UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 8/9 Penn State women's hockey team remained unbeaten on home ice with a 2-0 shutout win over RIT Tuesday afternoon at Pegula Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions (12-1-2, 12-1-2 CHA) improved to 8-0-1 at Pegula, including five wins in a row, just three days after sweeping a two-game series against Robert Morris last Friday and Saturday.
"I thought the team played well overall," said head coach Jeff Kampersal. "I don't know if the score necessarily indicated the effort, but at the same time, we've got to do a better job tomorrow of capitalizing on opportunities, maybe having a little different offensive approach."
Junior forward Julie Gough (Newcastle, Ontario) continued her hot streak with her fifth goal of the season and her ninth point in the last nine games.
Junior defender Izzy Heminger (Dublin, Ohio) also notched her fourth point in the last three games, this time with her first goal of the season in the third period to provide Penn State valuable insurance over RIT (1-10, 1-10 CHA) late.
"The games we've played recently have been kind of 'up-and-down' battles with a lot of transition," said Kampersal. "[RIT] clogged it up pretty good in the neutral zone and clogged it up in front of the net. Coach Celeste [Brown] at RIT has done a really good job with them. They play really hard and they make it difficult to score and their goalie did a really good job."
Freshman goaltender Josie Bothun (Wyoming, Minn.) needed just 12 saves to come up with the shutout win, but she did make a few big stops early in the third period to keep RIT from tying the game.
RIT netminder Taylor Liotta stopped 45 of Penn State's 47 shots.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State tilted the ice in its favor with a strong first period and a 1-0 lead at the end of it thanks to Gough's goal. After Kiara Zanon (Fairport, N.Y.) found Natalie Heising (Wayzata, Minn.) in the slot for a shot, the puck bounced off an RIT defender right to Gough on the side of the goal for the easy finish 5:23 into the first period.
The Nittany Lions had 17 shots on goal to RIT's 3 in the first period, but the Tigers' defense blocked an additional 17 shots in the period with a flurry of offensive opportunities.
The second period was a similar story with Penn State outshooting the Tigers 12-6, but neither team found the back of the net in the period. Both teams had a chance on the power play in the second with both penalty-killing units stalling the opposing chance successfully.
Bothun's biggest save of the game came on a mini breakaway for the Tigers early in the third period after a turnover in Penn State's end. The freshman goalie coolly kicked aside the attempt to keep Penn State in front by one.
The Nittany Lions added a quality insurance goal midway through the third period after a good offensive shift. Maeve Connolly (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Mallory Uihlein (Edina, Minn.) worked the puck to the point for Heminger who ripped a shot on net that bounced off an RIT skate and in. Amy Dobson (Hamilton, Ontario) provided a quality screen in front to shield Liotta from seeing the puck.
Penn State kept the Tigers from generating quality chances in front of Bothun to help her earn her second shutout of the season.
GAME NOTES AND STATS
- The Nittany Lions extended their longest unbeaten streak in franchise history to nine games with the win, outscoring their opponents 29-12 in the 8-0-1 stretch.
- Through 15 games this season, Penn State ranks sixth in the country in scoring margin at +1.53 goals per game (43-26).
- Heising tied a career-best six-game point streak dating back to Jan. 24 vs. Mercyhurst. Her previous streak came Feb. 24-Oct. 5, 2018.
- The marked the first time Penn State played against former assistant coach Celeste Brown since she took over the head coaching duties at RIT this season. Former Nittany Lion captain Jordin Pardoski ('16) is also on Brown's staff as an assistant coach.
NEXT UP
Penn State and RIT finish up the home portion of Penn State's schedule with a Wednesday game at 5 p.m.