MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The Penn State women's hockey team got off to a fast start and came up with key scoring plays when it needed them to win 5-1 at Lindenwood in College Hockey America Action Saturday afternoon at Centene Community Ice Center.
The Nittany Lions (11-13-8, 6-7-5 CHA) now have 17 conference points which entrenches them in fourth place in the conference standings with one more weekend to play.
Forwards Shea Nelson (2G), Katie McMillan (2G), Brooke Madsen (2A) and Amanda McLeod (2A) all had multipoint efforts in the win.
Goaltender Chantal Burke held Lindenwood (5-22-4, 3-14-1 CHA) to just the one goal while stopping 27 shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Nittany Lions got the quick start they wanted just 97 seconds into the game thanks to Julie Gough.
She took a pass from Amanda McLeod entering the offensive zone and put a long-range shot on goal from just inside the blue line that made it into the back of the net for her third of the season. Morgan Rolph also had a secondary assist on the goal.
Chantal Burke made three solid stops near the end of the period to keep Lindenwood off the board entering the first break.
Another quick goal in the second period gave the Nittany Lions a two-goal edge at the 3:33 mark. Katie Rankin and Katie McMillan had a two-on-one rush into the offensive end, and Rankin patiently waited for an open lane to pass to McMillan who push the puck in on the backhand for her fifth goal of the season.
Lindenwood pushed back on its first power play of the afternoon with a goal from Maddison Stitt at 12:49, but Penn State fired right back to extend the margin back to two goals thanks to a redirect by Shea Nelson at the 17:23 mark. She redirected the puck sent towards goal by Brooke Madsen for her sixth of the season.
Like the end of the first period, Burke came up with another big-time save on an LU redirect to keep the Lions from slashing the deficit to one a second time, allowing PSU to take a 3-1 edge into the second intermission.
The Nittany Lions kept their foot on the gas in the third period to not allow Lindenwood a chance to make a comeback. Nelson scored her second of the game at 8:24 assisted by Madsen again, followed one minute later by McMillan's second score assisted by McLeod and Mikalya Lantto to put the game out of reach for LU at 5-1.
GAME NOTES
- Nelson's two-goal game was the first of her career and her seven goals in 2019-20 set a new single-season high for the junior forward. She was a threat all afternoon in the offensive zone, leading PSU with eight shots on goal, tying her season high.
- McMillan moved into seventh all-time on the Penn State scoring list with her 48th and 49th career points with her two goals, passing with Hannah Hoenshell ('16). It was also the first multi-goal game of the senior's career.
- With her two assists, senior Amanda McLeod recorded her first multi-point game of her career.
- Gough's goal finally rewarded her solid offensive play of late, as the freshman had eight shots on goal in her last three games entering Saturday's contest, her most in a three-game stretch this season. Gough posted three shots on goal today.
- Madsen's two assist son Nelson's goal put her into second in program history with 44 career assists, passing Laura Bowman ('17) and trailing only Amy Petersen ('17) who had 63.
- Penn State is unbeaten in its last 10 games against Lindenwood dating back to the 2017-18 season with an 8-0-2 record.
NEXT UP
Penn State returns home for its final home series of the season when it hosts Mercyhurst at Pegula Ice Arena Feb. 28-29. Saturday's game will be senior day and will feature the final postgame skate of the season.