UNIVERISTY PARK, Pa. – The No. 9/10 Penn State women's hockey team completed the weekend sweep of conference foe Mercyhurst with a sound 4-1 win at Pegula Ice Arena Sunday afternoon.
The two-game sweep of Mercyhurst was Penn State's first since Dec. 12-13, 2014 when the Nittany Lions knocked off the sixth-ranked Lakers twice on home ice.
Penn State (8-1-1, 8-1-1 CHA) had four different goal scorers for the afternoon, with three coming in the first period by freshmen Kiara Zanon (Fairport, N.Y.) and Olivia Wallin (Oakville, Ontario) and junior Rene Gangarosa (Rochester, N.Y.). Freshman Jess Ciarrocchi (West Chester, Pa.) netted her first career goal late in the third period to seal the win.
Freshman goaltender Josie Bothun made 26 saves in the game to improve to 8-1-1, good enough for the nation's third-best winning percentage among goaltenders at .875.
Mercyhurst (3-4-1, 3-4-1 CHA) scored its lone goal in the first period off the stick of Chantal Ste-Croix.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State wasted little time getting out in front with Zanon's goal at 2:25 in the first period. She scooped up the loose puck after Natalie Heising's nice drive to the net. Zanon's goal was her fifth of the season.
The Nittany Lions continued the pressure in the offensive end and earned their second goal at 6:27 by Wallin. After a nice play at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone by Jessica Adolfsson, Zanon set up Wallin in the slot and she ripped a wrist shot just under the cross bar to give the Nittany Lions the 2-0 edge.
Mercyhurst bounced back at 11:04 in the first on Chantal Ste-Croix's second goal of the season to cut the lead back to just one, but the Nittany Lions mustered a response with just 1:31 left in the first period to regain the two-goal advantage.
A Mercyhust turnover allowed the Nittany Lions to set up in the offensive end and Julie Gough's centering pass from below the goal line slid through the slot. Lyndie Lobdell tapped the puck in Gangarosa's direction and her wrist shot from the blue line banked off a Mercyhurst defender and in for the junior's first goal of the season.
Penn State's penalty-killing unit was great all weekend and it showed up strong once again in the second period by stalling all three Mercyhurst power plays while allowing just three shots on net.
The lockdown play by Penn State's team continued in the third period as the Nittany Lions made it very difficult for the Lakers to create any quality scoring opportunities. The Nittany Lions iced the game with just 2:21 remaining when Ciarrocchi crashed the net and scored off a rebound on a rush into the offensive zone with Maeve Connolly.
GAME NOTES & STATS
- Penn State's penalty killing unit went 9-for-9 for the weekend after going flawless four times in Sunday's contest.
- With five goals scored each, Wallin and Zanon are tied for second in the nation among all freshmen skaters in goals. Wallin had a team-best seven shots on goal for the game and Zanon leads all freshmen skaters in the nation with 1.3 points per game after her two-point effort Sunday.
- Lobdell's seventh point (all assists) paces all CHA defenders so far.
- Penn State maintains its spot atop the CHA standings with 17 points, two ahead of second-place Robert Morris. The Nittany Lions currently hold the tiebreaker over the Colonials thanks to head-to-head record (2-0).
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions travel to Lindenwood next weekend, Jan. 29-30.