UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Going into the locker room after 40 minutes of hockey on Friday, Nov. 5, Penn State trailed the Lindenwood Lions 2-0 in a game the Nittany Lions were outshooting their opponent by a wide margin but weren't getting the results they wanted.
This wasn't the first time this roster has found itself in a hole early, but a bounce-back effort has often been the response the Nittany Lions when things just haven't been going their way.
"We've had trouble starting fast in our first games this whole season," said senior captain Natalie Heising. "We've had to make up for it throughout the game, and then we've always played better in our second game."
So it came as little-to-no surprise that the Nittany Lions did just that in the LU series, exploding for five goals in the third period to win 5-3 and following up with a rock-solid 4-1 win the next day to clinch an important CHA conference sweep.
After the Nov. 5th comeback win, Heising said there wasn't anything that needed to be said in the locker room between the second and third period. The team knew what they had to do, and they weren't going to take the loss.
"Over the past five years I've learned a lot about teams and when the right thing is to say something or not," Heising said. "I knew whatever was going to be said wasn't going to matter, and what I did on the ice was going to matter. Sometimes when our team is struggling that's how I look at things – lead by example rather than talking,"
That is a mantra this Penn State has taken to heart and the surge in their Nov. 5th comeback win has been a microcosm of what the whole Nittany Lions' year has looked like.
Being resilient and battling back are two themes of a young Penn State season and they've had to learn and experience those themes early and often.
However, head coach Jeff Kampersal has stressed the need for consistency. For the Nittany Lions to achieve their goals this season, Kampersal knows his team has to give full 60-minute efforts and the results will come.
"One line might be going, the other line maybe not. In order to be a great team, we have to be consistent," Kampersal said.
Though Penn State is still searching for that balance of consistent effort and the results it wants, the fact this team hasn't given up, shown heart and grit in situations that aren't going its way, and is learning all this while still picking up important points in the CHA standings is a great positive for the team already a third of the way through its season.
It wasn't the first time that Penn State has looked frustrated in game one to dominate in game two this season. Against Mercyhurst a week prior, Penn State lost the first contest 4-3, then played arguably its strongest game of the young season in a 3-0 shutout.
And even the week before that in its first road series at Brown Oct. 23-24, Penn State tied the first game, 2-2, before pouncing on the Bears 5-2 the following day.
"We just come together and say, 'Hey, we got to own this, the past games are in the past,'" said alternate captain Anna Promersberger. "We have to find our identity and play like who we are known to be. It sucks when we know we're not playing our best cause we know it's there, but we just have to find it."
The team recognizes the inconsistency to their play, especially within the first period of games. Slow starts have resulted in early deficits that the Nittany Lions certainly are talented enough to dig themselves out of.
But as the season progresses and the pressure gradually builds toward the postseason, Penn State can't always rely on flipping a switch to turn their fortunes. They must play their best brand of hockey from start to finish, and this team knows that.
"We wanted to bring the momentum," said junior forward Julie Gough after the Nov. 6 victory. "It happened last weekend at Mercyhurst too. Bringing the momentum from the first game into the second is really important for us."
Gough is certainly a good example of consistency for Penn State right now as she has scored goals in her last seven-straight games to tie a program record. Her hot streak can be attributed to making the small winning plays: staying in position, exercising good habits, and using both her talents and the talents of the teammates around her to get results.
Once this entire Penn State roster can fire on all cylinders, its CHA championship and NCAA tournament berth aspirations can certainly be reached. But to get to peak performance, this team must remain resilient and consistent all season long.
Starting the season 0-3-1 with tough losses to St. Lawrence and Boston College could have deterred this group, but Penn State has stayed focused to go 6-1-1 in its last eight games. As a result, the Nittany Lions are in a much better position as the season begins to heat up.
Penn State will look to stay resilient as they finish the bye week and take on Syracuse on the road Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m.
