UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State women's hockey team heads to Rochester to face CHA-opponent, RIT, this Friday & Saturday, Feb. 14-15 in a pair of matinee contests at Gene Polisseni Center.
Penn State took both games against the Tigers Dec. 6-7 at Pegula Ice Arena to extend their current win streak over RIT to four games. The Nittany Lions are placed fourth in the CHA standings with 14 points with just six regular-season games remaining.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Penn State (10-10-6, 5-3-3 CHA) vs. RIT (9-16-3, 2-11-1 CHA)
Dates: Friday, Feb. 14 | Saturday, Feb. 15
Times: 2 p.m. | Noon
Place: Gene Polisseni Center
Live Video: Game 1 | Game 2
Live Stats: Games 1 & 2
Game Notes: Penn State Game Notes
IMPORTANT NUMBERS
4 - Chantal Burke ranks fourth in the nation in goals-against average (1.50) and shutouts (6) and fifth in save percentage (.943). She leads the CHA in all three of those categories.
2 - Natalie Heising moved into second place on Penn State's all-time goal scoring list with her first period goal last Saturday vs. RU. She has 43 goals through 100 career games, including a team-best nine this season.
6 - Penn State scored a season-high six goals in its last matchup against RIT Dec. 7. That included five goals in the third period, tying a program record for goals in a period.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TIGERS
This weekend's series will mark the 39th and 40th meetings all-time between Penn State and RIT. PSU leads the series at 21-14-3.
The Nittany Lions currently hold a four-games winning streak against RIT which started Feb. 23, 2019 at Gene Polesseni Center. That streak includes a first round CHA tournament win March 6, 2019.
Penn State swept the first series of the season at Pegula Ice Arena Dec. 6-7, outscoring the Tigers 9-2 for the weekend.
The Nittany Lions scored one goal at even-strength, shorthanded, and on the power play in game one's 3-0 shutout, which was PSU's fourth shutout of the year up to that point (six now).
In game two, Penn State took the initial lead and RIT tied the score in the second to make it 1-1 going into the third. Penn State then exploded for five goals in the third, tying a program-high for goals scored in a single period.
DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT
The Nittany Lions are statistically one of the toughest defensive units in the nation, especially since the flip of the calendar year. Penn State has not allowed more than two goals a game in eight of its last 10 games, and the two games it allowed three goals saw the third goal scored via empty netters for their opponents.
Penn State currently boasts a 2.17 GAA, the best mark in the CHA.
NEXT UP
Penn State plays its final road conference series of the season at Lindenwood next weekend, Feb. 21-22, at LU's brand-new facility, the Centene Community Ice Center, a shared facility with the St. Louis Blues of the NHL.
For the latest updates on Penn State women's ice hockey, follow @PennStateWHKY on Twitter, "like" the Penn State Women's Ice Hockey page on Facebook, and follow @pennstatewhky on Instagram.
