SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Penn State women's hockey team got the big plays it needed in the third period to come out triumphant in a 1-0 win over Syracuse Friday evening at Tennity Ice Pavlion.
In a sound defensive game for both sides, it was senior Brooke Madsen's lone goal with 5:04 remaining that gave Penn State (10-9-6, 5-3-3 CHA) the go-ahead score it needed.
Junior goaltender Chantal Burke was rock solid one again for Penn State with a 27-save shutout, her sixth shutout of the season.
Syracuse dropped to 7-16-1, 6-4-1 in the conference, with the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first two periods were about as tightly contested as they could be with Syracuse having a narrow 17-14 shots on goal advantage through two periods.
Penn State's best chances to take the lead at that point came on two second-period power plays, but despite four shots on goal on those advantages, the Nittany Lions did not break through.
PSU did manage to also thwart a Syracuse power play in the second stanza to keep the game scoreless.
The third period was again scoreless through nearly 15 minutes of action. Burke made two great stops on back-to-back shifts just before Kate Rydland led Penn State's counterattack the other direction.
After cycling the puck in the Syracuse zone, Rydland let her shot rip towards goal and Natalie Heising was able to poke it towards Madsen who buried the puck for the game's first and only score with 5:04 remaining.
The Nittany Lions' took a penalty shortly after the goal but allowed just one shot on Burke to successfully kill the advantage.
With 1:50 left, Syracuse pulled its goaltender, Allison Small, for the extra attacker. The Nittany Lions only allowed one shot attempt that sailed wide to pick up two big conference points on the road.
GAME NOTES
- Madsen's third-period goal was her second game-winning goal of the season. He now has a team-leading 15 points (7G, 8A) and ranks tied for fourth in Penn State career goals with 41 (Laura Bowman, '17).
- Madsen led all skaters with six shots on goal, including three in the third period.
- Burke continues her impressive play in goal with her 15 start of 20-or-more saves in just 19 starts.
- Burke's improved her record to 10-5-5 on the season and ranks third nationally in save percentage at .944 and fourth in goals-against average at 1.42.
- Penn State moves into a tie with Syracuse for third place in College Hockey America with 13 points. The Nittany Lions have just one loss in their last nine games played (6-1-2).
- The Nittany Lions and Orange face off again tomorrow at 3 p.m. to conclude their season series.