W: Penn State 3 at Vermont 3

Box score // Penn State recap // Vermont recap

Victory Bell Rings recap // Vermont highlights // Penn State photos

An opening tie this year matched up against an opening win last year? Please don't think of it that way.

The simple reality of the situation is this: that historic NCAA-era opening win against Vermont was an outlier. Penn State managed five goals in that contest, then didn't score more than three in a game over the rest of the season other than against NCAA Division III Chatham and Sacred Heart, a DI team in name only.

While it's impossible to project things over all of 2013-2014 based on a single evening, right now, the Nittany Lions look like a much better team than a year ago. The signs are everywhere.

After a scoreless first period, Penn State took a 1-0 lead 6:28 into the second period just nine seconds into Sarah Kelly's hooking penalty. On the play, Shannon Yoxheimer threw the puck up to Jordin Pardoski at the point. The newly-minted alternate captain bombed UVM goalie Roxanne Douville with her heavy shot, and while Douville did make the save, the puck wound up behind her and just in front of the goal line for several agonizing seconds. Enter freshman defender Kelly Seward, the first to see the loose biscuit, and therefore the first goal scorer for Penn State this year.

It was a rather important power play goal for a team that only scored 17 of them all last season.

On the other side of the ledger, a PSU penalty kill that allowed opposing tallies 23.4 percent of the time last season went into lockdown mode. An early too many players on the ice call against the Lions went unpunished. As did two tripping calls, two checking calls, an interference call and an elbowing call over the first 40 minutes. The Catamounts did eventually solve the PK unit, on a Brittany Zuback rebound goal off of Amanda Pelkey's hybrid centering pass-shot that gave UVM a 3-2 lead with 4:04 remaining in regulation. Nevertheless, things could have gone much worse in that department.

But that leads us to something else that feels different this season. The Nittany Lions were always a resilient bunch, but didn't always have the horsepower to make that trait pay off with goals. It looks as if they do now. Just 27 seconds after Zuback scored that go-ahead goal, Yoxheimer took Lindsay Reihl's pass, powered down left wing, then sniped over Douville's shoulder. Earlier, after Pelkey's spectacular one-on-one goal gave Vermont a 2-1 lead a couple minutes into the third period, Gross provided a quick answer. Yoxheimer again started that play down left wing, and centered to the blue paint. Douville stopped Gross' initial shot, but after some persistence and a survived video review, the score was tied for the third of four times.

There was plenty of the familiar. Yoxheimer had a three-point evening and tied for the team high with four shots. Gross also had four shots and was perpetually dangerous. Nicole Paniccia was her usual spectacular self in making 35 stops. Emily Laurenzi, Sarah Wilkie and Birdie Shaw all played their roles particularly well this time out.

At the same time and as expected, freshmen Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen paired up to play in just about every situation and offered the promise of a second consistent scoring line. Sarah Nielsen, another first-year player, stepped in between Yoxheimer and Gross seamlessly. Seward had her goal, but also showed how her length will limit the opposition's trips to the middle of the ice this season.

So yeah, it was a tie. But right now, it feels like a win, because it looks like plenty of the sort of victories that count towards the season record are about to follow.

Here's the live blog from a wild evening in Burlington:

 

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.

Women's Jersey Countdown: #37 Nicole Paniccia

Senior - Goaltender - 5'5" - Oakville, ON

It's impossible to overstate Nicole Paniccia's significance to last season's Nittany Lions. The transfer from Connecticut repeatedly kept the first-year NCAA Division I program competitive in games with lopsided shot counts - in fact, only Lindenwood's Nicole Hensley stopped more rubber across all of DI, while PSU averaged a -18.9 shot differential (-31.9 in CHA play). The team MVP as named by the coaching staff at the conclusion of the campaign, Paniccia's exploits included 59 saves against RIT in a 2-2 tie on October 26, 2012, the first home point and first conference point in the team's varsity history. It was just one of five games for Paniccia requiring 50 or more saves. As one of a small senior class of four (including only three with more than a season of NCAA experience), she will be leaned on heavily as a team leader and to help develop younger goalies Celine Whitlinger and Brooke Meyer.

Career Statistics (2010-12 with Connecticut):
Season	GP	GS	Min.	Record	GA	Saves	GAA	Sv%	SO
2010-11	6	5	305:43	3-2-0	12	129	2.36	0.915	2
2011-12	18	16	1007:45	4-11-3	43	539	2.56	0.926	2
2012-13	27	27	1543:22	6-19-2	80	1028	3.11	0.928	0
NCAA Career	51	48	2856:50	13-32-5	135	1696	2.84	0.926	4

Three Stars: May 6-12

3. Sewickley coach named director at Pegula Ice Arena
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Some nice coverage of Ryan Patrick, the former Icer who was named the Pegula Ice Arena's hockey director a couple weeks ago, focusing largely on his brief tenure under some adverse circumstances as Sewickley Academy. But it still fit in this quote:

“There is a lot of excitement in the area,” Patrick said. “It should be like in Pittsburgh with the ‘Sidney Tsunami.' There was a spike in playing when Sidney Crosby came to Pittsburgh. That is what we are hoping for here with the new arena.”

Population limitations (especially relative to Pittsburgh, the other half of the comparison) will always have something to say about Central PA's production of players, but there's absolutely no reason that Jill Holdcroft has to stand alone as a great locally-produced player.

2. First B1G Season for PSU Hockey
(WTAJ)

It's nothing of any great substance, but here's some coverage of Guy Gadowsky's Coaches Caravan stop in DuBois Thursday morning. That was one of his two appearances, and I'd like to think I did an adequate job on the second, in Pittsburgh that evening. So there you go.

I'm just glad that I'm not one of the PSU football writers who had to cover Bill O'Brien saying the exact same thing 12 times over. That had to be brutal.

1. Jenna Welch Highlights - Penn State Hockey
Nicole Paniccia Highlights - Penn State Hockey
(YouTube)

There's no rule that says a first star has to be something of immediate concern. Random highlight videos of Jenna Welch and Nicole Paniccia that popped on the radar last week are certainly worthy, as they involve two of my favorite players. I just wish the Welch one had that elbow she laid on Erin Zach at RIT back in February. Frustration penalty or not, it was bad ass.

Best of the Rest

Penn State-Vermont to battle for second straight year
(flyers.com)

Why is the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff being promoted by everyone except the two schools involved? Who knows. But Comcast and the Philadelphia Flyers would like you to know that tickets are on sale now.

Notably, puck drop for the October 26th game has been moved up two hours to 5:00 p.m., meaning that it will no longer overlap with the Penn State at Ohio State football game at 8:00 that night.

Your State’s Highest Paid Employee Likely an NCAA Coach
(Onward State)

Congratulations to New Hampshire's Dick Umile on being the only college hockey coach to double as his state's highest-paid employee. Get that paper. Since you're not getting the hardware, might as well.

Success With Hyperlinking: Brass Monkey Style
(Black Shoe Diaries)

Breaking my "newsworthy" requirement here, since this pissed me off...

PSU Hockey's conference schedule has been released. A brief internet search shows that three teams PSU plays (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) were all ranked at the end of last season. Oh, and their last home game is against Ohio State. I don't even like hockey and I'm getting excited.

Know why people from the outside crack on Penn State's potential as a hockey school? It's because PSU blogs with 20 times (at least) more readership than TYT act like this towards the sport. Bill DiFilippo: still a joke, if you need him.

Big Ten Schools Announce Prime Time Football Games to Appear on BTN
(bigten.org)

BTN will air just one primetime football game this coming year - Wisconsin at Illinois on October 19th - after the beginning of hockey season. One has to think that bodes well for the possibility of at least some non-conference Big Ten hockey on the network (the league schedule doesn't begin until the last regular season weekend for football, another move likely made with BTN in mind).

Ice Man Cometh... to Pittsburgh and Boston

Guest Speaker - Joe Battista
(pittsburghsmeal.org)

@psuboston
(Twitter)

Joe Battista is making the off-season rounds, doing that thing he does where he talks and people are inspired. One stop will be in Pittsburgh on May 30th at the Allegheny HYP club (free for Pittsburgh Smeal Business Club members, $15 for non-members). On June 29th, he'll speak for the Boston chapter of the alumni association, although further details haven't been announced yet.

Gophers schedule for first year of Big Ten hockey
(Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

As you may have guessed, the Big Ten schedule release last week unloaded on my inbox. Most were just the usual fluff (in other words, people painfully trying to write out a schedule in sentences) but this one quoted Minnesota coach Don Lucia, who suggested some possible 6:30 start times for PSU:

"The reality is on Friday, there could be some 8 p.m. starts. There is talk of some doubleheaders on Friday, with 6:30 Eastern [5:30 Central] and 8 p.m. Central. You have four Big Ten teams in the East and two in the West, so it would be us or Wisconsin doing an 8 p.m. start on a Friday night. That’s fine. That’s not as big a deal for our fans because it’s Friday night. I don’t think we’ll run into that on Saturdays. Who’s to say ever, but the indications I hear is that … it’s not as big of a priority for a television date."

Startup League NAIH Closing Doors, CIHA to Form
(achatalk.com)

The NAIH, which launched with some promise (and was hailed as a possible competitor to the ACHA by a certain blog) back in 2011, is kaput after two seasons. Western Washington University will go down in history as the association's only Founders Cup champion after defeating Le Moyne College 2-1 in overtime back in March (the NAIH didn't hold a championship tournament in 2011-2012). Perhaps the most memorable thing about the NAIH was its ridiculous lack of professionalism, manifested in its numerous trolling posts on ACHA forum Hockey 101 as well as by the time they were hilariously smacked down by Kelly Pegula on Twitter:

Mourn not though, for the NAIH has apparently merged with something called the USCHA (the United States College Hockey Alliance, I assume, not the Upper St. Clair Hockey Association) to form the Collegiate Ice Hockey Association. The CIHA is already off to a very NAIH-like start, as two players have apparently been crushed to death by a falling logo.

Tom Anastos' vision, ingenuity clear
(Lansing State Journal)

You know who I like? Tom Anastos. Here's an intriguing look at part of his plan to turn Michigan State around by targeting younger, more elite players. Penn State hasn't really gone down that road too much (MSU has three committed 1998 birth years along with one from 1997, and PSU's youngest commit is late 1996er A.J. Greer) but it will be interesting to see if and how things evolve for the Nittany Lions over the next couple years.

Committee hears coaches’ ideas on regionals, NCAA selection, but consensus lacking
(USCHO)

Speaking of Anastos, he's quoted in this article about the American Hockey Coaches Association meetings at the beginning of the month. Long story short, nobody agrees on how the NCAA Tournament should look in light of the brutal attendance at the regional sites this year (and most years), but many seem to agree on the idea of rewarding teams in the NCAA selection process for non-conference road wins, something that was previously done from 2003 to 2007.

The AHCA discussions are always interesting and can inform policy changes, but the rubber doesn't really meet the road on these types of things until the NCAA committee meetings in June.

NAHL announces 2012-13 season awards
(nahl.com)

The first-year Johnstown Tomahawks, with an ownership group including Penn State football legends Shane Conlan and Jack Ham, were named the NAHL's organization of the year.

Johnstown is a hockey town, and the fans proved it once again by welcoming the NAHL’s Johnstown Tomahawks with enthusiasm as the team revitalized a community with a rich hockey tradition. The Tomahawks finished fifth in the NAHL in total and average attendance, which included 11 home games with 3,000 fans or more. That’s an impressive stat for a first-year team in a market that had never witnessed NAHL action. The team also made the playoffs in their first season in Johnstown and had three players make NCAA Division I commitments.

USHL's Chicago Steel draft paralyzed hockey player Jack Jablonski
(SB Nation)

Your feel-good story of the week: in the late stages of the USHL Draft on Tuesday (one that had already seen PSU commit Greer and Tommy Olczyk's brother Nick selected), the Chicago Steel selected Jack Jablonski out of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in Minnesota.

Jablonski, of course, was paralyzed during a BSM game back in December 2011, and his subsequent rehabilitation has captivated much of the hockey world. He's unlikely to ever walk, let alone skate, again, but he's still going to be a hockey player for a very classy USHL team.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl training in .... Lancaster County?
(Broad Street Hockey)

Three months before Jablonski's injury, the plane crash that killed all of KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was the dominant tragedy in the hockey headlines. Lokomotiv withdrew from the KHL for the rest of that 2011-2012 season and instead played in the VHL, a lower league, after pulling together an entirely new roster. They returned to the KHL this past season, going 34-18-0 and qualifying for the playoffs. Now, they're training in Manheim, PA of all places. Pretty cool.

Three Stars: March 12-17

3. The Penn State fans have to step up next year
(PennStateHoops.com)

Although I take issue with some of the things said about hockey within, I found this a worthwhile discussion of what may turn into an interesting and unique dynamic. People who pay more attention to PSU men's hoops than I believe that Pat Chambers' program is close to turning a corner. And of course, we all know what's going on with men's hockey. I don't think it violates #OneTeam bylaws to ask the following questions:

1. Is there room at Penn State for three heavily-attended winter sports (with wrestling being the third), particularly given the population of the immediate area? Penn State supports more different sports at a high level than most schools, and doesn't have the benefit of being the primary sports entity in a metro area of 1.5 million like Ohio State.
2. If not, who "wins" to become the alpha winter sport at Penn State? Who settles for the scraps?

My opinion? It's much too complicated of a question to answer right now. But I do think we'll have some idea of how things are headed by the end of next season.

2. PSU Women’s Ice Hockey Club: The Journey
(Onward State)

Onward State checks in with a nice review of the Women's Ice Hockey Club's ACHA tournament run. Jump on the train now, kids - this is your best shot at a national championship next year. With no disrespect at all meant to the Ice Lions, who will certainly contend as well, or to the NCAA programs, who will continue to progress but probably won't be on a national championship level just yet, of course.

1. 2013 ISS Draft Rankings - March
(The Pipeline Show)

As Gudas time as any
(The Hockey News)

When it comes to items related to recruits, it takes a lot to make a Three Stars post in a week where the appropriate gender's Commit Cycle is up. Welcome to "a lot:" 2013 commit Eamon McAdam retained his number five goaltender slot in the ISS draft rankings and also got a shout in The Hockey News' Hot List.

June's NHL Entry Draft is in New Jersey. The next great TYT roadie? Quite possibly.

Best of the Rest

An Inside Look at the Pegula Ice Arena
(Onward State)

Between the second star and this, it wasn't exactly a close race for the unofficial TYT website of the week award.

ASU Hockey Year in Review: The Game of the Year
(House of Sparky)

I'm sure you don't need me to reveal the identity of the game declared Arizona State's "Game of the Year." Now that it's all over, I'm okay with it, to be honest. We'll move on to bigger things, they have their story for the grandkids. The Icers beating then-new NCAA program Robert Morris in 2005 didn't screw up the Colonials' development and gave PSU a great moment for a time when we didn't think we'd ever have NCAA hockey. No harm either way.

OSU Ice Rink called upon one last time
(Land-Grant Holy Land)

I feel like you could swap out "OSU Ice Rink" for "Greenberg Ice Pavilion" in a lot of places here. Regardless, an outstanding look at possibly the last time the Buckeye men will be forced out of their large, multi-purpose arena and into a tiny and dated, but gloriously intimate, rink (OSU's women will continue to use the facility as their regular home).

Ice Hockey Recap: ALL THE SEASON CLOSURES!
(Black Shoe Diaries)

There's always room for IcersGuy (and apparently, all SB Nation blogs) in this post. Here, he runs down the end of the season for the NCAA women and both ACHA teams.

Mercyhurst beats Cornell, 4-3, in Overtime. Advance to NCAA Frozen Four
(chawomenshockey.com)

Speaking of season closures... Mercyhurst advanced to the Women's Frozen Four by beating No. 2 Cornell. They'll now play Boston University (PSU assistant Gina Kearns' alma mater - guessing she's going to drop conference loyalty for a couple hours there) in the semifinals on Friday in Minneapolis. The winner will battle the winner of the other semifinal, between Boston College and Minnesota, in Sunday's NCAA championship game.

On the men's side, PSU opponents Ohio State, Wisconsin, Union and Connecticut are still alive in their respective conference tournaments, which play their semifinals and finals (or Final Five, in the case of the WCHA and the Badgers) this weekend, ahead of the NCAA tournament selection show Sunday evening. Those four schools are the only opponents remaining with any chance of making NCAAs - OSU and UConn would have to win their conference tournaments to qualify, while Wisconsin and Union stand at least a chance of an at-large bid, depending on how things shake out with the always-fluid PairWise Rankings.

Part of me hopes Wisky makes it, part of me hopes Penn State ruined their season. Tough call.

@JHoldcroft
(Twitter)

Good news: Jill Holdcroft's broken wrist is progressing nicely.

Penn State goalie Nicole Paniccia, once upon a time

Heather Linstad Resigns As Women's Ice Hockey Coach
(uconnhuskies.com)

Someday, I'd love to hear the full story of what happened with UConn women's hockey. Here's what I do know: Heather Linstad, the only coach in program history, was generally successful since starting at the school in 2000. Then, rather suddenly, things veered downhill a couple years ago. Twenty-one wins in 2009-2010 became 13, then four, then just three this past season. Simultaneous to that slide, the Huskies were gutted by transfers, including Nicole Paniccia, Taylor Gross and Jenna Welch to Penn State of course, as well as Jocelyn Slattery, now of Lindenwood. Last week, Linstad resigned. I'm not sure I've ever seen a program take such a complete header in such a short period of time.

@B1GIceHockey
(Twitter)

Regarding a possible name for the Big Ten championship trophy...

Admittedly, I did not support the idea of Big Ten hockey initially. But the more it angers Minnesota and Wisconsin fans, the more I'm coming around on it.

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.

---

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.

Penn State-RIT Photo Gallery

Photos from Friday afternoon's visit to RIT for the CHA playoff contest between the Tigers and the Nittany Lion women. Click any photo to enlarge.

Note: Ordinarily I like to do a campus tour, but in RIT's case, I already handled some of that task back in October when the men's team played in Rochester. I may add to that tomorrow, or I may not, but for now, here are a few from the rink (with the last one from what will be a rink).

It was casual Friday for RIT's pep band

My stick shot from last week didn't include the big clubs, so I fixed that

As usual, captain Taylor Gross helps junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia warm up

Sophomore forward Tess Weaver

Freshman forward Birdie Shaw

Freshman defender-turned-center Taylor McGee

Sophomore forward Jess Desorcie (through glass, sorry about that)

Freshman forward Darby Kern

Freshman defender Sarah Wilkie

Gross

The helmets lined up on the bench is always a favorite shot

The game's opening faceoff, as seen from the press box

Josh Brandwene and the PSU bench during the third period

Pile driving at RIT's Polisseni Center - about one year after happening at PSU

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.

Penn State-Robert Morris Photo Gallery

Photos from Friday night's visit to Robert Morris for the contest between the Colonials and the Nittany Lion women. Click any photo to enlarge.

RMU's Island Sports Center is easily one of my favorite venues I've visited this year, even with it being located off campus. Its name comes from the fact that it's, well, on an island - Neville Island, plopped in the middle of the Ohio River just northwest of Pittsburgh. Here's the main entrance.

To the right of that, as you're looking at it, is this piece of the exterior. See inside? Yep...

...they're essentially outdoor rinks with a roof and plastic strips for walls. Incredible. This is how the original Ice Pavilion must have been. In the photo below, the rink to the right is actually for inlines with ice on the left.

The ISC has two other, more conventional, rinks. One is an Olympic rink and the other, named 84 Lumber Arena, is where RMU's varsity teams play. Here are a couple views.

I'm always fascinated with the Penn State banners in opponents rinks.

And, of course, another banner commemorates RMU's CHA tournament championship last season.

These next three photos are from a series called "the team being stationary enough to not make the picture produced by my phone camera too blurry."

The helmets on the bench are always a solid go-to in cases when I can get to the bench.

Nicole Paniccia has my favorite mask of any Penn State goaltender. She's the one on the right.

Opening faceoff...

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).