ARLINGTON, Va. – The Penn State women's hockey team erased a one-goal deficit in the third period with a pair of goals by Natalie Heising (Wayzata, Minn.) and Lyndie Lobdell (Aurora, Ill.) to complete a 3-2 comeback victory over No. 7/6 Minnesota Duluth Thursday evening at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Penn State (8-5-2) trailed 2-1 entering the third period before Heising scored her second goal of the game to tie it, followed by Lobdell's go-ahead score on the power play with around seven and a half minutes left.
"It was a great team win," said head coach Jeff Kampersal. "Everyone was relentless and played with a lot of heart. I am happy for the team. They have put in much work this year and it's nice to see them win a big game in a big-time environment."
UMD (6-5-0) scored twice after Heising's first-period score to take the lead midway through the game.
Goaltender Josie Bothun (Wyoming, Minn.) made 24 saves in the game, including 11 in the third period, for her 24th career win to tie the program's all-time wins record set by Celine Whitlinger.
It was Penn State's first victory over the Bulldogs in three tries and PSU's first win over a ranked opponent since Sept. 29, 2018 at No. 5 Colgate, 4-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Penn State jumped out to an early lead a little over five minutes into the game. After great touch pass in the neutral zone by Jess Ciarrocchi (West Chester, Pa.), Heising sped between two defenders and beat Emma Soderberg one-on-one, putting Penn State up 1-0.
Minnesota Duluth bounced right back with a power-play goal by Anna Klein at the 8:05 mark of the period to tie the score.
Penn State had a great chance to take the lead after the tie score after a five-minute major was assessed to Duluth at 11:06, putting the Nittany Lions on an extended power play. However, the Nittany Lions were unable to convert on the advantage as UMD killed the penalty and then scored soon after to take the lead.
Klein netted a shot just under the crossbar at 18:18 for her second of the game to put the Bulldogs in front 2-1 entering the first break.
The second period was filled with penalties on both sides but no goals to show for it, as both PK units were incredibly solid and combined to stop all seven power-play chances in the period. The score remained 2-1 Bulldogs entering the final frame.
In the third period, the Nittany Lions managed to tie the score thanks once again to Heising. Heising let a shot rip right after a Kiara Zanon faceoff win that snuck its way through Soderberg's pads to tie the game 2-2 at the 5:18 mark of the third period.
The Nittany Lions continued to put great pressure on the Bulldogs in the third period thanks to three power-play chances. The third power play of the period ended up being Penn State's best as it was the first time PSU cashed in.
After winning the draw in the offensive end, Penn State set up its offense and moved the puck around the perimeter quickly. Lobdell received a pass from Mallory Uihlein (Edina, Minn.), twirled around, and let a strong shot go that bounced off Soderberg's pads and in allow the Nittany Lions to retake the lead 3-2 with 7:26 remaining.
Penn State locked down the Bulldogs from there with four blocked shots in the remainder of regulation. UMD pulled its goaltender with just under a minute left but were fended off by the Nittany Lion defense to close the one-goal win.
GAME NOTES & STATS
- Friday night's game was the first that Penn State had not outshot its opponent this season. UMD had a 26-25 shot-on-goal advantage in the contest.
- Both team's were a combined 2-13 on the power play. After UMD's first goal came on the power play back in the first period, Penn State stopped the remaining six chances for the Bulldogs. PSU's goal from Lodbell was its first on the power play in six tries.
- Penn State's win over UMD was its first over a WCHA opponent since defeating Ohio State Jan. 5, 2018.
NEXT UP
Penn State takes on No. 2 Ohio State tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. to complete its D1 in DC weekend.