W: Penn State 2-1 at SUNY-Potsdam (NCAA DIII) 4-3

Potsdam official site Friday recap // Potsdam official site Saturday recap

Friday box score // Saturday box score

Outscored, but not outclassed.

That's the impression I had after following the Lady Icers' (2-3-0) games against NCAA Division III SUNY-Potsdam this weekend, despite the two defeats.

Friday night's game started with a whole lot of Katie Vaughan. She kept PSU in the game despite an early Bears barrage and long enough for Katharine Gausseres to scoop up a loose puck at center, swoop in on a breakaway, and score for a surprising 1-0 Lady Icers lead.

It took a deflection and a rebound of Breanna Roy point shots for Potsdam to finally solve Vaughan, who finished with 44 saves on 47 shots. Jessica Silveira scored the first of those goals (the deflection one) 4:46 into the second, while leading scorer Annmarie Lewis gave finally the Bears the lead for good 2:01 into the third, on Potsdam's 32nd shot of the game. Some penalty trouble for Tess Weaver and Sara Chroman seven minutes later gave the Bears a 5-on-3, which was cashed in for a two-goal lead with 10:20 left.

Just when it looked as if the Lady Icers were ready to fade out of the game, Weaver - who had five of PSU's 22 shots - redeemed the situation with her own power play goal off a rebound of Madison Smiddy's shot to give Penn State life with 5:05 left. However, the Lady Icers only managed a Smiddy drive on goal from that point on, and a Bears empty-netter with 11 seconds remaining effectively ended the affair.

Vaughan gave PSU a chance to win both games.

On Saturday, it was Potsdam striking first, on Izzy Fayerman's deflection goal 8:21 into the game. Just 1:25 later, Roy went off on a checking penalty, and Weaver made the Bears pay with a blast from the slot, coming off of Chroman's pass. The game remained level until Potsdam got the goal and the lead back on Silveira's third goal of the weekend, which happened with freshman defender Paige Harrington in the box for hooking.

Thanks largely to Vaughn's 20 saves on 20 shots effort in the second period (part of her 52 of 54 for the game and her incredible 96 of 101 over the pair of games), the score remained 2-1 Potsdam early in the third. The Lady Icers took to the power play 2:48 in with plans of once again drawing even, but Caitlin Manahan's unassisted shorty gave the Bears a secure 3-1 lead, which they carried to the finish despite PSU being on the power play for the final 2:42 of the game.

The Lady Icers return both home and to the ACHA on Friday against California (PA) at 7:00 p.m. before going back on the road to a Division III team's rink - this time, Chatham, one of Potsdam's ECAC West rivals - on November 4th and 5th.

Bear Down

Potsdam's Annmarie Lewis frequently has the puck in the vicinity of her stick.

Twenty days removed from their last game action, the 2-1-0 Lady Icers are back at it this weekend. Awaiting Josh Brandwene's charges is quite an interesting test, as the NCAA Division III SUNY-Potsdam Bears await Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. in Potsdam's Maxcy Ice Arena. Live stats may be available through Potsdam's website.

I say "interesting" because to be honest, I'm curious to see how the still-largely-unknown PSU team stacks up. We know what happens when PSU meets a DI team. We also know what happens against a mediocre ACHA D1 squad. But what about somewhere in between? Given that these are the first two of eight DIII games the Lady Icers will play this season, their score on this test might correlate pretty strongly with how the season as a whole turns out.

As little as we know about PSU, we may know even less about the Bears, which finished 10-13-2 last season, 6-11-1 and 7th place in the ECAC West behind fifth year coach Jay Green.

The reason for that is simple: the only game Potsdam has played this year was of the exhibition variety, defeating the Ontario Hockey Academy 1-0 on Tuesday behind Annmarie Lewis' power play goal and a combined 24-save shutout from Jen Conophy and Dawna Salvarinas. Lewis, a senior co-captain, was the Bears leading scorer last season with 11 goals and 15 assists. She's joined frequently joined in offensive exploits by Caitlin Manahan, also a senior co-captain, and sophomore Jessica Silveira. The team's strength, though, might be on the blueline, as senior Breanna Roy and sophomore Brittany Lucky lead a unit that allowed just 2.66 goals per game last season, despite a losing record.

Penn State, of course, turned in a dominating effort in recording a pair of wins against Buffalo at the Ice Pavilion three weeks ago. While Katie Vaughn was her usual stellar self (saving 30 of 32 for the weekend), it was two newcomers who stole the show. Freshman Tess Weaver, a Pittsburgh Penguins Elite product, had the look of a breakout star with three goals and three assists, and Elizabeth Denis (a former Bear herself, although of the Brown variety) added three points of her own.

Following the pair with the Bears, the Lady Icers will make a brief stop back in ACHAland with an October 28th tilt against California (PA) at the Ice Pavilion. After that, they'll once again hit the road to face a DIII team, this time one of Potsdam's conference rivals, Chatham, in Pittsburgh on November 4th and 5th.