Women's Jersey Countdown: #20 Emily Laurenzi

Sophomore - Forward - 5'2" - Townsend, DE

"Two-way forward" is often used as a euphemism for "great defensively, but don't give them too many o-zone starts." Not so with Emily Laurenzi. Sure, the first part of that is valid - her +6 rating led the team in 2012-13 (not insignificant when PSU allowed 25 more even strength or shorthanded goals than it scored). She also blocked 20 shots and was one of Josh Brandwene's go-to centers for faceoffs, as her 258 draws won were tops on the Nittany Lions. But Laurenzi also showed good offensive punch, finishing sixth in points and settling in on a scoring line with the explosive Hannah Hoenshell almost always on her right wing. The National Sports Academy product was the first player to commit to Penn State for last season, and therefore the program's first player who never played in the ACHA. Another important first: she scored the winning goal with 5:50 remaining at Lindenwood on November 17, 2012 to deliver what is still PSU's only CHA win.

Career Statistics:
Season	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM	PP	SH	GW	GT
2012-13	35	4	7	11	14	1	0	1	0
NCAA Career	35	4	7	11	14	1	0	1	0

Fifteen Lions Receive CHA Academic Accolades

Tess Weaver is now a member of the all-academic team in two different conferences

College Hockey America announced on Monday that 15 members of the 2012-2013 Nittany Lions women's team have been named to the CHA All-Academic Team, an honor given to student-athletes who record a grade point average of 3.0 or better during all in-season academic periods.

The Penn Staters recognized include forwards Kate Christoffersen, Hannah Hoenshell, Jill Holdcroft, Darby Kern, Emily Laurenzi, Kendra Rasmussen, Tess Weaver, Jenna Welch and Katie Zinn, defenders Jeanette Bateman, Paige Jahnke, Lindsay Reihl, Stephanie Walkom and Sarah Wilkie, along with goaltender Brooke Meyer. All except the graduated Christoffersen and Zinn, who transferred to the University of British Columbia after the season, are returning to the team in 2013-2014. Most of PSU's winners will be part of a massive sophomore class, with Zinn, Christoffersen, graduate student Reihl, senior Welch and junior Weaver the exceptions.

Christoffersen and Reihl were both picked as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars on July 10th, an award requiring a 3.7 GPA for the previous academic year. They also joined Weaver in winning Academic All-Big Ten selection in May, giving the trio the rare distinction of honors from two different conferences. Jess Desorcie, Taylor Gross and Cara Mendelson also won the latter Big Ten award which, like the CHA, requires a 3.0 GPA - but unlike the CHA measures cumulatively while also blocking freshmen from eligibility. Eighteen players of the 27 on last year's roster have now won some sort of award for their academic performance.

In all, 77 CHA players received that league's distinction, with Robert Morris' 21 leading the way. Additionally, 11 of the 77 were named co-winners of the Student-Athlete of the Year award for carrying a perfect 4.0: Kendra Broad (Lindenwood), Celeste Brown (RIT), Gina Buquet (Mercyhurst), Lauren Jones (Mercyhurst), Katelyn Scott (Robert Morris), Alison Wickenheiser (Lindenwood), Amy Stober (Lindenwood), Chelsea Witwicke (Lindenwood), Ali Binnington (RIT), Julia DiTondo (Mercyhurst) and Nicole Hensley (Lindenwood).

Here's the full release from CHA, including a list of all 77 winners:

Three Stars: July 1-7

3. 2013 NHL Draft Has Definite 'Penn State' Flavor
(statecollege.com)

What has two thumbs and got to hang with Terry Pegula in the Sabres' suite during the NHL Entry Draft? Joe Battista! That one doesn't really work in the third person and in writing, does it?

Anyway, here is JoeBa's perspective on the day, as well as a few words about the schedule, ticketing (we're up to 4,100 season ticket deposits as seat selection is set to get underway in just over a week) and things like that.

2. College Hockey Recruiting: Penn State
(Over The Boards)

OTB editor Jasper Kozak-Miller, trust me, knows his stuff. So when he has a generally positive opinion of Penn State's recruiting for this season and beyond, you should probably listen to him. And his sources. Especially his sources.

1. Q&A with Men's Hockey Freshman Eamon McAdam
(YouTube)

Ready for this beast of a Three Stars entry? You better be.

Penn State held a media event last Tuesday to give the local press the material to pump out some coverage of PSU's NHL draft picks. Eamon McAdam was there, as was assistant coach Keith Fisher, while Mike Williamson spoke via telephone from his home in Leduc, AB.

The leading link is a video interview with McAdam conducted by Penn State Athletic Communications that day. And precisely as they planned, a wave of stories from most of the usual suspects followed shortly after.

Draft A Good Sign For PSU Hockey (WTAJ)
McAdam, Williamson reflect on being drafted (The Daily Collegian)
McAdam surprised but elated about becoming an Islander (The Morning Call)
McAdam and Williamson Ready for Next Chapter of NHL Journey (StateCollege.com)
McAdam, Williamson savoring interest from NHL (Centre Daily Times)
McAdam, Williamson react to being selected in NHL Draft (PennLive)

Since we're already here, let's use the opportunity to clean up a few things I've seen on the draft picks not covered elsewhere.

First, a couple of Penn State blogs and their "general" draft posts:

NHL Draft: Incoming Penn Staters McAdam, Williamson Selected (Black Shoe Diaries)
Two Penn State Hockey Players Selected In NHL Entry Draft (Victory Bell Rings)

In the specific-to-McAdam department, we have:

The Waterloo Connection (New York Islanders)
Scouting Report: Eamon McAdam (IslesNation)
Isles Trade Nino, Fill Pipeline At NHL Draft (CBS New York)
NHL Draft Wrap-Up: 2013 NHL Draft Review, East (Hockey Prospectus)

Williamson has really received the short end of the stick so far, in terms of media coverage - it's staggering how much less attention one gets simply by not showing up at the draft. No glam shots, no video interview on Canucks.com, no quotes in outside articles, etc. He can hardly be blamed for not flying most of the way across North America when he wasn't the near-lock McAdam was to be chosen, but regardless, it would be nice to see a bit more on him. Here are the two things I did find:

Vancouver Canucks 2013 draft review (Hockey's Future)
NHL Draft Wrap-Up: 2013 NHL Draft Review, West (Hockey Prospectus)

It's disappointing how formulaic a lot of these reviews of draft picks are, even for some of the top players... check the league, check the goals and assists, check the measurements, render a superficial judgment concerning player type, ability and ceiling. I promise that nobody who has actually seen Williamson play, and I watched several of the Spruce Grove Saints' playoff games in the spring, is calling him an "off-the-board" selection (or worse, in other places). I'll concede that he's a project in terms of pro potential - and let's be honest, everyone outside of the first half of the first round is to some degree - but he won't be a wasted pick.

Best of the Rest

Rick DiPietro in a nutshell. Really do feel for the guy though...

Tim Thomas: From The Bunker To Barclays?
(The Hockey Writers)

Okay, we're not quite done playing out the NHL string yet, sorry about that. Hey, it was overwhelmingly the biggest thing this week, what do you want from me?

Although McAdam is a few years out from plying his trade in Uniondale Brooklyn, I can't help but be riveted by the Islanders' current goaltending situation. It wasn't a terrible week to feel that way either, because it's been a ride.

First, Rick DiPietro, the former Boston University star and top overall pick in the 2000 draft, was finally bought out of his contract by the team, ending an excruciating 13-year saga that made history for mostly the wrong reasons (his groundbreaking-at-the-time 15-year deal signed in 2006, and his freakishly long list of injuries that made the contract a point of ridicule chief among those). That left the team, temporarily, without a certified NHL goalie - Evgeni Nabokov, the primary guy last season, and Tim Thomas, who the team acquired in February despite the fact that he was in the middle of sitting out the 2012-2013 season, were both unrestricted free agents. Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson are well regarded and on call, but the two have played a combined 25 NHL games.

Thomas complicated things by kicking the tires on a possible comeback just before free agency opened up on Friday. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner is of questionable value (he's 39 and just took a year off, after all) and likely with no loyalty to the Islanders, as he never played a home game in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. But... hey, you never know. GM Garth Snow, though, passed on waiting for Thomas and instead signed Nabokov to a one-year contract. So the Isles will have a goalie for the coming season, although things are hardly settled for the long term.

Top 10 Prospects 2013: Organizational Rankings
(Hockey Prospectus)

No Penn Staters are mentioned by name in this ranking of each NHL team's prospect group current through the just-completed draft, but for what it's worth, the Islanders are 2nd, Washington is 11th, Vancouver is 20th, and St. Louis is dead last in 30th. Is this a case where it's good, for our purposes, to be bad? Does Max Gardiner have some advantage that McAdam doesn't? Eh... play well and those things tend to take care of themselves.

Quick note: You're not alone, the title confuses me too. Author Corey Pronman considers all 30 NHL teams, and while he doesn't name more than ten pipeliners in any one entry (that would be kind of obnoxious, given the length of each blurb), it seems clear to me that he's judging the entire developmental pool of each organization.

If nothing else, in the last week I learned this week that I'm glad I'm not an NHL blogger - they have roughly 30 times more stuff to read to keep up on things than I do. Let's transition back to college stuff through the common interest of the draft.

Big Ten sees plenty of firsts in New Jersey
(Western College Hockey Blog)

The National Team Development Program's J.T. Compher, headed for Michigan in the fall, became the first NHL draft pick for the Big Ten, as the Buffalo Sabres scooped him up with the 35th overall pick.

Also of note: thirteen Big Ten players were selected in all. The Wolverines led with five, Minnesota had four, while PSU and Wisconsin both checked in with two. Yep, second-year NCAA program Penn State did as well as Michigan State, Ohio State (both were skunked, if you're not so good with math) and Wisconsin put together. I don't hate it.

@DanRubin12
(Twitter)

Then again, was Compher actually the first Big Ten player picked, or does that remain on the table for next year? Technically, Michigan was still a member of the CCHA (and Penn State was technically still an independent) on June 30th, the date of the draft.

Midnight on July 1st is the magic time each year when NCAA conference changes across the board become official. But don't worry, nothing happened prior to that to turn the Big Ten hockey tattoo you got the day after the national championship game into a terrible idea.

So officially: Welcome to college hockey, Big Ten! And rest in peace CCHA, I was always a fan and will forever be grateful for the slightly damaged Danny DeKeyser all-conference award I purchased while you were cleaning out the offices.

The CCHA was once home to varsity hockey at ACHA schools Ohio and Kent State.

Penn State Hockey-Summer News Roundup
(Victory Bell Rings)

If you've been in the basement since February, Mary Clarke has you covered with a rundown of the offseason for the men's team so far.

Townsend athlete plays ice hockey for Penn State
(Middletown Transcript)

I'm an unapologetic Emily Laurenzi fan, so it's great to see her get a quick look in the papers near her hometown.

Pegula Ice Arena Exterior Photos (July 5, 2013)
(Facebook)

With most photo updates of late focusing on the PIA interior after the exterior stopped looking drastically different all the time, it's nice to step back outside to see that the thing is done enough for trees to have been planted around the perimeter.

Pegula Ice Arena at night 
(YouTube)

Know what nobody thought to do until now? Take PIA photos at night with the main lobby lit up. And put them in a video with the beginning of Aerosmith's Dream On playing. Add people and you pretty much have game night.



Jean Stothert backs $6 million for UNO arena
(Omaha World-Herald)

Now that Pegula Ice Arena is about to open, it doesn't really matter that Penn State could have already been playing NCAA hockey for about 15 years, had ice capability not been cut from the Bryce Jordan Center during its construction. But what if...

The case of UNO, which drew 7,233 fans per game in the 16,680-seat CenturyLink Center last season, seems pretty well on point in that department. The Mavericks started up in 1997 (just after the BJC's completion), and following six years in the multi-purpose Omaha Civic Auditorium - a venue perhaps most famous for Lloyd Bentsen's "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" blast in 1988 - moved into their larger multi-purpose current home. And for almost that entire time, they've still been pushing for their own hockey-only facility sort of like the one about to fire up on University Drive.

In our alternate reality where PSU plays at the Jordan Center, does the whole $102 million donation thing even happen, when it wouldn't be needed for varsity hockey? Hey, sometimes things work out for the best.

Anyway, back to the point, things are inching forward in Omaha as the cash-strapped city is still in for $6 million of site improvements in anticipation of the proposed $76 million arena.

Josh Fenton named head of NCHC, CC's conference
(Colorado Springs Gazette)

If Las Vegas actually cared about the NCHC, I'm guessing that the odds on new commissioner Josh Fenton outlasting his predecessor would be pretty good. Said predecessor, Jim Scherr, was on the job for all of 18 months and left to become the chief operating officer of the 2015 European Games prior to the NCHC playing any games (or, technically and as noted above, having any teams).

W: Penn State 2 at RIT 3 (OT)

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // RITathletics.com recap

In a game defined, in part, by its early-period goals, RIT captain Kim Schlattman buried a rebound from a tight angle just 47 seconds into overtime to lift her Tigers (16-15-5, 7-8-5 CHA) into the CHA semifinals and send the Nittany Lions (7-26-2, 1-17-2 CHA) into the offseason following Penn State's first conference playoff series to close its first NCAA Division I season.

It was a heartbreaking conclusion to a campaign that may have been light on wins, but was certainly heavy on character. To be perfectly clear, I'm no less proud of the way the women's team closed out than I am of the men. Less than five days after Taylor Holstrom's OT winner at Wisconsin in the final 2012-2013 game for Guy Gadowsky's side, the women took a national championship squad (last year's DIII winners only had three seniors) into extra time though a comeback effort that saw PSU playing its best hockey in the third period. Nicole Paniccia was phenomenal with 54 often-spectacular saves. Taylor Gross, in addition to scoring the game's first goal off of a puck to the blue from right wing by Shannon Yoxheimer, played a incredibly gritty game, sacrificing whatever unbruised parts of her body remained in the name of the team and the playoffs. Hannah Hoenshell, who scored to tie the game at two 57 seconds into the third period, Jordin Pardoski, Micayla Catanzariti, Emily Laurenzi and Sarah Wilkie also stood out.

Here's all you need to know about my opinion of this group of players and coaches: TYT started out not really touching women's hockey (2010-2011), to then covering it with a fairly light treatment (2011-2012), cancelling my only scheduled trip to see the Lady Icers in year two due to a winter storm. This season, I attended 16 of the 35 games at four different locations - gotta hit Lindenwood and Syracuse next year to complete my CHA tour - and live blogged nine others from home, sometimes choosing women's games over the men when I felt that it was the more compelling matchup (of the remaining ten, five involved conflicts with trips for the men, three involved personal life conflicts and the other two... well, that's a long story).

I'll have more in the way of reflection over the next couple weeks, I promise. I'm begging off for now due to getting home from Rochester, via Buffalo, at about 12:30 a.m. (and anyway, half of the reason I started doing live blogs is so I wouldn't have to write extensive game recaps). Here's the RIT recap, followed by said live blog.

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Senior captain Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) scored 47 seconds into overtime to lift the RIT women’s hockey team (16-15-5) to a 3-2 victory over Penn State University (7-26-2) in game two of the best of three College Hockey America First Round Series from Ritter Arena on Saturday afternoon. RIT wins the series two games to zero and advances to the semifinals of the College Hockey America Tournament, where they will face No. 2 seed Syracuse on Friday.

Tenecia Hiller (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Thunder) was able to keep the puck in the Penn State zone and fired a pass back to Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons) at the left point. Her hard shot went just wide, but the rebound caromed to Schlattman at the right side of the goal and the senior captain backhanded a shot just past Penn State goaltender Nicole Panccia, who was diving across, but just too late. The goal was Schlattman's team-best 15th of the season

RIT dominated play throughout, out-shooting Penn State 57-19. Paniccia was outstanding for the Nittany Lions, stopping 54 shots, many in spectacular fashion to be named the game's first star.

Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) and Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) scored for the Tigers. In net, Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) made 17 saves to improve to 11-9-4 in 2012-13. The Tigers were awarded just one power-play, going 0-for-1.

Taylor Gross and Hannah Hoenshell scored for the Nittany Lions, who ended the season on a 14-game winless streak. Penn State was 0-for-5 with the man-advantage.

RIT Head Coach Scott McDonald is happy that his team is moving on to the conference semifinals.

"It was a gutsy, close playoff win," said McDonald. "Our top line really came through in the clutch for us. Offensively, we controlled the game, (Penn State's) goaltender played realy well to keep it close. We are looking forward to be have a chance to be playing for our league championship next weekend."

Maugeri tallied her ninth goal of the season at the 9:22 mark, as she streaked into the Penn State zone and took a perfect feed from Erin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Cambridge Fury), diving to redirect a shot past Paniccia. Emilee Bulleid (Waterdown, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) also assisted on the goal.

From there, RIT continued to press, but Paniccia kept everything out, stopping 35-of-36 shots in a losing cause. Binnington made 16 saves to record her sixth shutout of the season and improve to 10-9-4. Her best save came with 6:45 left in the final period, as Paige Jahnke fired a shot through a screen on a power-play that Binnington turned aside.

The Tigers came out and dominated the first period, out-shooting the Nittany Lions 16-4, but the game was tied 1-1.

RIT came out determined, firing the first six shots on goal over the first 2:29, but Paniccia was outstanding, making three big saves to keep the game scoreless. That prompted Penn State Head Coach Josh Brandwene to call a timeout just 2:29 in.

From there, RIT kept coming, but Paniccia kept the puck out. Her best save came on a redirection by Brown in front about five minutes in.

Penn State shocked the Ritter Arena faithful by jumping out to the lead at the 9:56 mark. Shannon Yoxheimer caused a turnover at the right wing boards and fired a shot towards the net that Gross redirected past Binnington off the crossbar and in for her seventh goal of the season.

Brown tied the game at the 14:45 mark, circling after Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets) won the draw, going towards the net and firing a perfect shot over the shoulder of Paniccia and just under the crossbar from a tight angle for her first goal since Jan. 27 and ninth of the season. Grigg won an offensive zone faceoff to Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects), who on a set play, tipped a pass to Brown, coming in from the left side. Brown circled around a few players and cut to the net, putting in a perfect shot for the goal.

RIT played an even better second period, firing 22 shots in the frame, while scoring the lone goal to take a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.

Paton gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead just 1:30 into the period, taking a feed from Erin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) in slot, getting her first chance stopped by Paniccia, but buried her own rebound for her fourth goal of the season.

RIT had numerous chances to go up more, but Paniccia was brilliant. She robbed Yokoyama twice, once on a breakaway, and then on a point-blank chance in front after Kourtney Kunchika made a perfect feed from behind the net.

Penn State tied the game 57 seconds into the third period, as Hoenshell took a feed from Birdie Shaw at the right face-off circle and put a shot past Binnington.

From there, a frantic end of regulation ensued, as RIT peppered the Penn State net with 18 more shots, but Paniccia was once again up to the task. She made two huge saves in the final seconds on shots from Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons) and Danielle Read (Brantford, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks) through traffic. Melissa Bromley (Aurora, Ontario/Aurora Panthers) had a great chance early in the period, getting a rebound in the slot, but firing a shot just wide off her teammate Zach, who was standing at the side of the net.

RIT last played an overtime game in the postseason on March 16, 2012, when Grigg took a perfect feed from Yokoyama 2:30 into the extra session to score and defeat SUNY Plattsburgh 2-1 in the NCAA National Semifinal.

Since McDonald took over in 2006, RIT is now 13-6 in the postseason, including a 13-3 mark at Ritter Arena. The Tigers are 10-1 at home in the postseason since the 2009-10 season, including a 5-0 mark last year en route to winning the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship.

W: Penn State 0 at RIT 1

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // RITathletics.com recap

It's a cliche, but 1-0 losses are among the most frustrating because in hockey, there's such a fine line between goal and no goal. A bounce here, an inch there... the what-if game always fails of course, because surely, RIT (15-15-5, 7-8-5 CHA) would like to add a couple hypothetical goals to their total as well. So it might be disingenuous to suggest the Nittany Lions (7-25-2, 1-17-2 CHA) deserved a better fate in game one of their first-round best-of-three CHA playoff series, but still, the possibility was on the table for all 60 minutes of a contest that saw the narrowest shot differential (35-16) of any of the five between PSU and RIT this season.

There certainly were a handful of chances to spoil RIT goaltender Ali Binnington's shutout, with perhaps the best being among the last - a late third-period power play shot by Paige Jahnke that worked through a perfect Birdie Shaw screen but was somehow stopped by the Tigers' sophomore netminder. On the other end, Nicole Paniccia was nearly Binnington's equal with 34 saves and just one fateful goal allowed, by Marissa Maugeri on a beautiful back-door setup from Erin Zach 9:22 into the first period.

Penn State is now down to one remaining chance to extend its season, Saturday afternoon's game two. Win, and the series rubber match is on Sunday. Lose, and a longer-than-desired offseason officially commences.

Here's the RIT recap, followed by the live blog.

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The RIT women’s hockey team (15-15-5) used a first period goal from sophomore forward Marissa Maugeri (Ajax, Ontario/Durham West Lightning) and 16 saves from sophomore goaltender Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) to shut out six-seed Penn State University (7-25-2) 1-0 in game one of the best of three College Hockey America First Round Series from Ritter Arena on Friday afternoon. It was RIT’s first playoff win as a Division I program.

Maugeri tallied her ninth goal of the season at the 9:22 mark of the opening period, as she streaked into the Penn State zone and took a perfect feed from Erin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Cambridge Fury), diving to redirect a shot past Paniccia. Emilee Bulleid (Waterdown, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) also assisted on the goal.

From there, RIT continued to press, but Paniccia kept everything out, stopping 35-of-36 shots in a losing cause. Binnington made 16 saves to record her sixth shutout of the season and improve to 10-9-4. Her best save came with 6:45 left in the final period, as Paige Jahnke fired a shot through a screen on a power-play that Binnington turned aside.

RIT’s defense did a brilliant job keeping Penn State to the outside, as the Nittany Lions failed to generate much in the way of quality throughout. The Tigers out-shot Penn State 35-16 and both teams were 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.

RIT had a few other great chances to go up 2-0, but Paniccia made a handful of big saves. Kourtney Kuncihika had Paniccia beat off a clean face-off win, but her shot went off the right post and back under the pad of the Penn State goaltender.

RIT continued to press in the second period, but could not solve Paniccia, despite the healthy 16-6 edge in shots in the frame and a 29-11 edge over two periods of play.

In the final period, RIT had a handful of great chances, but were unable to get good shots off, or had them blocked. The RIT defense killed off two Penn State power-plays.

RIT Head Scott McDonald was happy with his team’s effort in their first Division I playoff game.

“I thought that was a solid playoff game,” said McDonald, who picked up his 150th win behind the bench for the Tigers. “It was very low scoring, and tight defensively. They had an odd strategy of hanging a player in the neutral zone, but once we adjusted to it, I thought we controlled play very well in their end and did a great job of limiting their offensive chances.”

McDonald is now 150-37-22 in seven seasons at RIT.

Since McDonald took over in 2006, RIT is now 12-6 in the postseason, including an 12-3 mark at Ritter Arena. The Tigers are 10-1 at home in the postseason since the 2009-10 season, including a 5-0 mark last year en route to winning the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship.

Today’s game was the fifth meetings between the two schools this season. RIT holds a 4-0-1 edge thus far. On Oct. 25, RIT rolled to a 4-1 win over the Nittany Lions. The next night, despite firing 63 shots on goal, RIT needed a late goal from Hiller to salvage a 2-2 tie. Paniccia made 61 saves in that contest for Penn State. Just two weekends ago, RIT rolled to 3-1 and 4-0 victories over the Nittany Lions at Ritter Arena. On Feb. 15, Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects) dished out three assists to reach the 100-career point total for the Tigers. The next night, RIT exploded for three second period goals, and Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects) stopped 20 shots to record her 12th career shutout.

The Tigers and Nittany Lions will play game two of the CHA First Round Series at 2 p.m. If RIT wins, they advance to face No. 2 seed Syracuse in the CHA Semifinal next weekend at Mercyhurst. If Penn State wins, they will force a decisive game three, which will be played on Sunday at Ritter Arena, beginning at 2 p.m.

W: Penn State 2 at Robert Morris 4

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // RMUColonials.com recap

The Nittany Lion women (7-24-2, 1-17-2 CHA) closed the regular season by playing well in stretches, but were unable to spoil the senior day of Robert Morris (13-14-3, 9-10-1 CHA) Saturday afternoon at the Island Sports Center's 84 Lumber Arena.

Here's the RMU recap and video of the goals, followed by the live blog.

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The Robert Morris University women's hockey team earned a sweep of College Hockey America (CHA) opponent Penn State by a score of 4-2 Saturday afternoon at the RMU Island Sports Center.

The Colonials honored the class of 2013 before today's contest for senior day, as three members of the senior class tallied points in game two of the series.

In similar fashion to last night's contest, RMU maintained control of the first period versus the Nittany Lions. The Colonials outshot Penn State, 12-3 throughout the first frame. Robert Morris held PSU shotless until the 9:45 mark of the period. At 15:21 of the first frame, RMU scored the opening goal of the contest as sophomore forward Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Jr. Thunder) scored her 16th goal of the season. Freshman defenseman Megan Eady (Renfrew, Ontario / Nepean Wildcats) hit junior assistant captain Thea Imbrogno (Etobicoke, Ontario / Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) at the point who then found Vint on the right goal post for the first Colonial goal of the game. The assist is the second of Eady's freshman campaign and the 10th of the year for Imbrogno.

The Nittany Lions quickly responded to tie the game, 1-1 just 44 seconds after the RMU score. Freshman forward Shannon Yoxheimer scored the first Penn State goal at 15:45 of the first period. Defenseman Sarah Wilkie and forward Taylor Gross tallied assists on game-tying goal.

The second period proved to be the most successful for the Colonials as RMU scored two goals including the game-winner throughout the second 20 minutes of action.

Robert Morris would regain the lead as the Colonials scored an extra-attacker goal on a delayed penalty just 3:45 into the second period. Senior forward Courtney Langston(Warrensburgh, Mo. / Shattuck St. Mary's) hit junior defenseman Brandi Pollock (Virden, Manitoba / Westman Wildcats) with a pass in the left offensive faceoff zone. Pollock then found senior captain Dayna Newsom (Oakville, Ontario / Oakville Ice) on the right post for the second RMU score. The assist is the first of the season for Langston while Pollock registered her sixth of the year and second of the series with Penn State. The goal is the fourth of Newsom's senior season and her second of the series with the Nittany Lions.

The Colonials then took a 3-1 lead with 3:19 left in the period. Imbrogno found junior defenseman Anneline Lauziere (St. Thomas, Ontario / London Jr. Devilettes) who then passed off to fellow defenseman Kylie St. Louis (Windsor, Ontario / Southwest Wildcats). St. Louis fired a shot from outside the right faceoff zone that found the cage over the right should of Penn State netminder Celine Whitliner. The assists marks the 11th of the year and second of the game for Imbrogno while Lauziere tallied her third of the year. St. Louis' goal is her fourth score of the season and first game-winning goal.

RMU again dominated the shot count in the second period as the Colonials outshot the Nittany Lions, 24-2.

With 10:34 on the clock in the final frame, RMU added to its lead with a goal by senior assistant captain Cobina Delaney (Stittsville, Ontario / Ottawa Jr. Senators). After junior forward Kristen Richards (Toronto, Ontario / Niagara University) won a faceoff, Lauziere blasted a shot wide of the cage that allowed Delaney to find the puck and put in net on the wrap-around attempt. The goal is sixth of the year for Delaney and her second in two games. The assist marked Lauziere's second of the contest along with her fourth of the season and is Richards' 13th assist as a RMU Colonial.

At the 13:52 mark of the third period Penn State scored in a comeback effirt, but RMU skated the reminder of the period without giving up another goal. The second Nittany Lion goal was scored by Gross as Yoxheimer tallied notched the only assist.

The final shot count favored RMU, 57-12. The Colonials also won 39 of 58 faceoffs on the afternoon.

Senior netminder Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) earned the victory between the pipes for Robert Morris. DiCiocco faced 10 shots in the contest to earn her 33rd career victory.

Next weekend, RMU will play a best-of-three series in the first round of the CHA playoffs. The Colonials opponent and location of the series is yet to be determined due to the Lindenwood and Syracuse series from this weekend being postponed. The two teams will faceoff Wednesday and Thursday of the upcoming week at 7 p.m. As long as Lindenwood does not sweep the Orange, Robert Morris will host the Lions in the first round.

W: Penn State 1 at Robert Morris 4

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // RMUColonials.com recap

Despite a fortunate Emily Laurenzi goal that bounced in - seemingly in slow motion - off of a Robert Morris skate to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead late in the first period, PSU (7-23-2, 1-16-2 CHA) was unable to take down the defending CHA champion Colonials (12-14-3, 8-10-1 CHA) at the Island Sports Center Friday night. The game placed Penn State in a couple of new slots in the RMU media guide, as Colonials goalie Kristen DiCiocco reset the program wins record (32) and Robert Morris rifled 63 shots at Nicole Paniccia to set a new team mark in that category.

Here's the RMU recap (as well as video of the goals), followed by the live blog.

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The Robert Morris University women's hockey team earned its eighth College Hockey America (CHA) win of the season as the Colonials defeated Penn State, 4-1 Friday evening at the RMU Island Sports Center.

With tonight's win, senior goaltender Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) earned her 32nd career victory to set a new record for wins by a single goaltender in Robert Morris program history. DiCiocco stopped 12 of the 13 shots she faced from the Nittany Lions to tally a .929 save percentage in the recording breaking victory.

To begin the Colonials last regular series of the year, Robert Morris hit the ice with great intensity. RMU outshot Penn State 16-5 throughout the first 20 minutes of play while the Colonial penalty kill stifled the Nittany Lion's only power play chance of the first frame. After an unusual failed clear attempt by RMU and an unlucky bounce, Penn State scored the opening goal of the contest with 1:14 remaining in the first period. Freshman forward Emily Laurenzi was credited with the score with Hannah Hoenshell and Paige Jahnke registering assists.

Halfway through the second period, the Colonials were able to execute multiple scoring opportunities as RMU scored its first goal of the game at 10:22 of the period. Senior assistant captain Jamie Joslin(Richmond Hill, Ontario / Aurora Panthers) stole the puck at the blue line, skated it into the offensive zone and immediately fire a shot on net. The shot deflected off the chest of PSU goaltender Nicole Paniccia as forward Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Jr. Thunder) crashed the net hard and buried the puck past Paniccia. The assist is the 12th of the season for Joslin and the score marks the 15th of Vint's sophomore campaign.

Less than three minutes later, RMU would take a 2-1 lead off a bang-bang play from three Colonial forwards. Sophomore forward Maddie Collias (Roseville, Mich. / Belle Tire) hit linemate Katelyn Scott (Brighton, Mich. / Belle Tire) with a quick pass that allowed her to send the puck across the crease to senior captain Dayna Newsom (Oakville, Ontario / Oakville Ice) for a back door power play goal. The power play goal was scored at 13:12 of the second period. The assists are the sixth and ninth for Scott and Collias while the goal is the third of the season for Newsom. The goal is also second power play goal this year for Newsom, first game-winning goal and the second goal of she has scored against the Nittany Lions.

Throughout the second 20 minutes of action, RMU outshot Penn State 30-5. The 30 shots by the RMU marks a season-high for shots in a period. The Colonials surpassed its previous season-best 26 shots they put on net last weekend in the third period of game two against Lindenwood. Fourteen of RMU's 30 shots came on the three power play opportunities.

Robert Morris added to its lead at 5:33 of the third period when senior assistant captain Cobina Delaney (Stittsville, Ontario / Ottawa Jr. Senators) tallied her fifth goal of the year. Senior forward Kelsey Thomas (Hamilton, Ontario / Hamilton Hawks) passed to junior forward Kristen Richards (Toronto, Ontario / Niagara University) for the initial shot on net. After a scrum to the left of the cage, Delaney found the puck and lifted into the top of the net to put the Colonials up, 3-1. The assist for Thomas allows her to move into a tie for fifth all-time in career points with 75. The goal for Delaney also allows her to move into the top-10 in career goals as she has scored 22 goals in her four-year career at Robert Morris.

The Colonials scored their final goal of the contest with 2:16 remaining in the third frame to earn the 4-1 victory. The fourth RMU goal was scored by Scott for her second point of the game and fourth goal of the season. Junior defenseman Brandi Pollock (Virden, Manitoba / Westman Wildcats)passed off to Joslin at the blue line and Joslin fired a shot on net that Scott tipped in for the score. The assist marks Pollock's fifth of the year as Joslin tallied her 13th assist of the year and second of tonight's game. Joslin's two-point performance on the evening moves her career total for points to 43. The senior is now tied for most career points tallied by a Colonial defenseman. The defender also moves into a tie for third all-time in assists by a defenseman with 30 career assists.

RMU outshot the Nittany Lions 63-14 in the victory. The 63 shots on net sets a new single-game program record for Robert Morris passing the 61 shot-effort against Lindenwood last season. The Colonial penalty kill unit was a perfect four-for-four in the evening contest. The defensive unit now ranks 11th on national scene with an 85.7 kill percentage (102-119).

W: Penn State 3 vs. Lindenwood 3

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // LindenwoodLions.com recap

It was a win that wasn't, thanks to a brutally missed call when Taylor Gross was tripped attempting to carry out of the PSU zone with a 3-2 lead in the last minute and Lindenwood goalie Nicole Hensley on the bench - a play that directly led to Allyson Arcibal's tying goal with 42 seconds left in regulation. Officially, Penn State is now 7-20-2 (1-13-2 CHA), while Lindenwood is 4-23-3 (4-9-3 CHA), but the Nittany Lions earned two points, period. No other way to say it.

Know how bad the no-call was? It featured prominently in the generally sunny and controversy-free official recap. Here that is, followed by the live blog.

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The final Penn State women's hockey game at Greenberg Ice Pavilion was a taut affair that ended in bizarre fashion as Lindenwood tied Penn State, 3-3, on Saturday afternoon. LU's Allysson Arcibal scored an extra-attacker goal with 42 seconds remaining to force overtime after a couple of tough calls went against PSU.

Jill Holdcroft (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa.) scored a go-ahead goal with five minutes left in the third period on a power play for a 3-2 lead. Jordin Pardoski (Rochester Hills, Mich.) ripped a shot from the blue line that ricocheted off the post as Holdcroft slipped the puck past LU netminder Nicole Hensley (25 saves).

With less than a minute, Lindenwood earned a faceoff in the Penn State zone. Before the teams lined up for the faceoff, Penn State attempted to call a timeout, which was denied by the officials. On the ensuing faceoff, Taylor Gross (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won the skirmish with Alyssa West and was ready to send the puck out of the defensive zone. West tripped up the junior captain as Lindenwood took control of the puck along the boards and a loose puck was knocked home by Arcibal to knot the game.

In the overtime periods, Penn State (7-20-2, 1-13-2 CHA) and Lindenwood (4-24-3, 4-9-3 CHA) combined for seven shots. Nicole Paniccia (Oakville, Ont.) had four stops and Hensley had three.

Shannon Yoxheimer (Jackson, Mich.) opened the account 9:08 into the game, an unassisted tally where she sniped a shot past Hensley glove side. The goal was Yoxheimer's 13th of the season and ended an eight-game goal draught dating back to Jan. 4. In that eight game span, Yoxheimer still managed to get on the score sheet four times through assists. Lindenwood answered with a power-play goal 3:20 to tie the game and the two squads skated into the break, 1-1.

Penn State went ahead two minutes into the period when Birdie Shaw (Troy, Mich.) slotted home an Emily Laurenzi (Townsend, Del.) feed. The two reversed their roles from Friday night when Laurenzi scored from Shaw's pass.

Lindenwood spent most of the second period on the power play, garnering four power-play chances and two 5-on-3 chances. Penn State killed them all off and allowed 12 shots. Seconds after the final penalty kill, Lindenwood's Katie Erickson ripped a shot that was tipped in by Lyndsay Kirkham to tie the game with 1:41 left in the period.

For the game, LU out-shot Penn State 47-28. Lindenwood had 20 of its 47 shots come on the power play, while just 4 of PSU's 28 chances were on the player-advantage. Lindenwood went 1-for-7 on the power play and PSU went 1-for-4.

Saturday was also Senior Day as Kate Christoffersen (Trumbull, Conn.) was honored beforehand with her parents, brother, PSU director of athletics Dave Joyner, associate athletic director Joe Battista and head coach Josh Brandwene.

The Nittany Lions also paid homage to its past by having women's hockey alumnae greeted on ice during the first intermission. All women's hockey alumnae have been made honorary members of Penn State's Varsity "S" Club.

Penn State travels to Rochester, N.Y. to face RIT next week in a two-game series. The Friday-Saturday set will have 7 p.m. opening faceoffs.

Penn State-Lindenwood Photo Gallery

Photos from Friday afternoon's Penn State-Lindenwood women's game. All are by and courtesy of Steven Hass. Click for full size.

Junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia

Freshman forward Emily Laurenzi, PSU's lone goal scorer.

Junior forward Jenna Welch

Freshman forward Hannah Hoenshell

Sophomore forward Jess Desorcie

Laurenzi

Freshman defender Paige Jahnke protects Paniccia

Freshman defender Jeanette Bateman

Senior (sort of) defender Lindsay Reihl

Junior forward Taylor Gross

Reihl and Desorcie sandwich Lindenwood's Alyssa West

2/8 Postgame: Brandwene, Paniccia, Laurenzi

Comments from head coach Josh Brandwene, junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia (on the left in the second video) and freshman forward Emily Laurenzi (on the right in the second video) following Penn State's 3-1 loss to Lindenwood Friday afternoon.

W: Penn State 1 vs. Lindenwood 3

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // LindenwoodLions.com recap

The Nittany Lion women (7-20-1, 1-13-1 CHA) started their final home series of the inaugural NCAA season well enough, as a solid first period Friday afternoon was punctuated by Emily Laurenzi's silky smooth goal off of a give-and-go with Birdie Shaw. From that point forward, though, it was all Lindenwood (4-23-2, 4-9-2 CHA) in what was likely a death blow to the Nittany Lions' chances of finishing out of the CHA cellar.

Here's the Lindenwood recap, followed by the live blog.

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The Lindenwood women's hockey team picked up another CHA victory on Friday afternoon with a 3-1 road win over Penn State.

The Lady Lions dominated special teams play by going two-for-four on the power play and killing off all four Penn State power plays. Lindenwood finished the game with nine more shots as it had a season-high 45.

Penn State struck first in the game with a goal at the 14:40 mark of the first period. That period was the only one in which the Nittany Lions had more shots than Lindenwood.

The Lady Lions began to control the action early in the second period and it finally paid dividends at the 12:15 mark when Alyssa West scored a power-play goal, with an assist going to Alison Wickenheiser. Lindenwood finished the period with a 14-7 advantage in shots.

The turning point of the game also happened late in the second period. Penn State went on the power play with a little over two minutes remaining, but West was able to get the puck into Lindenwood's offensive zone and kept it trapped there for a lengthy amount of time. Before the Nittany Lions could get out of Lindenwood's zone, they committed a penalty that gave Lindenwood a power play that extended into the third period. The Lady Lions took advantage by scoring 37 seconds into the final period on a goal by Chelsea Witwicke, with assists from Allysson Arcibal and West.

Lindenwood's penalty kill then helped turn away Penn State's best chance to tie the game. The Lady Lions had two penalties within 1:44 of each other, but they were able to kill off both power plays, including a five-on-three for 16 seconds. Penn State also had a man advantage late in the game when it pulled its goalie, but Lindenwood was able to clinch the game when Lyndsay Kirkham was able to get the puck into Lindenwood's offensive end and Caitlyn Post scored an empty-net goal.

Lindenwood is now on a three-game unbeaten streak in league action. The Lady Lions will look to complete their first series sweep of the season tomorrow afternoon with another contest against Penn State at 2 p.m.

Penn State-Chatham Photo Gallery II

Photos from Saturday night's Penn State-Chatham women's game. All are by and courtesy of Steven Hass. Click for full size.

Sophomore forward Tess Weaver

Freshman forward Katie Zinn

Senior defender Lindsay Reihl

Freshman forward Emily Laurenzi

Freshman defender Paige Jahnke

Freshman forward Kendra Rasmussen

Freshman defender Stephanie Walkom

Sophomore forward Cara Mendelson

Sophomore forward Katie Murphy

Senior forward Kate Christoffersen

Murphy

Junior forward Jenna Welch (left).

W: Penn State 4 vs. Chatham (NCAA DIII) 0

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // Chatham.edu recap

New lineup, same result.

Josh Brandwene made massive changes to his team for Saturday's rematch with NCAA Division III Chatham - in the end, every player on the roster saw ice over the weekend - but the Nittany Lions (7-12-1, 1-8-1 CHA) rolled once again, this time by a deceptively close 4-0 score.

Considering Penn State's entire top line of Shannon Yoxheimer, Jess Desorcie and Taylor Gross, as well as lethal Hannah Hoenshell, got the night off, a duplicate of Friday's 10-0 romp would probably be asking too much. Still, other than the goal count, the gaudy stats remained in place against a Cougars team that only had 13 players available. PSU rifled 71 shots on Chatham goalie Kaitlynn Smith and allowed only 16 against Celine Whitlinger and Brooke Meyer (who closed out the final 7:26 of the game). Of those 16 CU shots, only four came from beneath the dots. Emily Laurenzi's 12-3 record in the faceoff circle led the way to a 30-11 advantage on a team level.

It was Laurenzi's line, which included Jenna Welch and Katie Zinn, that accounted for three of the four goals. Zinn opened things up 5:07 into the game by slipping a wrister through from the left wing circle. A Cougar defense that blocked 32 shots and Smith - despite issues controlling the puck all game long - kept Penn State at bay until late in the second period, when Madison Smiddy's point bomb on net was dropped by Smith, allowing Welch to push it home. PSU finally cracked things open in the final period when a turnover deep in the Chatham zone allowed Zinn and Welch in behind everyone, with the Canadian feeding the Texan for her second of the night. Jill Holdcroft closed things out 58 seconds after Welch's second with a putback of her own rebound.

The Nittany Lions will now hit the road for the next four games (closing out a stretch of ten away games in 12 bridging the semester break) beginning with games against the ECAC's Union Dutchwomen in Schenectady, NY next Friday and Saturday.

W: Penn State 1 at St. Lawrence 3

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // StLawU.edu recap

Penn State continues to churn out impressive efforts in this first NCAA season, but outstanding games from Celine Whitlinger (a career-high 45 saves), PSU's defense (17 blocked shots, led by Jenna Welch's three) and Jill Holdcroft (PSU's goal, her fifth of the season) were not enough to overcome a very good St. Lawrence team. The Nittany Lions fell to 5-11-1 (1-8-1 CHA) while the Saints, last year's ECAC tournament champs and NCAA tournament autobid recipients, improved to 9-7-1 (6-2-0 ECAC).

As Josh Brandwene understands, this is still about process and not necessarily results just yet:

Still, my initial reaction to this particular result - along with a couple preceding it - was along the lines of "man, I wish we had another shot at that Syracuse-Sacred Heart-RIT stretch from early in the season." The Nittany Lions went 1-4-1 over those games from October 13th through October 26th, scoring just four times outside of the lone win of the sequence, 6-1 over SHU. Anyone doubt that the December 7th version of the team could better that? I can't wait to see where things progress from here to early March and the CHA tournament.

I decided to go with the St. Lawrence recap to fill in the details this time around, because it read to me as a very balanced account of the game - helpful when not actually seeing it for yourself. Besides, to the victors go the spoils (if these are, in fact, "spoils," teams should probably stop trying to win). So without further ado...

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The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team scored a pair of goals in the third period to defeat Penn State University 3-1 at Appleton Arena on Friday night. Senior captain Kelly Sabatine broke a 1-1 tie at 7:53 of the third to push the Saints to the victory in the first ever meeting between the two teams.

St. Lawrence, now 9-7-1 on the season, finished with a 48-16 advantage in shots including an 18-4 edge in the third period. The Nittany Lions, in their first season as an NCAA division I team, fall to 5-11-1 despite a brilliant 45-save outing in net by Celine Whitlinger.

"I thought we gave great effort tonight and generated a lot of quality chances," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "We're looking forward to another good game with Penn State again tomorrow afternoon."

St. Lawrence rookie goaltender Giulia Mazzocchi earned her first collegiate win with 15 saves, allowing just one power play goal in the contest.

Though the home team owned a 14-6 advantage in shots in the first period, Whitlinger posted a perfect frame and kept Penn State in the game. St. Lawrence would finally cash in at 14:10 of the second, as rookie Jenna Marks one-timed a shot past the goaltender for her fourth of the season. Fellow rookie Kailee Heidersbach set up the goal with a perfect centering pass, while classmate Dominique Korakianitis also earned her first career assist on the first goal.

A penalty against St. Lawrence in the final minute of the second period would allow the Nittany Lions to tie it at 1-1. Only 18 seconds after the power play began, Jill Holdcroft slapped the puck past Mazzocchi after Shannon Yoxheimer's initial shot was blocked back into the slot. The goal, Holdcroft's fifth, set up a dramatic third period with the game knotted at 1-1.

Kelly Sabatine, defended here by Emily Laurenzi, scored the winner.

St. Lawrence applied constant pressure on the Penn State defense, which finally cracked when Sabatine scored her ninth of the year for a 2-1 lead. Junior Rylee Smith found Sabatine in the slot, and she sniped a wrist shot past Whitlinger's blocker with 12:07 remaining in the game. Rookie Abbey McRae also had an assist on what proved to be the game-winning tally.

Penn State would look to generate some offensive chances in the final minutes, and were able to get Whitlinger off the ice in favor of the extra attacker. However, the Saints would flip the ice and Kayla Raniwsky would tack on an empty net goal with 51 seconds left to put the game away. Heidersbach and Marks each assisted on the insurance goal.

The Nittany Lions closed with a 1-for-5 mark on the power play while the Scarlet and Brown were 0-for-3.

St. Lawrence and Penn State will meet again in a rematch tomorrow, Saturday, December 8 at 2:00pm.

W: Penn State 3 at Lindenwood 2

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // LindenwoodLions.com recap

So...about that non-linear growth process I mentioned yesterday? It's pretty linear when only looking at the two games with Lindenwood this weekend. Slope? Over 9,000.

"I am tremendously proud of the effort and resilience our student-athletes showed today." Head coach Josh Brandwene said. "It was a total team effort at both ends of the ice."

Make no mistake, much like Friday's 5-1 loss, Penn State (5-8-1, 1-6-1 CHA) spent much of Saturday's game trying to bounce back. The difference is that this time around, the Nittany Lions did so - more than once. In doing so, the team proved once again that it's headed in the direction of a peak right around early March and the College Hockey America league tournament.

Just as happened in each of the previous day's three periods, Lindenwood (1-11-0, 1-3-0 CHA) struck in the first four minutes of the first period on Saturday afternoon. Fresh off of helping to win a battle for the puck in the offensive corner, Alyssa West escaped to the slot and got the puck high to Chelsea Witwicke. Witwicke then snuck a shot though Nicole Paniccia - who made her tenth straight start in PSU's cage and made 28 saves - from left point. And just like in the first period of the series opener, Jill Holdcroft responded with a late-period power play rebound goal following a Shannon Yoxheimer shot, with Jordin Pardoski getting second assist. Yep, same scoring line, same general methodology, although this time around it came a couple minutes later, at the 17:39 mark.

The game finally broke script almost 30 game minutes later, when a quick exchange of goals took place in the third period. Lindenwood regained the lead at 2-1 when West followed up on a rebound through traffic generated by Alison Wickenheiser's streaking effort with Birdie Shaw off for checking. Captain Taylor Gross answered just 36 seconds later, with Yoxheimer picking up her second assist.

Freshman forward Kendra Rasmussen defends against LU's Alyssa West, who had two points in Penn State's 3-2 win Saturday afternoon, the Nittany Lions' first in CHA play. Photo: Lindenwood athletics

Win or lose, one of the game's themes was destined to be Penn State's power play. The Lady Lions took 10 minor penalties in all, and outside of Holdcroft's goal, things looked quite ugly in that department for a while. PSU failed to convert on consecutive penalties (separated by just 30 seconds) early in the first period, on 1:27 of 5-on-3 time in the second period, and on three other more typical attempts. In no uncertain terms, had Penn State lost the game, those missed opportunities would have been a primary culprit.

Emily Laurenzi, though, had other ideas. Her goal - yep, on the advantage - with 5:50 remaining boosted the Nittany Lions to the win and ensured that any storylines concerning PSU's power play would be positive ones, as the unit finished a respectable 2-for-9. Paige Jahnke and Hannah Hoenshell assisted on the decisive goal, which clinched Penn State's first-ever CHA win.

A first win, sure, but also a vital one, because the degree of difficulty gets exponentially (that's also non-linear, if you're scoring at home) greater from here. Following a week off for Thanksgiving, Penn State will travel to Erie for a pair of games against national power Mercyhurst on November 30th and December 1st. The skinny on the Lakers: eight NCAA tournament appearances in a row (including Frozen Four appearances in 2009 and 2010), every regular season and playoff championship in CHA history until being upset by Robert Morris in last year's tournament final. After Mercyhurst, Penn State closes the fall semester with two at St. Lawrence, which has made nine NCAA tournaments and five Frozen Fours since 2001.

One major black mark on the weekend were the deficient efforts of Lindenwood's scorer and video crew, as scoring errors and inconsistent transmissions plagued both games. In Saturday's contest for example, Holdcroft's goal was credited to Gross, then to Yoxheimer, then back to Gross, before finally to the Pennsylvania Furnace sparkplug. Laurenzi's winner was initially credited to Micayla Catanzariti, and even appeared that way briefly in the GoPSUSports.com recap. I suppose LU's posting a video showing each of their goals in the game could be considered an olive branch, although including the Nittany Lions' scores would have been a better way to get back in my good graces. Penn State's scorer and broadcasters will undoubtedly do a better job when the Lions visit the Ice Pavilion on February 8th and 9th...but I'm rattled enough to think that I should probably attend those games, just in case.