Thank You Terry: Paige Jahnke

Showing posts with label Paige Jahnke. Show all posts

Friday, October 4, 2013

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:

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Counting Crow

Kelsey Crow (19 white) battles in front of now-PSU sophomore Paige Jahnke (17 black)

Minnetonka (MN) High School's girls hockey program has announced that junior defender Kelsey Crow has committed to Penn State for 2015.

Kelsey Crow

Defender
Minnetonka (MN) HS
5'6" // Deephaven, MN
DOB 10/27/1996

MNgirlshockeyhub.com Minnetonka page

Season	Team	Lge.	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM
2011-12	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	31	4	10	14	2
2012-13	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	31	5	8	13	2
2013-14	Minnetonka High School	MN-HS	-	-	-	-	-

Given that Minnetonka produced current freshmen Amy Petersen and Laura Bowman, as well as 2014 commit Hannah Ehresmann, the Skippers dynastic program needs little introduction at this point. Each of the last three seasons in Minnesota big-school girls hockey has ended the same way: with the Skippers mobbing a trophy. Bowman and Petersen were central to those teams as top scorers and Ehresmann was a key contributor as a backup goalie who played good minutes during the regular season, but Crow certainly played an important role to the last two title winners as well.

Her 13 points over the course of the 2012-2013 season were fourth among Skippers blueliners, although it's important to note that two of the three ahead of her were all-everythings Sydney Baldwin and Sydney Morin, who have both been national U18 team selections and are headed to powers Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth, respectively. The third was RPI freshman Hannah Behounek. Crow, as a sophomore, was the youngest of the four - Behounek and Morin were seniors last year, while Baldwin was a junior. They pump out some players at that school, don't they?

Crow (19) and Laura Bowman (16) sandwich Amy Petersen, after the latter scored against BSM

Two of her five goals came in a February 1st win at Chaska/Chanhassen, but really, her offense is a bonus. Above all, Crow reads as an intelligent defender who will lock things down in front of Ehresmann, Celine Whitlinger, Daniela Paniccia or whoever else is fortunate enough to play goal with her on the ice. Said Skippers coach Eric Johnson:

"As a sophomore this season, Kelsey Crow had the decision-making ability of a senior. She had a great work ethic on and off the ice and really takes care of the defensive zone."

Other scouting reports have also generally been positive, including from Amateur Hockey Report:

A strong skater and defensive presence. Displayed an ability to rifle out crisp and accurate passes. She needs to work on building a softer touch with the puck – most targeted recipients of her passing had a hard time corralling them due to the brute force she put behind them.

Crow was invited to the USA Hockey U18 Player Development Camp back in July, and was also at Select 16s in 2012 and Select 15s in 2011. Outside of hockey, Crow is a track star, and her efforts helped Minnetonka to a sectional title in the spring, including on a 4x100 relay team that missed the state meet by four tenths of a second.

Her commitment continues a major push by Penn State's coaching staff to grab some of the best players on the best high school teams in Minnesota. The trend started with Paige Jahnke (Roseville) and Kendra Rasmussen (Sartell/Sauk Rapids) in 2012, then exploded this year with Petersen, Bowman and Sarah Nielsen (Edina). It shows no signs of slowing up with Ehresmann, Christi Vetter (Lakeville North), Caitlin Reilly (Benilde-St. Margaret's) and Bella Sutton (Mounds View) heading to PSU next season, and now with Crow on board for 2015 as well.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Women's Jersey Countdown: #17 Paige Jahnke

Sophomore - Defender - 5'6" - Oakdale, MN

Perhaps PSU's best puck-moving blueliner in 2012-13, Paige Jahnke led the Nittany Lions in assists by a defender, and her 30 shots on goal tied with Jordin Pardoski as the high number in the position group. She was a mainstay on Josh Brandwene's power play, but also more than held up her end at her traditional job description, as her 38 shot blocks led the team's defense. A 2009 Minnesota big-school state champion at Roseville High School, Jahnke picked up her first collegiate point at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion on October 25, 2012, a helper on Shannon Yoxheimer's power play goal that tied RIT 1-1 late in the first period. The assist kicked off an outstanding stretch of hockey - she carried a +6 rating over the seven games that followed and added her second and third career points. The third was the primary assist on Emily Laurenzi's game-winning power play goal against Lindenwood on November 17, 2012, in what turned out to be Penn State's only CHA win of the campaign.

Season	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM	PP	SH	GW	GT
Career Statistics:
2012-13	35	0	8	8	22	0	0	0	0
NCAA Career	35	0	8	8	22	0	0	0	0

Friday, March 1, 2013

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.

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.

Friday, February 15, 2013

W: Penn State 1 at RIT 3

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

Despite a 3-1 loss to RIT (13-13-5, 6-6-5 CHA) that clinched sixth place in the CHA for the Nittany Lion women (7-21-2, 1-14-2 CHA), there continue to be a lot of encouraging signs of growth. Most obviously, this is no longer a team that needs its goalie to make 60 saves to put a cosmetically good final score on the board. It's a group capable of competing on close to even terms with a team that will probably have home ice in the first round of the league tournament, at least for 40 minutes, and just isn't making those one or two plays that often flip the result one way or another.

To the mindful observer, and although PSU ran out of steam in the third period, there's a huge difference between this game, and the 4-1 loss that opened the series with the Tigers at the Ice Pavilion back in October. We're now at the point where something like a well-executed, but unconverted power play midway through the second just after RIT went up 2-0 is making a difference in these games. On the flip side, Penn State surrendered on two of its first three penalty kills, thanks largely to Kristina Moss, the Tigers' lethal weapon on point, who set up a juicy rebound with one bomb, then scored with another. This is no longer about simply keeping it close, it's about regretting missed chances and the fact that the opponent cashed theirs in.

Most importantly in the short term, head coach Josh Brandwene might be starting to look crazy - like a fox - when he speaks of peaking for the CHA tournament, where anything can happen. I'll admit it: back at media day, when I first heard that line, I rolled my eyes a little. I'm certainly not doing that now, because his team has the look of one capable of taking down any of the possible first-round opponents with a play here or there.

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

Jordin Pardoski's power play bomb set up Penn State's goal

Senior Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects) dished out three assists, becoming the 12th player in the history of the RIT women’s hockey program to reach 100 career points, as the Tigers (13-13-5, 6-6-5 CHA) defeated visiting Penn State (7-21-2, 1-14-2) 3-1 in front of 792 fans at Ritter Arena on Friday night.

Yokoyama assisted on all three goals, one in each period to reach the historic milestone. She becomes the fourth active Tiger to reach the milestone. Yokoyama now has 13 goals and 87 assists in 114 career games. Her 87 assists are second all-time at the university.

Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) scored two goals, while Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons) had a goal and an assist. Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects) also dished out a pair of assists in the win. Goaltender Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects) made 21 shots to earn her fourth win of the season, making a handful of good saves.

Taylor Gross spoiled Chamberlain's shutout bid, scoring a power-play goal with 3:41 left in regulation. Nicole Paniccia made 42 saves for the Nittany Lions.

RIT out-shot Penn State, 45-22, including 19-5 in the final period. The Tigers were 2-for-4 with the man-advantage, while Penn State was 1-for-5.

RIT Head Coach Scott McDonald was happy with his team effort and the atmosphere at Ritter Arena tonight.

"I was excited with our team's effort seen in the game tonight," said McDonald. "We played well in all facets of the game. Our fans were great tonight and it was exciting to see all of the stuffed Tigers get launched onto the ice after our first goal."

The Tigers scored the lone goal in the opening period, out-shooting Penn State, 13-9.

At the 7:03 mark of the first period, Schlattman buried a rebound in the slot after a shot from Moss was blocked for her 12th goal of the season. On the power-play, RIT worked the puck back to the point, where Yokoyama and Moss crossed with Yokoyama feeding Moss for the one-timer. Moss’ shot was blocked with the carom coming to Schlattman who was patrolling the slot. Schlattman fired a high shot over the blocker of Paniccia.

Right after, hundreds of stuffed Tigers came pouring on to the ice as RIT Greek Life sponsored the first Tiger Toss. The Tigers were picked up by the players and workers and will be donated to Strong Memorial Hospital.

Chamberlain had to come up with two big saves in the final two minutes of the period. First, she robbed Gross on a 2-on-1 in close, sticking her left pad out to keep RIT in the lead. Next, she robbed Hannah Hoenshell in close after a RIT defensive break down.

RIT increased its lead to 2-0 after 40 minutes of play.

The Tigers upped their lead to 2-0 at the 6:22 mark of the second period, as Moss fired a rocket of a slap shot past Paniccia for her second goal of the season. Kunichika won the face-off back to Moss, who played catch at the point with Yokoyama. Yokoyama placed a perfect pass to Moss, who from the right circle, blasted the one timer in on the power-play.

Chamberlain continued her strong play later in the period, making a big save on Shannon Yoxheimer through traffic.

Schlattman put the game away with her second goal of the game and 13th of the season with 13:11 left in regulation, as Kuncihika stole a puck from a Penn State defender behind the net and put a pass out in front that deflected off Yokoyama's stick right to Schlattman, who put a low shot from in close past Paniccia.

Gross spoiled Chamberlain's shutout with 3:41 left on the power-play as a shot from Yoxheimer deflected off the stick of Gross in front, off the glove of Chamberlain and in for her fifth goal of the year.