ERIE Pa. – The No. 8/8 Penn State women's hockey team continued its late season surge with its seven-straight win, a 5-2 road victory at Mercyhurst Friday evening at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Having already clinched the CHA regular season title and the number one seed in next weekend's CHA Tournament, the Nittany Lions (16-1-2, 16-1-2 CHA) avoided complacency and fired away with the game's first four goals in the opening 21:55 of action.
Kiara Zanon (Fairport N.Y.) scored twice in the first period along with Amy Dobson (Hamilton, Ontario) to give Penn State a 3-0 edge into the first intermission. Alyssa Machado (Mississauga, Ontario) added a fourth goal early in the second period.
Mercyhurst struck back with back-to-back goals later in the second frame, but Olivia Wallin (Oakville, Ontario) stalled any comeback attempt with Penn State's fifth of the night early in the third period.
Josie Bothun (Wyoming, Minn.) stopped 21 shots in goal and added to her Penn State win record with her 16th of the season (16-1-2).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Zanon stuck first for Penn State on a great backdoor pass from Rene Gangarosa (Rochester, N.Y.). Gangarosa pinched down the left wing and found Zanon open in front of the net for the quick finish to put Penn State ahead 1-0 at the 5:36 mark.
Gangarosa led the charge on the Nittany Lions' second marker at 9:39 by starting the breakout in her defensive end and then carrying the puck on an outlet pass from Jess Ciarrocchi (West Chester, Pa.) Gangarosa found Dobson down the left wing and Dobson zipped a shot through traffic to double the Nittany Lion lead.
A tenacious forecheck by Penn State late in the first period caused a Mercyhurst turnover and a goal as a result. Julie Gough (Newcastle, Ontario) pried the puck free from a Laker defender for Dobson to swoop in and center to Zanon in front of the cage for Penn State's third goal with 25 seconds left in the opening period.
Penn State did not let up early in the second and took a commanding 4-0 lead 1:55 into the stanza. Anna Promersberger (Fargo, North Dakota) ripped a shot on goal from the blue line as Wallin crashed the goal. She poked the puck free to the opposite side of the net where Machado was ready to bury it on her forehand for her second of the season.
Mercyhurst scored the next marker on Summer-Rae Dobson's unassisted goal at 14:49 to get on the scoreboard and halt Bothun's record scoreless streak at 263 minutes and 54 seconds. The Lakers tacked on one more on the power play thanks to Sara Boucher to close the gap to 4-2 entering the third period.
The Nittany Lions quickly countered a Mercyhurst odd-man rush with a great transition play to the offensive zone for its fifth goal of the game at 5:40 in the third period. Rachel Weiss (Calgary, Alberta) dangled her way through a few Laker defenders and fed Lyndie Lobdell (Aurora, Ill.) for a one-timer at the point. Her shot was partially blocked but bounced right to Wallin in front of the net for the easy finish to put the game at the eventual final score, 5-2.
GAME NOTES AND STATS
- Zanon's two-goal game was her first multi-goal game of the season. She joins Wallin (11) and Gough (10) in Penn State's double-digit goal club with 10 on the season.
- The Nittany Lions spread the scoring wealth with 11 different players chipping in at least one point for the game.
- Penn State's unbeaten streak extends to 13 games in the win, still the second-longest active unbeaten streak in the country.
- The Nittany Lions are now a stellar 9-1-1 this season against opponents currently with a .500 record or better.
NEXT UP
Penn State completes its regular season slate with another game at Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.