SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Penn State women's hockey team begins 2021-22 postseason play with a CHA semifinal matchup against Mercyhurst Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Syracuse's Tennity Ice Pavilion.
The Nittany Lions (18-9-5) enter the game as the number-two seed in the tournament with Mercyhurst (20-11-2) ranked No. 3. Syracuse is the top seed and host for the tournament and will await the winner of Thursday's 4-5 game between Lindenwood and RIT.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
No. 3 Mercyhurst (20-11-2) vs. Penn State (18-9-5)
Date: February, 25
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: Tennity Ice Pavilion | Syracuse, N.Y.
Video ($): CHA Stretch Internet
Stats: Live Stats
Tournament Central: CHA | Host Syracuse
Game Notes: Penn State Game Notes
PSU IN THE CHA TOURNAMENT
Penn State enters the 2022 CHA Tournament searching for its first postseason championship. PSU is 7-11 all-time in the tournament.
In 2021, the Nittany Lions nearly erased a three-goal deficit in the semifinals against Syracuse, but the Orange held on for the 3-2 win to knock out top-seeded PSU.
Penn State's last matchup against Mercyhurst game in the 2020 CHA semifinals, where the Lakers bested the Nittany Lions, 4-1.
Penn State enters the 2022 tournament as the second seed thanks to an 8-3-3 record in league and a .679 points-earned percentage.
Senior captain Natalie Heising is tied for the program's all-time scoring lead in postseason action with seven points (6G, 1A), including PSU's only postseason hat trick in 2020 against RIT.
LAST TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season in a home series vs. RIT on Feb. 18-19. The Nittany Lions followed up a tie in the first game with a 2-0 shutout win. The Nittany Lions were down one goal in the third period until a clutch goal by Kiara Zanon evened it up. The game saw no more goals and thus ended in a tie. The next game was a comfortable one for the Nittany Lions as they did not allow a goal and completed the shutout.
Penn State aimed to close out the season strong and were not satisfied after a tie in the first game of the series with RIT. Their defense stepped up in game two. RIT only managed 10 shots, all of which were saved by Josie Bothun. Penn State saw goals by Rachel Weiss and Kiara Zanon which was all they needed to complete the shutout.
THE MATCHUP VS. THE LAKERS
While Mercyhurst leads the all-time matchups with Penn State 22-10-9, the Nittany Lions have gotten the better of the Lakers as of late. Penn State is 6-2 over the last two seasons against the Lakers, including a 3-1 mark this season. Penn State split at Mercyhurst back in late October and then earned the sweep on home ice Jan. 28-29.
In the last series in late January, Natalie Heising netted the game-tying goal with an extra attacker on with just over two minutes to play in the game to send it to overtime. Then 16 seconds into OT, she scored the golden goal on a rebound to give PSU the 2-1 win.
In game two, Penn State had two goals from Mallory Uihlein plus another scored by Amy Dobson as the Nittany Lions pieced together a complete effort in its 3-1 win.
REGULAR-SEASON AWARD WINNERS
Penn State had five different All-CHA award recipients as announced by the league Tuesday, Feb. 22 and individual honors announced Wednesday, Feb. 23.
Senior Natalie Heising was named the CHA Player of the Year, becoming the second Nittany Lion ever to win the league MVP following teammate Kiara Zanon in 2020-21.
Heising, Mallory Uihlein and Kiara Zanon were All-CHA first team honorees. For Heising and Zanon, they were named 1st team for back-to-back seasons. Uihlein's honor is her first All-CHA honor since her All-Rookie team nod in 2019-20.
In addition, Rene Gangarosa received her first All-CHA honor as second-team representative. Karley Garcia was the third Penn State defender to be named to an all-league team. She is an All-Rookie team honoree, continuing a streak of four-straight Penn State blue liners who have been named to the team (Jessica Adolfsson '19, Uihlein '20, Lyndie Lobdell '21).
Josie Bothun was named an HCA National Women's Goaltender of the Year semifinalist Tuesday, Feb. 22. Bothun leads the CHA with 32 starts, 18 wins, and a 1.61 GAA. She also has nine shutouts, tying the league single-season record.
Get all of the latest updates on Penn State women's ice hockey by following @PennStateWHKY on Twitter, "liking" the Penn State Women's Ice Hockey page on Facebook, and following @pennstatewhky on Instagram.
