle, Ontario), Mallory Uihlein (Edina, Minn.), Mikayla Lantto (Palmer, Alaska), and Rachel Weiss (Calgary, Alb.) will join Penn State as they take the ice this fall. Weiss and Uihlein come into Happy Valley after representing Canada and the United States respectively at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships in Japan.
"I think they're doing a great job so far," Madsen said. "They were here during the summer, so they have a feel for what Penn State is like and I just tell them to enjoy the atmosphere, the fans, and make relationships with others around you."
"We definitely make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction, and that everyone can lean on one another," Kampersal added. "And if freshmen have first-year questions about what we're doing on the ice, someone can step up and help them."
Weiss was able to win a gold medal at world juniors and also played in Team Canada's summer showcase. She joins the Nittany Lions after spending four seasons playing for the U18 team representing her home province of Alberta. Uihlein won silver with Team USA, and was selected to three consecutive U18 Select Player Development Camps. She won three straight Minnesota state championships at Edina High School, where she also played with current Nittany Lion teammates Loli Fidler (Edina, Minn.) and Sophie Slattery (Edina, Minn.).
International Experience
In addition to Weiss and Uihlein representing their countries at world juniors, the Nittany Lions also boast a pair of returnees with international experience in both Heising and sophomore Jessica Adolfsson (Linkoping, Sweden). Adolfsson played for the Swedish Senior National Team, while Heising paired up with Uihlein last winter in Japan. She is the first Nittany Lion in program history to be rostered on a women's senior internationl team.
"I think each individual experience when they go home and play for their countries allows them to play with great players," Kampersal said. "Natalie mentioned to me that she had a great time up in Lake Placid, and thought she deserved to have a crack at Canada in that series, but USA Hockey has hopefully given her great feedback, and she looks in great shape."
Heising was also invited to her second consecutive USA Hockey Women's National Festival in Lake Placid. The camp took place from Aug. 5-13, and serves as essentially a selection process for the U18 and U22 Select Teams that face off against Canada in an annual series between the two nations.
"[Natalie] is a phenomenal player," McMillan said. "She was invited to USA camps for a reason, she has incredible puck management, knows how to score and play in all areas of the game. She brings a lot to our team in terms of pace of play and puck management."
Heising returns as the leading scorer from a year ago, as she put together a 15-13-28 scoring line in 36 games. Heising also won gold in 2016 and 2017 U18 IIHF World Junior Championships for the United States.
Attack-Minded Approach
The biggest point of emphasis that head coach Jeff Kampersal made on Wednesday was his desire for Penn State to have an attack-minded approach this coming season, specifically on the defensive side of the ice. Last season, the Nittany Lions led the CHA both in least goals allowed (72) and team GAA (2.00).
Senior goalie Jenna Brenneman (Eagan, Minn.) returns for one last season after posting 13 wins and four shutouts in 2018-19, both of which tied program records.
"We're definitely trying to get our defense more involved in the offense," Kampersal said. "The last two years, we've been defense-first, and now we're trying to transition into being attack-first and taking our chances that way."
Below are the full videos of both Coach Kampersal's session with the media along with Madsen and McMillan's session:
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