Vaughan to Play Second WUG for Team USA

USA Hockey announced Wednesday that senior Women's Ice Hockey Club goaltender Katie Vaughan will play for Team USA at the upcoming Winter World University Games, which will be held December 10th through 21st in Trentino, Italy.

She was one of 17 named to what USA Hockey is calling a "preliminary roster," with more players to be added later this month.

Last season, en route to second-team All-ACHA Tournament and ACHA All-American honorable mention honors, Vaughan posted sparkling stats: an 8-4-0 record with a 1.40 goals against average, a 0.943 save percentage, and a shutout in helping to lead Penn State to the ACHA Division 2 national championship game. She spent her first two years at PSU with the ACHA Division 1 Lady Icers program, where she notably backstopped the team's 3-2 overtime upset of NCAA Division I Sacred Heart on January 14th, 2012. So far in 2013-2014, she has a perfect stat line, thanks to two shutout periods against Liberty in September 27th's season opener.

Vaughan also played for Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Erzurum, Turkey, the first time USA Hockey sent a women's team to the tournament. Alongside fellow Lady Icers Heather Rossi, Lindsay Reihl and Denise Rohlik, she went 2-1-0 in four games, including a 1.81 goals against average and a shutout to help the Americans to fourth place. Vaughan is one of just two returning members of that team, as she's joined by Robert Morris (IL) forward Ramey Weaver in that category.

Team USA, it was previously announced, will be led by long-time Penn State hockey coach Mo Stroemel, who has served as director of operations for the NCAA women's team, as both an assistant and a head coach with the Lady Icers and the ACHA Men's Division 2 Ice Lions, and also as an assistant with the ACHA Men's Division 1 Icers. He was the head coach of the 2011 U.S. World University Games entry as well. Stroemel will be assisted by Rob Blackburn and Kristen Wright, the head coaches at Michigan and Colorado, respectively.

There are other Penn State connections to the WUG as well. Massachusetts defender Paige Harrington, who played for the Lady Icers in 2011-2012 before transferring, is on the women's preliminary roster. Former Icers head (2006-2011) and assistant (1997-1999, 2001-2006) coach Scott Balboni will lead the men's team at the tournament.

Here is the schedule Stroemel, Vaughan, Harrington and the U.S. women's team face, with all games being played in a 1,672-seat rink in Pergine Valsugana, a municipality within the province of Trentino in northern Italy. All times are Eastern.

December 10th vs. Russia, 10:00 a.m.
December 12th vs. Great Britain, 6:00 a.m.
December 13th vs. Japan, 2:00 p.m.
December 15th vs. Canada, 2:00 p.m.
December 16th vs. Spain, 2:00 p.m.
December 18th vs. Semifinals, TBD
December 20th vs. Championship/Third Place, TBD

Three Stars: September 23-29

3. Women's Hockey Media Day Wrap-Up
(GoPSUSports.com)

The NCAA women's team held their media day last Thursday. Unfortunately, it was pretty lightly covered, so I didn't have the material for a roundup/link dump post.

Not that it really needs one when GoPSUSports recorded the entire thing on video and even threw in a transcript of Josh Brandwene's press conference. As someone who tries to peel back the layers of interpretation that are inevitable in journalism and give you as much raw material as possible, I approve.

2. A Salute to 32 years at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion
(StateCollege.com)

As mentioned in last week's Three Stars, Joe and Heidi Battista took the final skate at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion a little over a week ago (the facility's fate is still a bit unsettled, although it won't be an ice rink any longer).

Naturally, that meant a "Joe Battista tells stories" column for his subsequent entry on StateCollege.com. Gather 'round, children.

1. Katie Vaughan looking to backstop the Penn State women's ice hockey club to a national championship
(PennLive)

I'm sure some of you are crying bias because I gave first star to the Women's Ice Hockey Club (assuming anyone actually cares where I place the links in these posts). Of course I'm biased. We all are, it's part of the human condition. At least I'm up front with you guys about mine.

Regardless, WIHC goalie Katie Vaughan is one of the finest student-athletes Penn State has to offer and she laid down a fantastic interview here. Hopefully, we're all biased in favor of that.

Best of the Rest

@PegulaIceArena
(Twitter)

Penn State held an open house at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday which, as it turned out, doubled as a reunion of NHL alumni. Above, obviously, is Mario Lemieux, pictured with Heidi Battista.

Former Red Wing/Whaler/Hurricane/Flyer Keith Primeau was also there, and while he might not be in the "greatest ever" discussion, he did once do this.

Szyszko Retains Captaincy, Rothman and Schaffer Named 2013-14 Alternates
(psuwihc.com)

UPark's ACHA teams named their 2013-2014 letter-wearers last week. As should be fairly obvious from the header, Carly Szyszko will once again wear the C for the women, while Allie Rothman and Ashton Schaffer take the As.

The Ice Lions also have some highly-worthy leadership: Max O'Malley is the captain, with Creek Lewis and Ryan Urban serving as alternates.

Ice Chips Blog - Season previews for 2013-14
(achahockey.org)

Both of those teams were picked to return to nationals this season on the ACHA website.

Ohio State hockey: B1G dreams beckon
(Land-Grant Holy Grant)

Here's a well-done preview of the Ohio State men's team from OSU's SB Nation blog...

...I'm a little worried though. To this point, the people who support and write about Buckeye hockey appear to be very nice, reasonable and articulate. In other words, the polar opposite of their neanderthal football brethren. So basically, what are they up to?

Tougher schedule would help MU women's hockey
(GoErie.com)

Over in Erie, people are fretting because they don't view Mercyhurst's schedule as tough enough to prepare the Lakers for their annual NCAA Tournament trip.

But after [the Minnesota State, Ohio State, Cornell, Clarkson, Robert Morris and St. Lawrence] games, which teams on the 33-game schedule will give the Lakers the battles they need to prepare for the postseason?

Syracuse? The Orange are winless in 23 career meetings with the Lakers. The rest of the CHA? Lindenwood, Penn State and Rochester Institute of Technology finished last season with a combined 30-68-10 record. Lindenwood begins only its third year in NCAA Division I. Penn State and RIT joined D-I last year.

I guess I should probably be mildly offended, but I'm not. We're a second-year NCAA program. We'll get there.

RMU women’s hockey team seeks to climb conference
(City of Champions)

A nice preview of the perenially-tough RMU Colonials who, with all due respect to a growing Syracuse program, have emerged as Mercyhurst's primary College Hockey America threat most of the time.

Women's hockey drops 2013-14 regular season opener to No. 3 Clarkson
(RITathletics.com)

Five regular season games have already been played by CHA teams. Lindenwood lost to and tied with Bemidji State over the weekend, while Mercyhurst split that aforementioned Minnesota State series. Then there's this one, a 12-1 win by third-ranked Clarkson over RIT. Yikes.

New Community/UNO Athletic Facility
(YouTube)

The first time one of my favorite teams won a championship, I really enjoyed the offseason. Got the t-shirt, got the hat, went to the parade, basked in the glow. It was glorious. Then, just before the next season started, I realized something obvious but generally forgotten in brief moments of euphoria: they don't cancel the league so that my team can be the champs forever. You still have to go out and defend the title, and you probably won't do it successfully.

That's sort of how I feel about Pegula Ice Arena right now. Other schools aren't going to stop building new arenas just because we have one. And much like PSU people feel PIA is better than new facilities at Notre Dame, Miami and Minnesota-Duluth, others will feel that their place beats ours.

One of the early challengers will likely come from UNO, and while it looks fantastic, it's going to double as a basketball arena. So I think we'll be okay up against that one.

Penn State All-Sports Museum
(Facebook)

Hockey exhibit at the all-sports museum? Hockey exhibit at the all-sports museum.

You know, it's interesting... the more I learn - the outstanding collection of memorabilia shown above being the latest bit of knowledge - the more I'm convinced that my issues with the handling of Icers and Lady Icers history are not due to an institutional flaw, but instead are a result of stubborn and/or lazy individual(s).

Basically, I'm not sure what exactly USA Hockey teaches in the course of its prestigious Brian Fishman Internship, but I'm not impressed.

Three Stars: September 9-15

The women's team was all smiles after moving into Pegula Ice Arena

3. Hockey Welcomes Five to 2013-14 Roster
(gogriffs.com)

As first reported here (yes, I closed my eyes and smelled myself as I was typing that), former Icers and Ice Lions defenseman Brandon Russo has transferred to Canisius, where he'll play for the Golden Griffins' NCAA team. He's now officially added to their roster.

ACHA to the show? Yeah, it's been done.

2. 2013-14 Men's Hockey Yearbook
(issuu.com)

The men's team's 2013-2014 yearbook is now online, complete with the usual trappings and the continued neglect of Icers history.

Alabama-Huntsville treats their club titles with the appropriate level of respect. The yearbook for the Lindenwood women contains all-time results for the ACHA years, ACHA records and even a full page highlighting their four national championship teams. Yearbooks for NCAA DI programs that have spent time in DII or DIII manage to highlight history from those eras.

Penn State had the most successful program in ACHA history, one that is directly responsible for Joe Battista, Terry Pegula and everything happening right now. There's no excuse.

1. The Move Into a New Home Signals New Era
(gopsusports.com)

It's old news by now, but easily the most enjoyable thing from last week - sorry student ticket line - was observing the excitement of the Penn State's hockey players as they moved into Pegula Ice Arena for the first time.

Best of the Rest

Former UConn Huskies Taylor Gross, Nicole Paniccia and Jenna Welch

@D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

The ex-CONNS! Hahahaha get it?

Steve Hass, the guy behind that Twitter account, had a good week on PhotoShop, also dropping in TPeg Claus in recognition of the "Christmas" celebrated by the women's team last Monday and addressed in the first star (the men's team too I suppose, although they weren't knocking out Christmas carols ahead of their move-in).

@PennStateMHKY
(Twitter)

Big Ten media day is Thursday morning in St. Paul, MN, and most conference schools have named those in their respective delegations.

Penn State: Head coach Guy Gadowsky, Tommy Olczyk, David Glen
Michigan: Head coach Red Berenson, Mac Bennett
Michigan State: Head coach Tom Anastos, Greg Wolfe, Jake Hildebrand
Ohio State: Head coach Steve Rohlik, Curtis Gedig

I haven't seen announcements from Minnesota or Wisconsin yet. Of course, the Gophers can pretty much bring the whole damn team, should they choose.

A Very Special Move-In Day at Pegula Ice Arena
(statecollege.com)

Think Joe Battista had a good perspective on the move to PIA? Yeah, probably.

@AndyJohnsonB5Q
(Twitter)

It sounds like we're (finally) about to get the long-awaited Big Ten television schedule.

Since media day is coming up on Thursday, the guess here is that it will be revealed then to give pop to Big Ten hockey's first installment of what, generally, are pretty bland events stacked with "we're excited for the season" quotes and those preseason coaches polls that everyone talks about for two days before forgetting them.

Worth a quick mention: the CHA is entering the final year of a streaming deal signed in 2011 with America One, so the arrangement for the women will be identical to last season.

Penn State Hockey Roundup – One Month to Go
(Victory Bell Rings)

I've said this before, but I'm really glad people like Mary Clarke and IcersGuy (at Black Shoe Diaries) exist, because they both excel where I fall short: at taking a step back, a deep breath and a look around. Here's a solid ICYMI from Clarke to reset things.

A Manning Texts Mauti, Bacon Talks Origins of Book
(statecollege.com)

John Bacon's new book Fourth And Long, which looks at several college football programs during the 2012 season including obviously-newsworthy Penn State, has been a discussion machine of late with the pigskin crowd.

On Thursday, Bacon spoke at PSU and revealed that Josh Brandwene actually played a small, but vital, role in delivering full access to Bill O'Brien's program:

---

"The scene was Friday, April 20," Bacon said. "I was at a lunch for the ground of the new ice rink being broken. Bill was there and I let him know that I was coming. This wasn't an ambush at all. He was there and he knew I was coming.

"There was an empty seat at his table and Josh Brandwene, the current coach for Penn State women's hockey is sitting at the table. I had known Josh from over twenty years ago when we were both coaching at a Penn State hockey camp at the old rink. And he sees me and goes "Bakes!" and I think "Thank God." Before I know it I'm spending 15-20 minutes with Bill O'Brien just kind of introducing myself.

"Later on that day I walk across the street and he asks if I want to hop on the bus to take a ride to the stadium for the walk through before the night before the spring game. And I said 'Yes.' and I was there and then went to the spring game on Saturday and that's how the whole thing started. Rather informal actually."

---

Official Online Auctions
(gopsusports.com)

Piece of history alert: With the varsity teams both receiving new jerseys this season, the old ones have started to make their way to auction, with a blue 2 (Rich O'Brien) and a white 13 (Kenny Brooks) posted right now.

Can Casey Bailey snipe his way to Hobey Baker contention?

The Big Ten's Top 5 Preseason Hobey Baker Candidates
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Sophomore forward Casey Bailey wasn't in Nate Wells' top five Big Ten candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, but he did score an honorable mention along with seven others. Top 13 in the league? That's not terrible - have you looked at the talent in the league lately?

Women's Hockey Names 2013-14 Captains
(lindenwoodlions.com)

Alyssa West will be Lindenwood's captain this year, while Kendra Broad and Chelsea Witwicke will serve as alternates. Witwicke is a native of Roseville, MN and was a high school teammate of PSU's Paige Jahnke, while West came up in the Little Caesars and Victory Honda programs and is therefore pretty familiar to most of the PSU Michigan Mafia (Shannon Yoxheimer, Birdie Shaw, Katie Murphy, Madison Smiddy and Jordin Pardoski).

Michigan Loses Recruit Bryson Cianfrone to OHL
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Oooooh sorry about your luck Michigan!

In all seriousness though, losing Bryson Cianfrone to major junior isn't a crippling loss for the Wolverines. Cianfrone's Ann Arbor entry had already been postponed from this year until next year and he didn't exactly set the USHL on fire in 2012-2013 (as a teammate of Nittany Lions freshman David Goodwin and commit Alec Marsh in Cedar Rapids).

"Outside the Crease" with LVC forward Klayton Garman
(Stack The Pads)

Lebanon Valley College has always been an interesting program to me, for reasons including the fact that they keep the fires burning at old Hersheypark Arena and their status as sort of an anti-Penn State that fell off a cliff in NCAA Division III before resetting as a successful ACHA team.

Anyway... here's PennLive blogger Derek Meluzio's Q-and-A with LVC forward and York, PA product Klayton Garman.

Women's Ice Hockey Club seniors Carly Szyszko, Katie Vaughan and Allie Rothman

@raVAUGHANous
(Twitter)

This is how I want to remember the Ice Pavilion: some of my favorite hockey players under yellow-orange lighting... and a pretty legit photobomb from the Zam driver.

WIHC Announces Second Roster

Geosciences and biogeochemistry scholar Elizabeth Denis, a former NCAA player at Brown, returns.

The ACHA Women's Division 2 Penn State Women's Ice Hockey Club has announced a roster for the coming season, one that presents both challenges and opportunity.

The primary challenge involves making up the offensive production of Devon Fisk and Mandy Mortach, as PSU's top two scorers from 2012-2013 both decided to not play this season. There's really no other way to slice it: their combined 26 goals will either need to be replaced somehow or sorely missed. They weren't garbage-time tallies either - in the team's run to the ACHA national championship game in March, Fisk scored the winner against top-seeded Alaska in the tournament opener to serve notice. Mortach followed with a pair in a win over Wisconsin-Stout the next day, and in a rematch with the Blue Devils in the semifinals, Fisk may have scored with Penn State 8:40 from elimination to force an ultimately successful overtime (whether or not she touched Tara Soukup's power play blast on the way through is a point of some uncertainty, but at the very least, it was a good screen).

On the other side of the ledger, the team's defense and goaltending should be good. Really, really good. Starting in the crease, both netminders return. Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut are two of the ACHA's best, with the former winning All-American (honorable mention) and All-Tournament (second team) honors as a junior. While Vaughan was the usual starter a year ago, neither had a save percentage under 0.923 or a goals against average over 1.51.

In front of Vaughan and Eisenhut, Soukup, Ashton Shaffer, Allie Rothman and Jackie Saideh will try to carry on their status as one of the nation's top defenses. Reinforcements will help the WIHC run three pairs deep, as former Tier 1 player Kim Badorrek, Princeton Tiger Lilies alumna Cassie Dunne and Anna Marcus, an all-conference selection at Ridgefield (CT) High School last year, come on board. As stellar as the goalie stats were in 2012-2013, there's good reason to believe they'll be even better in the coming campaign.

There is promise in the forward group, even without Fisk and Mortach. For starters, Carly Szyszko is back for one more go as someone with proven scoring ability who simply does not get outworked. Former goaltender Mary Kate Tonetti enjoyed a very good first year ever without the pads and will only grow as a threat. Elizabeth Denis averaged a goal every other game after joining the team in the middle of last season and brings a physical dimension as well. The new players up front include Sam Summers, who previously played 48 games in two seasons (2009-2011) as a member of the Lady Icers. Once, on January 21, 2011, she enjoyed a three-point game in a 5-1 win over now-conference rival Cal (PA) that gave Szyszko a goaltending win (both of PSU's regular goalies were in Turkey for the World University Games at the time).

Other newcomers include Lucy Yeatman, Hannah Dier and Geneva Wagoner. Wagoner played for Millbrook School in New York, the New England prep Division II runners-up a year ago while Yeatman showed promise with the Chester County Skating Club.

Here's the full squad, which will open up in the Pegula Ice Arena's Community Rink against Liberty on September 27th at 10:15 p.m.

No.	Name	Pos.	Class	Shoots	Hometown	Last Team
1	Katie Vaughan	G	Sr.	Left	Pittsburgh, PA	Team Pittsburgh
3	Anna Marcus	D	Fr.	Right	Ridgefield, CT	Ridgefield HS
5	Nina Elia	F	So.	Right	Skaneatles, NY	Skaneatles HS
6	Geneva Wagoner	F	Fr.	Right	Alexandria Bay, NY	Millbrook School
8	Jackie Saideh	D	So.	Right	Concord, MA	Concord-Carlisle HS
9	Ashton Schaffer	D	Jr.	Left	Midlothian, TX	Alliance Bulldogs
11	Mary Kate Tonetti	F	Jr.	Right	West Chester, PA	West Chester Quakers
12	Taylor Nyman	F	Jr.	Right	Souderton, PA	Hatfield Angels
14	Carly Szyszko	F	Sr.	Left	Bensalem, PA	New Jersey Colonials
15	Hannah Dier	F	Fr.	Right	Wall, NJ	Wall HS
18	Kim Badorrek	D	Sr.	Right	Altoona, PA	Team Pittsburgh
19	Tara Soukup	D	So.	Left	Pittsburgh, PA	Ohio Flames
20	Allie Rothman	D	Sr.	Right	West Chester, PA	West Chester Quakers
23	Lucy Yeatman	F	Fr.	Right	Avondale, PA	CCSC Cougars
28	Elizabeth Denis	F	Gr.	Left	Durham, NH	Brown University
31	Sarah Eisenhut	G	Jr.	Left	Lansing, NY	Ithaca Shooting Stars
33	Cassie Dunne	D	Fr.	Right	Wyndmoor, PA	Princeton Tiger Lilies
36	Sam Summers	F	Sr.	Right	Ellicott City, MD	Susquehanna Rapids

ACHA WD2: Penn State 2 vs. UW-Stout 1 (2OT)

Nina Elia's first goal - ever - lifted Penn State to the national championship game

Nina Elia's putback goal 3:46 into the second overtime period launched the Women's Ice Hockey Club to a thrilling 2-1 national semifinal comeback win over Wisconsin-Stout and into the ACHA championship game Sunday afternoon - an incredible feat for the first-year team that has faced countless obstacles both in getting established and in gaining traction. Perhaps just as incredibly, it was Elia's first career goal. Ever.

With the triumph, PSU will face West Chester, which rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat Alaska 4-3 in the day's other semifinal, at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday afternoon for the title.

On the play that boosted Penn State over the now-formerly defending national champions for the second day in a row (following Friday's 3-1 result in the preliminary round), Devon Fisk carried into the zone and fired a backhander that was saved by Stout's Kaye Collier. After Elizabeth Denis took a hack at the rebound, Elia calmly worked around a fallen Collier and deposited into the empty cage.

It was a victory that looked somewhat unlikely through the first 34 minutes. At the second intermission, the Blue Devils' Lily Cranston had the game's only goal, scoring midway through the first period by knocking home a back-door pass from Joanie Francis, who had gloved down a puck sandwiched high in the air right in front of PSU goalie Katie Vaughan. Furthermore, Stout owned an 18-9 shooting advantage, with Vaughan (who closed another outstanding game with 35 vital saves) the primary reason the game remained within reach.

Penn State finally found footing in the third period, and with just 9:28 separating the team from the end of its title hopes, captain Carly Szyszko drew a hooking penalty given to the Devils' Ashley Gibson in transition. The WIHC cashed in the ensuing power play, as Denis swung the puck high to Tara Soukup, whose bomb from just above the left circle deflected in off of Fisk's shoulder. PSU carried momentum for much of the rest of regulation and through a first five-minute overtime, even killing a pair of disaster-inviting penalties during the game's stretch run. Denis, Fisk, Mandy Mortach, Allie Rothman and Georgia Foulds were outstanding at the game's most thankless task to keep Penn State in it.

In all, PSU's penalty kill turned in a perfect six-for-six effort. On the flip side, the team's power play had Fisk's crucial goal to show for its three attempts in a rather liberally-officiated game, considering the level of physicality throughout.

As mentioned, the WIHC now has just one more game standing between it and perhaps the unlikeliest of ACHA Division 2's seven titles. Sunday's national championship game will be broadcast live at acha.fasthockey.com for a fee and with a free site registration.

Highlights

---

Here are Penn State's goals.



Box Score

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First Period
Scoring
1. UW-Stout, Lily Cranston (Joanie Francis), 7:51.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Elizabeth Denis (2:00 hooking), 5:31; 2. Penn State, Mary Kate Tonetti (2:00 tripping), 13:26.
Second Period
Scoring
None.
Penalties
3. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (2:00 hooking), 0:46; 4. UW-Stout, Hannah Krueger (2:00 holding), 10:25; 5. Penn State, Jacqueline Saideh (2:00 unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:04; 6. UW-Stout, Alex Westman (2:00 interference), 14:19.
Third Period
Scoring
2. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Tara Soukup, Elizabeth Denis), 8:20 (power play).
Penalties
7. UW-Stout, Ashley Gibson (2:00 hooking), 7:32; 8. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (2:00 hooking), 13:23.
First Overtime
Scoring
None.
Penalties
9. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (2:00 roughing), 1:26.
Second Overtime
Scoring
3. Penn State, Nina Elia (Elizabeth Denis, Devon Fisk), 3:46.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Katie Vaughan: W, 35 saves/36 shots. UW-Stout: Kaye Collier: L, 21 saves/23 shots.

ACHA WD2: Penn State 3 vs. UW-Stout 1

Mandy Mortach scored twice to help Penn State to 2-0-0 at nationals

For the second consecutive day, the Women's Ice Hockey Club took down one of the West Region's top seeds at the ACHA National Championships in Ashburn, VA. Following up Thursday's 2-1 win over No. 1 Alaska, Friday morning's victim was No. 2 Wisconsin Stout - the defending national champions - by a 3-1 count.

With the win, Penn State improves to 2-0-0 in the tournament's preliminary round and also owns tiebreaker advantages over two key contenders. While a berth in Saturday's semifinals is not yet assured, it's fair to say that the team has taken a few giant steps towards that end.

Katie Vaughan was once again outstanding in goal, making 34 saves in all and stealing the show during a first period that saw the Blue Devils rifle 17 shots at the PSU cage. Elizabeth Denis also played a pivotal role, drawing a penalty while killing a Tara Soukup checking call to end one particularly hairy stretch.

After Denis' shorthanded work, the ice evened out and Devon Fisk capitalized with a dirty goal off of a scramble in front to give PSU an unexpected 1-0 lead with 3:28 left in the first period. Vaughan preserved the it with a gem of a save on Madeline Meister's rebound try in the last minute, moving right to left to get her glove on the puck.

The WIHC came on well to open the second period, aided by a power play bridging intermission and, after Stout again managed to tilt the ice, PSU began to exploit the Devils vertically. Carly Szyszko was stoned by Stout goalie Kaye Collier on a late second period breakaway, but on the ensuing faceoff, great in-zone puck movement led to Mandy Mortach's deflection goal off of Allie Rothman's shot from just inside the line for a 2-0 lead. Just 3:29 later, Szyszko got a measure of revenge when she swung behind the net off of left wing and fed Mortach for her second goal, from nearly an identical spot in the middle of the slot.

The third period was an exercise in killing 17 minutes with a 3-0 lead, aided by three Stout penalties over the first 12 minutes. However, with 6:37 to go, Kara Fritsche cut the lead to 3-1 when she weaved a backhander from the right circle through heavy traffic. A tripping call to Taylor Nyman with 2:45 left - combined with the Devils pulling Collier for an extra skater - led to a frantic final two minutes, but Penn State held resolute.

After a short break, the WIHC will return to the rink this afternoon for a 5:30 matchup with 0-2-0 North Dakota State in the final game of the preliminary round. While a win probably won't be essential for advancement to Saturday's semifinals, it may still end up as an important game in terms of seeding.

Highlights

---

Here are Penn State's goals.



Box Score

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First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Devon Fisk (unassisted), 13:32.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Tara Soukup (2:00 body checking), 6:55; 2. UW-Stout, Allie Belanger (2:00 roughing), 8:10.
Second Period
Scoring
2. Penn State, Mandy Mortach (Allie Rothman, Taylor Nyman), 11:10; 3. Penn State, Mandy Mortach (Carly Szyszko, Jacqueline Saideh), 14:39.
Penalties
3. Penn State, Devon Fisk (2:00 holding), 4:34; 4. Penn State, Devon Fisk (2:00 body checking), 12:17; 5. UW-Stout, Sage Paletta (2:00 tripping), 15:36.
Third Period
Scoring
4. UW-Stout, Kara Fritsche (Abby Cornelius, Lily Cranston), 10:23.
Penalties
6. UW-Stout, Allie Belanger (2:00 high sticking), 7:26; 7. UW-Stout, Kara Fritsche (2:00 elbowing), 11:17; 8. UW-Stout, Alex Westman (2:00 tripping), 11:52; 9. UW-Stout, Alex Westman (10:00 misconduct), 11:52; 10. Penn State, Devon Fisk (2:00 holding), 11:52; 11. Penn State, Taylor Nyman (2:00 tripping), 14:15.
Goaltending
Penn State: Katie Vaughan: W, 34 saves/35 shots. UW-Stout: Kaye Collier: L, 24 saves/27 shots.

ACHA WD2: Penn State 2 vs. Alaska 1

Katie Vaughan finished with 20 saves, including seven during a heart-stopping third period

Anything can happen at tournament time. Just ask the Women's Ice Hockey Club. Or, perhaps even more appropriately, ask Alaska. The Nanooks - the top seed in the West Region - were stunned by East Region No. 4 Penn State, 2-1, to open the ACHA National Championships in Ashburn, VA.

The win starts PSU off on the right note: 1-0-0 in the three-game preliminary round, which will pare the field from eight teams to four over the first two days of the tournament.

After an extended feeling-out period in what turned out to be a defensive yet vertical game, Allie Rothman's first goal of the season gave Penn State a surprising 1-0 lead late in the first period. Rothman intercepted a clearing attempt just inside the line at the tail end of a power play, then threw the puck on net - never a bad idea. Alaska goaltender Katrina Lydon made a chest save, initially, but the rebound bounced up, past her shoulder, and over the goalline.

PSU extended the lead to 2-0 with 9:49 left in the second when Devon Fisk once again made two plays that she typically makes. First, she stole the puck from the Nanooks' Brittany Stahle on the near boards in the Alaska zone. The loose puck ended up on Lydon, who stopped it, but Fisk scooped up the rebound, swung behind the net, and fired home once reappearing on the opposite side.

As is the case against any good team though, it wasn't simply a matter of coasting to the finish line from there.

The Nanooks surged in the third period, outshooting PSU 8-3 while getting the WIHC in some penalty trouble. With 7:06 left, or 17 seconds after Taylor Nyman's tripping penalty, Alaska defender Bailey Brewer blasted one past Katie Vaughan from left point. Shortly after, cross-checking calls 11 seconds apart to Mandy Mortach and Rothman forced a long 5-on-3 kill, but Vaughan, along with forwards Carly Szyszko and Elizabeth Denis, and Ashton Schaffer, Tara Soukup and Georgia Foulds on defense answered the call during a tense 109 seconds.

Vaughan finished with 20 saves, which generally increased in difficulty as the game progressed.

Penn State will tackle their final two preliminary games on Friday. First, at 10:45 a.m., PSU faces West No. 2 Wisconsin-Stout, the defending national champion. A few hours later, at 5:30 p.m., West No. 3 North Dakota State will be the opponent. If the WIHC is in the top four of the standings following those matches, they'll advance to Saturday's semifinal round.

Highlights

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Here are Penn State's goals - apologies for goal scorer Rothman being out of frame on the first one.



Box Score

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First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Allie Rothman (unassisted), 10:55 (power play).
Penalties
1. Penn State, Tara Soukup (2:00 elbowing), 6:00; 2. Alaska, Bailey Brewer (2:00 body checking), 8:57.
Second Period
Scoring
2. Penn State, Devon Fisk (unassisted), 7:11.
Penalties
3. Penn State, Elizabeth Denis (2:00 interference), 9:26; 4. Alaska, Hunter Hollenberg (2:00 body checking), 16:05.
Third Period
Scoring
3. Alaska, Bailey Brewer (Cayla Wiita), 9:54 (power play).
Penalties
5. Penn State, Taylor Nyman (2:00 tripping), 9:47; 6. Penn State, Mandy Mortach (2:00 cross-checking), 11:18; 7. Penn State, Allie Rothman (2:00 cross-checking), 12:07.
Goaltending
Penn State: Katie Vaughan: W, 20 saves/21 shots. Alaska: Katrina Lydon: L, 16 saves/18 shots.

Club Sandwich: January 31st

Blueliner Tara Soukup pumped home the eventual winner in a key victory over West Chester.

Women

PSUWIHC.com box score and recap // Black Shoe Diaries recap

It's only a mild exaggeration to suggest that No. 4 Penn State, now 6-2-1, earned a bid to the ACHA National Tournament in Ashburn, VA from March 7th through 10th with a 2-1 win at second-ranked West Chester on Saturday. And it's no exaggeration at all to suggest that if invited, PSU will be among the title contenders - in four games against the nation's top two teams (California (PA) being the other), the team now has a 1-2-1 record.

Stealing from myself via PSUWIHC.com to decribe the signature win, because I can:

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Tara Soukup's second-period goal powered PSU to a 2-0 lead and would hold up as the game-winner. Freshman sensation Devon Fisk assisted Soukup and also scored the game's opening goal earlier in the period, with help from Mandy Mortach and Ashton Schaffer. Fisk now has 12 goals and 16 points in just nine games.

After going up two with 5:31 remaining in the middle frame, Penn State would continue to keep a potent WCU team at bay for most of the rest of the game. Although Becky Dobson broke Katie Vaughan's shutout bid with 1:09 remaining, the junior goaltender still polished off her fifth win.

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PSUWIHC.com box score and recap // Black Shoe Diaries recap

While a sweep would have been unreal, PSU had to settle for a split - still an outstanding weekend considering the opponent and the stakes.

Once again, from the PSUWIHC.com recap:

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On Sunday, Carly Szyszko connected on a third-period goal from Mortach and Mary Kate Tonetti to pull Penn State within 2-1 with 15:32 remaining, and just 37 seconds after Amanda Vito had scored the Golden Rams' second goal. But the team would not find an equalizer, despite a 31-27 shooting advantage over the course of the game. A couple minutes after a late power play was foiled by a quick PSU penalty, head coach Pat Fung called Vaughan to the bench for an extra skater, but the only outcome to the gamble was a game-sealing empty-netter by WCU's Colleen Tweedy.

Defensively, the team turned in a stellar effort, limiting Dobson, the leading scorer in ACHA WD2, to just one meaningless goal and one assist over the two games. Coming into the weekend, Dobson had a staggering 55 points in 12 games, part of an offense that averaged 6.58 goals per game - but was held in check by Vaughan and PSU's blueliners. The WIHC also successfully killed all eight WCU power plays over the weekend, including a 1:50 stretch of 3-on-4 and 3-on-5 time during Sunday's game.

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A new ACHA WD2 poll is expected out this week, and while Penn State doesn't have much room for upward mobility, a jump to the third spot and added distance above the national tournament cutoff are reasonable expectations.

Penn State's next games - the last ones before nationals bids are awarded - will be February 9th and 10th at Buffalo, an ACHA WD1 team.

Mike Broccolo was among many seniors starring in their last Ice Pavilion weekend.

Men

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap

Seniors Ryan Demuth, Mac Winchester, Kevin Lowthert, Joe Zitarelli, Mike Broccolo and Tyler Starn received their official send-off with a Senior Night trashing of Monmouth that, as it turned out, was a showcase for many of those playing their final home weekend.

Fredrik Linge opened the scoring, from Austin Meehan, at the 6:16 mark of the first period, and the hosts never looked back. Chris Lewis - on the power play - and Linge expanded PSU's lead to 3-0 after 20 minutes, before Lewis added another and Joe Bonazelli also scored in the second.

The third period highlighted former Icers-turned-Ice Lions, as Broccolo, Zitarelli and Winchester scored to close things out. Broccolo also had a pair of assists in the game, while Zitarelli had one.

Demuth (nine saves) and Lowthert (seven) split a relatively painless shutout, in stark contrast to Monmouth goalie Stephen Bonora, who had 66 shots slung his way.

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap

The Ice Lions became the first of the four University Park hockey teams to play its final game at the Ice Pavilion - and a decisive win over Southeast No. 5 Rowan not only closed the barn in style, but gave Southeast No. 2 PSU some ammo in its push to secure an autobid to the ACHA national championships.

The Profs stunned Penn State 43 seconds into the game with a goal by Alekos Polis, and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission when J.C. Caulfield scored on the power play with 11:40 left to answer Dylan Jones' tying goal.

Four unanswered goals - by Taylor Vincent, Peter Daley, Linge and Lewis - in the second period would give the Ice Lions the upper hand in the game, and Lewis would add an empty-netter with 19 seconds remaining in the game for the final margin. Ten different PSU skaters collected points, headed by Lewis' two goals, Brandon Russo's two assists, and Linge's one of each.

PSU will now take on a three-game weekend thanks to a makeup at Rider on Friday, a match initially cancelled by Hurricane Sandy in October. Previously-scheduled games at St. Joseph's and at UMBC are on Saturday and Sunday. Another Sandy makeup, a rematch at Monmouth on February 10th, will close out the regular season.

Club Sandwich: January 23rd

Taylor Vincent scored four goals in the Ice Lions' series with Kentucky.

Men

Kentucky Kernel recap // Black Shoe Diaries recap // Kentucky Kernel photos

Kentucky, while 9-17-0 this season and generally not in the ACHA Division 2 national conversation, is still an extremely tough road trip. Long noted for their schedule posters featuring an array of not unattractive women, UK is also famous for their midnight start times and for drawing large and raucous crowds, even at that hour.

None of that seemed to present much of an issue for the Ice Lions last Friday night in a blowout win.

Kevin Lowthert earned the shutout in net, but the story of the game was PSU's steady barrage that saw goals by Austin Meehan and Taylor Vincent punctuate a 25-9 shot advantage in the opening period. In the second 20 minutes, a Chris Lewis rebound goal from a Joe Zitarelli shot, a Tyler Person snipe through a screen and a Will Vaeth backhander essentially clinched the game's result.

PSU leading scorer Franky Reluzco, who assisted on Vincent's first-period odd-man rush goal, performed most of the third-period mop-up duties. The sophomore from Frederick, MD scored a hat trick entirely within the frame, with only Vincent's tip-in preventing Reluzco from going natural.

Kentucky Kernel recap // Black Shoe Diaries recap // Kentucky Kernel photos

The blowout on Friday, tighter game on Saturday pattern tends to appear quite frequently in weekend series, and indeed, it turned up for the back half of the set with Kentucky, forcing the Ice Lions to grit out a vital win. UK jumped out of the gate quickly and built a 2-0 lead with 5:44 left in the opening period, before Vincent's deflection of a Brandon Russo shot on the power play cut the deficit to one at the first intermission.

Although Mike Broccolo tied the game up just 16 seconds into the second period, the Wildcats weren't done, as they capitalized on a second-chance opportunity seven minutes later.

Junior Matt Hudzinski would earn his first goal in a UK jersey to recapture the Cats’ lead, 3-2. He said the feeling of scoring his first goal was unbelievable.

“When that puck crosses the line, hearing the crowd cheer and knowing that it’s all for you is an incredible feeling. Much different than when you’re sitting on the bench,” he said.

A Chris Lewis interception of an errant pass right in front and his subsequent bury with 6:53 left would pull the Ice Lions back even at 3-3 and initiate a scoring burst to close the period. Vincent's rebound goal with 2:38 left gave PSU its first lead and Lewis joined Vincent as a two-goal man by finishing shorthanded off of a feed from Russo with 39 seconds remaining. The two-goal lead heading into the third period would prove to be important.

With under six minutes played in the third, senior Matt McLaughlin scored the Cats’ fourth and final goal of the night, falling short of the comeback.

“I’ve never been so happy after a loss. It’s a moral victory,” [UK goalie Aaron] Tenfelde said, adding that he generally hates moral victories. “I’m not really a kumbaya hockey player.”

It's fair for Kentucky to claim a moral victory against heavily-favored Penn State, but the Ice Lions will certainly accept the actual victory, as each win is important in a tight race for the second spot in the ACHA Southeast Region rankings, and the autobid to the national championships that comes with finishing in the top two. PSU, the current no. 2, is now 17-4-1 overall and on an eight-game winning streak. The team, however, faces a stiff test this weekend in hosting Monmouth on Friday and Rowan on Saturday in their last-ever Ice Pavilion games. Rowan is presently the fifth-ranked team in the Southeast, although the Ice Lions defeated the Profs 3-1 on December 15th.

Don't worry, you guys. Katie Vaughan's got this. Also, her mask is the sickness.

Women

The women, still 5-1-1 and ranked fourth in ACHA WD2, have been idle since a 9-1 blowout at Navy on January 13th, but that status won't last long. On tap this weekend: two gigantic games at No. 2 West Chester.

It probably doesn't need to be said, but the series will almost certainly go a long way towards determining whether PSU will make the ACHA national championships in Ashburn, VA from March 7th through 10th. Pat Fung's crew is in position to receive an invite right now as the third-best team in the East Region, and with just this weekend and a pair of games at WD1 Buffalo remaining before the final ranking is released, two wins in four might be enough to lock down a bid.

Obtaining those wins Saturday and Sunday certainly won't be easy. The Golden Rams are 11-1-0, with the only blemish on their record coming from California (PA), the top-ranked team in the country, and one that WCU also has beaten this season. Junior forward Becky Dobson paces the West Chester offense with an eye-popping 36 goals and 19 assists this season - her goal, assist and (natually) point totals are all tops in WD2.

Balboni, Stroemel to Lead WUG Teams

Scott Balboni

Former Icers head coach Scott Balboni and current NCAA women's director of hockey operations Mo Stroemel have been selected to lead the 2013 World University Games men's and women's hockey teams, respectively, USA Hockey announced Wednesday afternoon. The bi-annual event will take place December 11th through 21st in Trentino, Italy and, as has been the case since 2001, the American entries will be stocked with ACHA players.

Both men have extensive backgrounds with Penn State hockey. Balboni, a lieutenant for Joe Battista from 1997-1999 and 2002-2006 (periods that include the Icers' 1998 and 2003 ACHA national championship teams), took over as head coach when Battista stepped aside to - as we know now - focus on landing nine-figure donations. The former Hockey East champion defenseman at Providence put together a 149-33-9 record from 2006-2011, including an ACHA championship game appearance, an ACHA Coach of the Year award (both in 2007) and six ESCHL regular season or playoff championships. He was inducted into the Penn State Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

Mo Stroemel

Stroemel has been involved with PSU hockey in one form or another since 1994, always going wherever needed and doing a fantastic job. He was an assistant coach (1994-1997) and the head coach (1997-2004) of the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions during their formative years and built them into a national power through a 131-62-11 record and an appearance in the 2004 D2 semifinals. He then served as an assistant with the Icers from 2004-2007 and head coach of the Lady Icers from 2007-2011 before Josh Brandwene's hire as the first NCAA women's head coach moved him to an assistant coach's role in 2011-2012 and then to his present position.

Penn State has been well represented at the World University Games over the last dozen years of ACHA participation. Balboni was an assistant coach on both the seventh-place 2009 men's team and the sixth-place outfit in 2011, while Stroemel reprises his role as the head coach of the first-ever U.S. women's WUG team, which finished fourth in 2011. Battista, now PSU's associate athletic director for ice arena and hockey operations, was Team USA's head coach in 2003, where he was assisted by Brandwene (then the head coach with the Delaware men's team). Men's Director of Hockey Operations Billy Downey was a player on that 2003 team, which finished 11th in Tarvisio, Italy. Current NCAA men's senior Eric Steinour was a forward on the 2011 team, while NCAA women's senior Lindsay Reihl played defense on the 2011 women's team.

Katie Vaughan

Notably, ACHA women's goalie Katie Vaughan, now a junior, was also on the 2011 team as a freshman. In the tournament, she appeared in four games with a 2-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record, a sparkling 1.81 goals against average, a 0.857 save percentage, and a shutout of host Turkey. With the selection of Stroemel, her coach at the 2011 WUG and also with the Lady Icers of course, Vaughan would seem a likely candidate to become the third Penn State player to appear in two World University Games, following former Icers Josh Mandel and Lukas DeLorenzo.

Here's a complete list of Penn State's World University Games player and coach participation, as of today.

2001 in Zakopane, Poland: Mandel, Mike Blevins, Scott Curry, Greg Held
2003 in Tarvisio, Italy: Downey, Mandel, Curtiss Patrick, Neal Price, Battista (head coach)
2005 in Innsbruck, Austria: Eric Harbaugh, Kevin Jaeger, Joe Maglaque
2007 in Torino, Italy: DeLorenzo, Frank Berry, Keith Jordan, Michael McMullen
2009 in Harbin, China: DeLorenzo, Jamie Zimmel, Balboni (assistant coach)
2011 in Erzurum, Turkey (men): Steinour, Tim O'Brien, Balboni (assistant coach)
2011 in Erzurum, Turkey (women): Vaughan, Reihl, Heather Rossi, Denise Rohlik, Stroemel (head coach)
2013 in Trentino, Italy (men): Balboni (head coach)
2013 in Trentino, Italy (women): Stroemel (head coach)

Club Sandwich: December 20th

Sophomore forward Chris Lewis was deadly on the power play Friday night against Berks.

Men

The Ice Lions, which beat ACHA Division 1 Penn State-Berks 8-3 at the Ice Pavilion to open the season, took a little longer to get going on Friday in southeastern Pennsylvania. Eventually though, strong special teams proved too much for Berks in a decisive win to climb to 12-4-1.

After some back-and-forth action to open the game, Max O'Malley scored about 13 minutes in to put the University Parkers ahead for good. Chris Lewis made it 2-0 at the first intermission with a power play goal set up nicely from behind the goalline by Joe Zitarelli. Berks and goalie Michael Narrigan continued to stand tall through most of the second period, and very nearly escaped the middle frame at 2-0 before Zitarelli created a turnover on the forecheck while shorthanded that was buried by Brandon Russo in the last minute of play.

The relentless Ice Lions power play finally put things out of reach in the third period, when Taylor Vincent scored on a cross-crease pass from Peter Daley while on the advantage. Lewis followed up with a his second PPG of the game, a dirty effort assisted by Zitarelli and Mike Broccolo in which he collided with Narrigan while scoring. Lewis, by the way, clearly won that confrontation. While he was knocked to the ice, he made the most of it with a snow angel celly. Narrigan, on the other hand, was knocked out of the game and watched as Justin Golia gave up two late goals to pad the margin a little.

Ryan DeMuth survived the mediocre beaks of the home crowd ("number one, your five-hole is ginormous big," for example) to turn in a solid effort despite allowing a late goal - through his six hole (between the stick/blocker arm and body).

HockeyYall.com recap

PSU followed up the Berks win with an even bigger one - 3-1 over Rowan, the Southeast Region's second-ranked team, to climb to 13-4-1 heading into the semester break. With the Ice Lions fourth in the region entering the game, some upward movement on the back of this result seems likely in the next D2 poll, expected out Friday. It also vaults PSU ahead of the Profs into the driver's seat of the MACHA North at 5-0-0 in the league.

Because it's literally the only information I could obtain online about it, here's most of the HockeyYall.com recap - I thought it would be rather disingenuous to lift information from there and restate it in my own words without bringing anything additional to the table.

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In both teams’ most meaningful game of the season to date, Penn State defeated Rowan 3-1 Saturday in New Jersey to improve to 13-4-0-1 and strengthen its hold on first place in the Mid-Atlantic College Hockey’s North Division.

After a goaless first period, Mac Winchester scored in the second to give Penn State a 1-0 lead that it carried into the third, where the Ice Lions outscored the Profs 2-1. Frederick Linge and Mike Broccolo scored for PSU to help gain the win for goalie Ryan DeMuth.

"[It was] a tight game from start to finish," noted Matt Morrow, Penn State’s head coach.

Erich Moen scored the lone Rowan goal.

"We played okay," said John Caulfield, the Profs’ head coach. "Couldn’t buy a goal. Missed about eight rebound chances wide or bouncing over sticks. Frustrating."

The win was the Ice Lions’ sixth in their last seven games. They will resume their season Jan. 11 at No. 6 Liberty, another MACH opponent.

After going undefeated and untied in their first 11 games, the Profs were 4-4-1-1, including three losses in their last four games, and stand at 15-4-1-1 today. They’ll return to the ice on Jan. 6 against Montclair State.

"The Virginia Tech loss (7-1 on Dec. 7) was the only bad loss," said Caulfield. "We were totally outworked there. The UMBC (Maryland-Baltimore County) and PSU games, we just couldn’t score. And when we made mistakes, they scored. We need the break — injuries and tired bodies."

Both Penn State and Rowan are likely to see a change in their status when the ACHA releases its third Southeast Region ranking of the season this week, with the Ice Lions moving up the ranking and Rowan heading South.

Katie Vaughan - helped by the defense of Allie Rothman - tops the ACHA in save percentage.

Women

There's not much new to report on the women, who hit the break at 4-1-1 after thrashing Slippery Rock 8-0 on December 9th. The team is undoubtedly hoping to see some upward movement in the second ACHA Women's Division 2 poll of the season - due out this past Sunday, but unreleased as of this post - on the back of that win.

Several team members rank at or near the top of the ACHA WD2 statistical charts. Goaltenders Sarah Eisenhut and Katie Vaughan are 1-2 in goals against average, with a 0.72 and a 0.86, respectively. Vaughan leads in save percentage with a 0.959 mark, and Eisenhut's 0.947 is fourth. Offensively, freshman sensation Devon Fisk's 10 goals are tied for 11th overall, but 7th when counting on a per-game basis.