Women's Hockey Closes Out First Half Hosting RITWomen's Hockey Closes Out First Half Hosting RIT
Craig Houtz

Women's Hockey Closes Out First Half Hosting RIT

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lions host CHA rival RIT in its final series of the 2019 calendar year Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, at Pegula Ice Arena. The two-game set marks the third conference series of the season for the Nittany Lions.
 
Penn State is coming off a runner-up finish at the Windjammer Classic hosted by the University of Vermont. The Nittany Lions shut out the host Catamounts 4-0 in game one before coming shy 3-1 in the title game to #7/6 Clarkson.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
RIT Tigers (4-8-2, 1-3-0 CHA) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-8-4, 0-3-1 CHA)
Dates: Friday, Dec. 6 | Saturday, Dec. 7
Times: 6 p.m. | 3 p.m.
Place: Pegula Ice Arena
Tickets: Game 1 | Game 2
BTN-Plus ($): Game 1 | Game 2
Live Stats: Both Games
Game Notes: Penn State | RIT

PARKING INFORMATION
Free parking will be available in both the Shields and Wagner lots for this weekend's games as well as in Stadium West and Jordan East. For more information, see the Penn State interactive parking map.
 
LAST TIME OUT: WINDJAMMER CLASSIC
The Nittany Lions had a positive showing in the University of Vermont's Thanksgiving Windjammer Classic Nov. 29-30 with a shutout win over host Vermont and a close loss to No. 7 Clarkson in the championship game.
 
Against Vermont, the Nittany Lions opened the game's scoring midway through the second period on Katie Rankin's second goal of the season. The Nittany Lions then rattled off three goals in the third period, one by Julie Gough and two by Abby Welch, one of which was an empty-net goal. Mallory Uihlein tied a program record with three assists in the win.
 
Against Clarkson, the Nittany Lions found themselves trailing 2-0 after scores by the Golden Knights in the first and second periods, but Shea Nelson scored on a redirection with 7:17 to play to bring Penn State within one. PSU nearly found the game-tying goal minutes later if not for a great kick save by Clarkson goalie, Marie-Pier Coulombe. Clarkson scored on the empty net with eight seconds left to win 3-1.
 
ALL-TIME VERSUS THE TIGERS
Penn State holds the edge in the all-time series against RIT at 19-14-3, including a 16-9-3 mark in CHA regular season play. PSU is also 8-2 in the last 10 matchups and 16-3-1 since January of 2016 when playing RIT. 
 
The Nittany Lions took four of five matchups against RIT last season, most recently a 4-1 win in the 2019 CHA first round in Buffalo March 6, 2019. Penn State dominated the special teams' battle, with a power-play goal from Jessica Adolfsson in the first period and a shorthanded marker from Abby Welch in the second to take a 2-0 lead.
 
RIT got one goal back early in the third, but the Nittany Lions held the fort defensively and tacked on two empty netters to win 4-1.
 
UIHLEIN'S TIME
Freshman defender Mallory Uihlein had a massive individual performance at the Windjammer Classic Nov. 29-30 with four assists in two games, including tying a program best with three assists in the 4-0 win over Vermont.
 
Uihlein was named CHA Rookie of the Month for November, becoming the fourth Nittany Lion to ever win the monthly honor (Shannon Yoxenheimer, Natalie Heising [2x], and Izzy Heminger) and also won her second CHA Rookie of the Week honor for her Windjammer Classic performance. She recorded five assists for the month.
 
Uihlein tops all CHA freshmen blue liners with seven points this season, all assists. She also ranks second among all rookie skaters in the conference in points.
 



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