Three Stars: May 28-June 3

Curtis Loik was involved in an interesting transaction last week.

3. RMU Hockey
(Facebook)

Robert Morris' Facebook page is running a poll asking who you'd like to see the Colonials play in their opener at the Pittsburgh College Hockey Invitational in December. I have no clue how much influence this poll has over the actual decision (if any), but get on there and vote for Miami. An RMU-Miami matchup would lock in PSU-Ohio State on the other side. You do want to play Ohio State this year, right?

Don't worry about coming off as selfish either. A PSU-OSU matchup stands the greatest chance of drawing out the notoriously light-traveling Buckeye fans, as well as casual PSU fans who would only turn up for a name opponent, and therefore maximizing the tournament's revenue. And from host RMU's perspective, that's a good thing. So is playing someone you haven't already played that month - the Colonials are slated to play Ohio State on December 7th and 8th, followed by the Nittany Lions on the 15th. Technically, they also play PSU on the 2nd. Wait, what?

They mean RMU's ACHA D3 team, a regular opponent of Brandywine's ACHA D3 team, right? If not, that's about the craziest scheduling quirk I've ever seen. Geographically, it makes sense. RMU is at Holy Cross on the 11/30-12/1 weekend, and it wouldn't be an ordeal to swing past southeast PA on the way home. But until the Colonials officially announce their schedule - the source on this is the Atlantic Hockey site - I'm just going to assume it's some kind of amusing error.

2. In hockey or softball, Neuqua’s Meyer thrives on pressure
(dailyherald.com)

Get to know freshman women's goalie Brooke Meyer here. And here's all I need to know:

“I love the pressure — take me to a shootout any time,” said Meyer, who has never lost one. “I love being the last person my team can count on. You gotta love pressure to play sports.”

1. Penticton-Victoria Trade
(Brian's Banter)

In a somewhat curious move, the Penticton Vees have shipped the rights to incoming forward Curtis Loik to the Victoria Grizzlies to complete the January 11th trade in which the Vees acquired Wade Murphy, a 2013 Merrimack commit and a vital component of Penticton's run to the RBC Cup this past season.

In my mind, Loik is the real wild card in the trade as he seems poised to break out as a 19-year-old in 2012-13, but it won't be in the BCHL as he's committed to Penn. State for the upcoming season. I'm thinking the only way he goes to Victoria is at the recommendation of his college team, and that's got to be what the Grizzlies are banking on, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been included in the deal.

TYT has confirmed with Guy Gadowsky that Loik is still scheduled to come to PSU this season, so uhhh...sorry about your luck Victoria. The Grizzlies still do get Zach Urban and Chad Bannor, two uncommitted defensemen who could conceivably help their team this year. And it's not like their shot in the dark at Loik had any risk associated with it. So nice try, I guess.

Best of the Rest

Princeton tough guy stands ready to help Kings
(The Trentonian)

Regular readers of Three Stars know I'm a sucker for a good Gadowsky compliment. So here's one from Princeton alumnus/Kings enforcer Kevin Westgarth:

"Coach (Guy) Gadowsky was there when I was there, and it was a big reason why I got to where I am. I wouldn’t change that for anything."

O'Brien, Crispin, Mitchell And More To Tee Off On Cancer
(gopsusports.com)

...and a check in with Gadowsky's women's counterpart, Josh Brandwene (also known as "and more"), reveals that he played in the Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Tournament on Friday.

@sjchro
(Twitter)

The last Lady Icers captain approves of the first Nittany Lions captain. That's always nice to know.

2012-2013 Recruiting Update
(sundevilhockey.com)

While I'm not paying too much attention to ACHA recruiting as a whole, I really can't imagine that anyone's doing better than Arizona State right now. Their latest adds: USHL defenseman Jordan Young, OJHL defenseman Zach Bayer and forward Faiz Khan, a transfer from NCAA Division III UMass-Boston. All three are Arizona or California natives who apparently agree with my opinion that going to a large and well-known school with a good ACHA program is better than DIII. There's not a huge difference in the quality of the hockey, you're not going to make much of a living playing the game either way and you're not getting an athletic scholarship either way, so you might as well go to a place like ASU instead of a place like...well, UMass-Boston.

The Sun Devils, in addition to this latest group, are also bringing in three Canadian Junior A guys and a transfer from DI Canisius to complement what was already a pretty good roster. Calling it right now: Penn State better not take the games with ASU this year lightly, or the visitors may leave the Ice Pavilion with a story for their grandkids. The Lions will have the better team, but the Devils will certainly be talented enough to punish them if they're less than fully dialed in. PSU, of all schools, should know that an in-transition DI is not necessarily an automatic over a top ACHA. Let's not be the people who don't learn from history, especially when its our own history.

Five members of the Spartan hockey media contingent discuss the coming season with coach Tom Anastos (left) while a camera guy records the proceedings...oh wait, that's just one guy on the near side of the table. So four members.

Anastos Holds Spring Media Briefing
(msuspartans.com)

There's little doubt in my mind that Michigan State gets social media and the public dialog better than any other Big Ten school (I'll exempt Penn State from this statement, since it's still too early to say how things will go once the NCAA program is in full swing). Head coach Tom Anastos is on Twitter, and on the Derek Schooley Scale of Interesting, he doesn't rate too badly. And during Anastos' spring media briefing, the program's Twitter account shot out some of the details. This one's among the juiciest, if you don't want to listen to the whole thing:

Analysis of the 2012-2013 Penn State hockey schedule
(Rome's Ramblings)

Remember last week when I complained about a lack of analysis concerning the schedule? Order up.

I'll pass on a full critique of the critique, but generally speaking, I think this perspective eschews rationality in favor of a "waaaahhhh...I wanna be a real DI team NOW!" attitude. While that's understandable to a point, there are numerous reasons why Penn State couldn't (and really, shouldn't) have a schedule of Denver, North Dakota, Minnesota, Boston College, Michigan, rinse and repeat, this year.

Basically, have some patience. We'll get there, as soon as 2013-2014, when 20 of our 34 are spoken for by the Big Ten. Plus in the non-con, we'll almost certainly have return trips from the likes of Union and RIT (the writer seems to think that reciprocation has to happen in the same year) plus the Pittsburgh tournament.

Hockey back at WSU with new ACHA squad
(MichiganCollegeHockey)

It's good to see the Wayne State men back on the grid. Still, scoreboard.

Staten Island Sanitation worker jumps to his death from Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
(silive.com)

A 54-year-old Sanitation worker jumped to his death from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Sunday morning.

Joseph Battista plunged around 8:20 a.m. from the upper level, according to police.

Passing drivers spotted Battista standing outside the guardrail, pacing in the rain, around 8 a.m., according to a New York Post report. Two officers approached Battista in an effort to talk him down, but the 54-year old Sanitation worker jumped.

You guys better appreciate the amount of stuff I have to sift through to do this. Rest in peace, Joe Battista.

Three Stars: April 23-29

3. ACHA 2012 Academic All-Americans Announced
(achahockey.org)

Sara Chroman, Lydia Scott and Lindsay Reihl represent the Lady Icers among the list of 2011-2012 ACHA Women's D1 Academic All-Americans. UMass, by the way, had none. Not that I'm still bitter or anything. But PSU's better at both hockey and academics.

2.Pegula Ice Arena Becoming a Reality
(gopsusports.com)

I know this is largely just another collection of quotes from the groundbreaking, arranged differently. Still, there's always room on TYT to give a student writer some support (even if Ms. Johnson probably got more pageviews on her own than TYT gets in a month, but whatever).

1. Gadowsky looks back at year one
(Lions 247)

I probably don't give Andrew Dzurita enough love in these posts for the simple reason that I don't want to rip off his pictures and get sued. Luckily, a Q-and-A with Guy Gadowsky means I can just rip off someone else's picture. Anyway, here's some of the juicy stuff:

[On the scholarship breakdown] You can’t go out and spend 18 scholarships in one class, that isn’t taking care of the program. We have to gradually move a long, and until we have four full recruiting classes under our belt we won’t be able to see how things are going. It is certainly a process, and when we get to the Big Ten, they certainly are the best college hockey programs in the nation. They have tons of tradition and success that they can draw from and we are the new guys on the block, so it is going to take a couple of years to see where we stack up – but that is part of the fun of it.

We can only release [next year's schedule] when all of the contracts are back, so right now there isn’t anything we can talk about regarding next year’s schedule, and there isn’t a timetable I can give you on when it will be out.

As a reminder, feel free to check this page out for pieces of the schedule revealed by those with looser lips than Gadowsky.

Best of the Rest

Hilton Commits to UBC
(ajhl.ca)

Remember Jessi Hilton? Sure you do. He committed to PSU last summer, then rapidly decommitted when 12 games played with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen interfered with his NCAA eligibility. Fortunately for him, the CIS doesn't care about his time in major junior, so he'll be headed to the University of British Columbia for the coming season. Nice to see that saga have a happy ending.

Pegulas increase Penn State Hockey commitment to $102 million
(Penn State Live)

Since I openly scratched my head at the cost of the arena jumping from $75 million to $89 million at one point, here's something that breaks it down quite nicely. The Pegulas are now in for $102 million, as we know. $89 million of that will pay for the arena, while $13 million will endow scholarships. Additionally, $3.7 million has come in from other donors, headlined by John and Karen Davis as well as Paul and Nancy Silvis. Administration is seeking another $6.3 million in private gifts. There you go.

Chicago has the sickness.

Four Schools to Play Outdoor Doubleheader in Chicago
(College Hockey News)

While it's still not finalized...

Wisconsin and Minnesota, and Notre Dame and Miami, will play in doubleheader outdoor games next season, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The games would be played at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013.

To quote Joe Battista, "we want to play in that game."

College Hockey Inc. to Get New Governing Body
(College Hockey News)

The contentious dismissal of Paul Kelly seems to have led to changes in the way CHI is run, although no changes in mission or direction are expected.

Three Stars: March 19-25

3. 3 New Infographics
(Mass Media Musings)

Abbey Dufoe is back with some engaging reading framed around three infographics containing statistics on various social media sites. No, it's not about hockey, but it's still topical - if you clicked through to this post from Twitter or Facebook (unfortunately, there is no TYT Pinterest yet), you owe Ms. Dufoe a couple minutes of your time.

2. Saginaw Spirit forward Brandon Saad prepares for final playoff run
(mlive.com)

Icers Nittany Lions forward George Saad gets some nice run in a story primarily about his brother. I can't think of anything else to say about it that carries the appropriate amount of both pith and snark, so just read it.

1. Hockey in Nittany Lion Land
(Stadium Journey)

Ever wonder how the Ice Pavilion would hold up under the scrutiny of an intrepid reviewer who has taken in venues like Ford Field (for my money, the NFL's best stadium), PNC Park (for my money, MLB's best stadium) and Consol Energy Center (never been there, but it's new and probably nice)? Don't worry, it wasn't all bad, I promise. But it will make you excited to bail on the place.

Bonus link: Here's the Stadium Journey review of Notre Dame's Compton Family Ice Arena, probably the biggest design influence on PIA.

Best of the Rest

The Puck stops here
(Pennsylvania Puck)

Remember PA Puck? Apparently, they threw up their hands and quit on February 29th.

Ultimately we just didn’t have enough site traffic and certainly not enough advertisers in order to continue.

I don't mean to throw dirt on the site's grave, but...it just launched in October - they didn't even give it a full hockey season. I'm not privy to their traffic numbers, but they have 621 Twitter followers (TYT has 548 and has been at it a year longer). They have 1,171 Facebook likes (TYT has 103...wooooo). They may not have had many advertisers, but they certainly had more than zero. To build that kind of a following in five months, that's a pretty good start in my opinion, especially considering that very few sites of any kind are all that popular in their first year (for what it's worth, whatever "popularity" TYT enjoys largely began in months 12 and 14 according to the stats). What exactly were they expecting, Puck Daddy numbers from the word "go?" The whole thing just smells of unreasonable expectations and prematurely throwing in the towel to me.

Of course, maybe they'd still be chugging along if they gave Pennsylvania's two NHL teams, one AHL team, one ECHL team, one OHL team and six NCAA DI men's and women's programs not named the Hershey Bears more than cursory attention.

@VinnieChant
(Twitter)

The women's team had their end-of-season banquet on Saturday, and based on the post-event Twitter traffic, a blast was had by all involved. Here's crutch-toting outgoing captain Sara Chroman posing with the coaching staff.

Time To Pare Down The NCAA Hockey Tournament, And Other Necessary Tweaks
(BC Interruption)

Since we're new at this whole "NCAA" thing, consider this sort of a primer on some of the common discussions surrounding the NCAA hockey tournament. Presently, the 16-team field plays down to the Frozen Four through four regional tournaments in mostly-empty neutral-site arenas in locales like Albany and Green Bay. The Frozen Four is sometimes in off-the-wall places that have less than zero college hockey presence (this year, it's in Tampa, FL and "hosted" by Alabama-Huntsville - figure that one out). This Boston College blog proposes slashing the field back to 12 teams and only including major northeastern and midwestern cities in the rotations for the various rounds of the tournament.

Ten years later: The 2002 regionals, Molly, and the Greatest Weekend in Yost History
(MGoBlog)

At the risk of alienating many of you, I have tremendous respect for the University of Michigan and its hockey program...the tradition, that rink, those fans, Red, the players, all of it. Read this story - originating in the era of six-team, campus-site regionals that draw feelings of nostalgia from BC Interruption - and begin to dread Penn State's trying to go into Ann Arbor and win.

@skw21
(Twitter)

Incoming women's recruit Sarah Wilkie was on campus for an accepted students day last week. And because she's cool, she helped slacker me out by snapping a pic of the PIA site.

Robert Morris home rink to now be called 84 Lumber Arena
(USCHO)

Whatever your opinion of its namesake or how he made his money, the name of PSU's arena will not be the worst in college hockey. Good to know.



RIT on TV: Women's Hockey Going DI
(YouTube)

Here's a quick story on PSU's newest conference rival, courtesy of Rochester's local news.

We asked, you answered... (well a few of you)
(B1G Ice Hockey)

And finally, a shameless self-plug to close things out this week, since I'm quoted extensively here. Just in case you don't yet know how I feel about the Big Ten.

W: Penn State 3 vs. Massachusetts 2 / Penn State 1 vs. Rhode Island 4 (ECWHL Playoffs)

Saturday box score // Sunday box score

The ECWHL championships, both regular season and tournament, are decided on the ice. While some may argue that the ACHA qualifies as well through its annual national tournament, the Lady Icers' conference enjoys the following characteristics:

• Its membership is determined before the season.
• Every member knows and understands the requirements to win it.
• Those requirements are the same for each member team.

It sounds simple, but in that simplicity lies its beauty: win enough games and you're guaranteed to win the whole thing. We expect that reality from competitive sports, largely because real life offers plenty of ambiguity, slanted playing fields, and general unfairness. Life crept into sports and struck Penn State hard in the wee hours of February 16th, when the ACHA announced that through some inconsistent application of its stated national tournament selection criteria, Massachusetts will compete for the ACHA and Penn State will not.

It's not sports-rule airtight, but one life rule was subsequently applied by the Lady Icers: keep kicking through adversity and good things generally happen. The reaction served the team well though a sweep of Vermont February 18th and 19th that clinched the ECWHL regular season title with a 7-2-1 record. It also served them well through the league's tournament on Saturday and Sunday, beginning with Saturday's semifinal against that same Massachusetts team that unjustly holds the last bid to ACHAs.

Despite being shorthanded for 30 percent of the first period with no power play time, PSU outshot UMass 10-9. They almost escaped to the dressing room unscathed, but the Jaramillo sisters - the ACHA's answer to the Lamoureux sisters, I suppose - teamed up for the game's first goal. Raschelle from Chelsea made it 1-0 Massachusetts after 1, although more than anything, it made the Lady Icers' big scoring line mad. Jess Desorcie tied the game up just 18 seconds into the second, assisted by Taylor Gross. Desorcie then returned the favor by setting up Gross for a 2-1 PSU lead 5:17 after that.

Sarah Oteri, who scored three of the four UMass goals during a series between the teams February 10th and 11th, leveled things once again early in the third period. A problem for some, but only if you don't have Big Game Tess Weaver on your team. As she so often does, Weaver scored the decider on an assist from Gross with 4:36 remaining. It was Weaver's fourth game winner of the season, a number that also includes the triumph over NCAA Division I Sacred Heart and a win at then-top ranked Northeastern in January.

However life, and adversity, crept back into sports and hit the Lady Icers - hard - two more times. Senior captain Sara Chroman broke her ankle late in the second period of the game - an unfortunate conclusion to a great run as the epitome of "outstanding student-athlete." The uncertainty and injustice of life may be a theme of this post, but I still have every confidence that the real world will nevertheless treat Chroman extremely well. She's certainly earned it. Jess Desorcie, who scored 19 (!) goals this semester after coming over from NCAA Division III Connecticut College, also suffered her own ankle injury in the first period of the ECWHL championship game against Rhode Island and was lost for the duration. She, however, will be back, presumably in a key role on Penn State's inaugural NCAA team.

Without two vital players, the slim hopes of defeating a tough Rhode Island team were not realized, as the Lady Icers fell 4-1 to end the season 13-14-3-1 and 12-7-1-0 in the ACHA, along with the ECWHL regular season championship. There's really no point in reliving the final, but it's worth observing that the lone PSU goal was scored by Elizabeth Denis, the geoscience Ph.D. student and former Brown player, who jumped on the top line in Desorcie's place. She's a great story if you're not familiar, and while NCAA rules prohibit her from being a part of the varsity team next year, I hope to be able to follow her with the new incarnation of the women's club program.

For the time being though, it's on to an offseason that's sure to be full of intrigue. In 2012-2013, Penn State will dive headfirst into a College Hockey America that includes Mercyhurst, one of the nation's best programs, as well as quickly-rising Robert Morris and old ACHA rival Lindenwood. And from what I understand, both the CHA and NCAA championships are won on the ice (it doesn't get much more objective than PWR and autobids, does it?). I, for one, can't wait.

W: Penn State 5-4 vs. Vermont 0-2

Saturday box score // Sunday box score

It's often said that when adversity hits, it's not the situation, but whether we react or respond to the situation that's important. Put another way, champions respond to and overcome the setback.

Call the Lady Icers champions, in more ways than one.

Just days following an inexcusable snub by the ACHA coaches that shut Penn State out of the national tournament, the team very easily could have played out the string and mailed in a couple of lackluster performances against lowly Vermont. Instead, they chose the route of champions and as a result are quite literally that as this year's winners of the ECWHL regular season crown following a sweep of the Catamounts.

On Saturday, an uneventful first period saw only one killed penalty for each team and ten total shots, but it was merely a prelude to a second-period PSU explosion. Three goals - from Taylor Gross, Katharine Gausseres and Tess Weaver - over a span of 5:31 were more than enough for the win, thanks to Katie Vaughan's second full shutout of the season on 20 saves. However, Jess Desorcie had not yet popped in her customary two goals per game, so she did just that in the third to round out the scoring.

A Vermont backchecker (right) looks for assistance on Tess Weaver. Good luck with that. Photo: PennStateWomensHockey.com

PSU's big scoring line (which totaled 13 points for the weekend) didn't wait quite as long to crank things up in Sunday's Senior Day tilt. By the 13:14 mark of the first period, Gross had already scored twice, with Weaver assisting on both. Shortly after, Paige Harrington's spectacular end-to-end rush made it 3-0 by the intermission.

Much like the first game, however, the first period did not predict the second. Suspense briefly re-entered the match when the Catamounts' Hope Simpson chipped the PSU lead down to 3-1 late in the middle frame, but she was quickly answered by Lindsay Reihl 1:54 into the third period. That insurance proved enough to withstand a late goal from UVM's Riley Fontaine.

The sweep parked the Lady Icers' conference record at 7-2-1, a single point better than second-place Rhode Island. Penn State will attempt to become dual champions of the ECWHL at the conference's playoffs on Saturday and Sunday at URI's Brad Boss Ice Arena. With each of the other three participants (URI, third-place Northeastern and fourth-place Massachusetts) also holding a bid to nationals (which, of course, eluded PSU), the usual satisfaction of victory would certainly be multiplied.

After that, we've unfortunately reached the end of the line for this season - and the end of the careers for Chelly Deiling, Sara Chroman, Abby Miller, Kassidy Augustine and Lydia Scott, this year's senior class. Whatever heights are ultimately reached by the coming NCAA program, it needs to be known that this group laid a solid foundation for that success, both on and off the ice. Congratulations and best wishes to each student-athlete!

Chroman, Augustine, Miller, Scott and Deiling during Senior Day ceremonies. Photo: PennStateWomensHockey.com

Three Stars: February 6-12

3. Family always been there for Chroman
Captain overcomes injuries this season
(The Daily Collegian)

Long-overdue, much-deserved features on Lady Icers senior captains Sara Chroman and Kate Christoffersen.

Quick confession: one of the more embarrassing moments in TYT history was last September when the Lady Icers announced this season's roster. Noting Christoffersen's appearance, I said something like "oh, that's nice that they're still listing her on the roster this year, although she's obviously not playing." Then, after seeing the box score from the first game against Division I Robert Morris, I had to set an all-time record for backtracking. Feel free to laugh at me, but more importantly, understand just how much Christoffersen has overcome to play this year.

2. 

Groundbreaking ceremony announced for new arena
(The Daily Collegian)

If I was to put together an FAQ page of stuff people frequently ask me, this would be on it. Pegula Ice Arena's ceremonial groundbreaking will be on April 20th, also known as Blue-White Friday. Mark your calendars. Or don't, since I want to be able to see.

1. Women's Ice Hockey - Program Update 2-9-2012 
(YouTube)

Crazy week. The Collegian and sports information both acknowledged the existence of the women's program.

Best of the Rest

Photo Gallery: Alumni Weekend 2012
(pennstatehockey.com)

Curtiss Patrick made us laugh. Scott Curry made us cry. And, of course, Jay Paterno proved once again that he's better at public speaking than me. Here's a nice set of photos from Saturday's Festivities.

Penn State Hockey Moving On
(wearecentralpa.com)

Getting on TV is still a big deal, right?

Confirmed: Stars-Lancers to play outdoor game in 2013
(Black and Blue)

As first reported by Lincoln Stars (USHL) blog Black and Blue, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota will play outdoors at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park (best known as the place that hosts the College World Series). The Stars will meet archrival Omaha in the front end of the doubleheader.

North Dakota to resume use of Fighting Sioux nickname
(USCHO)

Can this story please just go away? I really don't care how you resolve it (short of eradicating whichever Sioux tribe it was that didn't approve the nickname), just figure it out.

Part of what's at issue: a crappier version of the Chicago Blackhawks logo.

Princeton, St. Lawrence meet while in a state of flux
(USCHO)

Just keeping a quick eye on the old school of Coaches Gadowsky, Fisher and Lindsay, which has struggled this year thanks to a plague of injuries.

Where Michigan Goes in Lacrosse, Will Others Follow?
(New York Times)

This isn't a hockey story (obviously), but I still thought it was interesting for its parallels to Penn State. Michigan was sort of the PSU of the club lacrosse world, now they've gone NCAA and we're talking about a domino effect, conference realignment, and the like (yet, as in hockey, nobody ever has enough money).

W: Penn State 3-3 at Sacred Heart (NCAA DI) 4-2

Sacred Heart Friday recap // Sacred Heart Saturday recap

Friday box score // Saturday box score

Forget next year. Penn State has a Division I women's hockey program right now.

To be sure, PSU's ascendancy isn't official just yet. But a 3-2 overtime triumph over NCAA Division I Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon showed that the Lady Icers - as resilient of a team as you'll find, steeled by ten previous games against NCAA opposition - have no intention of waiting any longer.

The best part? It's tough to call it in upset, despite the difference in sanctioning designation. This one didn't follow the usual upset formulae, including the one where a team hangs around and gets a fluky goal late or the other one where the underdog jumps out to a surprising lead and barely withstands a furious rally. Saturday's game was neither of those things. PSU outshot Sacred Heart 29-28 and never trailed. In fact, the Lady Icers held the lead for all but 23:16 of an overtime game. Sound like a scrappy upstart to you? Me neither.

Sara Chroman gave Penn State an early lead by burying a carom off the end boards that fooled Pioneers goalie Alexius Schutt. After maintaining that tenuous edge through the last half of the first period and most of the second (including through three PSU penalties), SHU leading scorer Nicole Palazzo won the draw immediately after a Lindsay Reihl tripping call and took it in herself to level things with just seven seconds remaining in the second period.

One way to beat a Division I team is to have a Division I-caliber scoring line on your side. PSU decidedly has that in the new Tess Weaver-Jess Desorcie-Taylor Gross alliance. It was "Descoresie" from Gross giving Penn State a 2-1 lead just 15 seconds into the third period - a gigantic goal that stemmed Pioneer momentum and kept the Lady Icers in control of the game. Palazzo's second, with 8:32 remaining, forced overtime.

However, that only set the stage for that line's third member, Weaver, to be the hero on this occasion. With a tie only 16 seconds down the road, she lifted Penn State to victory off of a scramble in front and the rebound of a Desorcie shot. Desorcie very nearly ended the game 3:08 earlier, but she was denied by Schutt on a rare overtime penalty shot after SHU defender Maura Leahy was whistled for throwing her stick.

Twitter reaction from the stopper and half of the defense that combined to hold Sacred Heart to two goals on 28 shots? You got it.

We probably should have seen that something special was in the works after Friday's game, despite a 4-3 setback, since Penn State was able to trade blows with the NCAA foe. After a scoreless first, Desorcie answered Leahy's opening goal within five minutes. Carly Szyszko (who will be in the teammate hall of fame someday if there is such a thing) gave PSU a brief lead late in the second, but it was answered by a barrage of three Pioneer goals in 114 seconds bridging the second and third periods. Desorcie pulled the Lady Icers within one on the power play with 16:11 remaining, but the comeback was left uncompleted. Mary Tonetti, who got the nod in net, made 39 saves.

The Lady Icers, now 6-11-2 overall and 5-3-0 in ACHA competition, will now focus solely on non-varsity competition the rest of the way. Next week, it's ACHA No. 1 Northeastern in Boston, followed by another trip to the Bay State to visit the Huskies on February 3rd and 4th. No. 4 Liberty comes to the Ice Pavilion January 28th and 29th, and a third trip to the Beantown, this time for No. 6 Massachusetts, is February 10th and 11th. Daunting? Maybe. But maybe not quite as much for an NCAA team.

W: Penn State 1-0 vs. Neumann (NCAA DIII) 2-5

Neumann site Friday recap // Neumann site Saturday recap // Friday box score

The Lady Icers are now 4-9-2 overall and 4-2-0 in ACHA games, following a sweep at the hands of NCAA Division III's Neumann University (1-6-2).

Friday night's affair, in Aston, PA and live-blogged at the bottom of this post, was particularly excruciating. NU got on the board both first and second in the opening frame off of the sticks of Kristine Acosta and Nicole Alexopoulos (the latter on the power play), and it looked like the Knights might blow PSU out of the rink early.

Then, on the way to a rout, a funny thing happened. Katie Vaughan kept PSU in it long enough for the Lady Icers to gain in relative strength as the game went on, with one notable close call coming on a potential Tess Weaver power play goal that was the victim of a quick whistle midway through the second. A senseless head contact major infraction by NU's Olivia Pryzbylkowski against Allie Rothman gave PSU an extended power play, and Sara Chroman made the Knights pay with a point blast to halve the lead early in the third. Despite several quality chances in the final 16:21, the Lady Icers were unable to dent NU goalie Allie Frank for a second time.

Any hopes of carrying that game's trajectory into the Ice Pavilion half of the home-and-home Saturday night were decisively smashed. Here's the entirety of the available information, courtesy of the Neumann site recap. From the sound of things, it seems as if most of NU's best players Friday were also their best the next day.

The Neumann University women's ice hockey team completed a weekend sweep of Penn State University on Saturday evening with a 5-0 win in exhibition action.

Edie Brenning notched two goals for the Knights, including the opening tally. She also had an assists. Ang Gilmour and Jennie Greenlee added a goal and an assist. Lynsey Nakamura also lit the lamp. Allie Frank had the shut out in net.

The Lady Icers are now on semester break, with the next games scheduled against rival Rhode Island on January 6 and 7.

W: Penn State 6 at California (PA) 0

Box score

On Friday night, the Lady Icers improved to 4-3-2 overall and 4-0-0 against ACHA competition with a dominating 6-0 blanking of California (PA) at the Bethel Park, PA location of the Blade Runners Ice Complex. The game was the road half of a home-and-home arrangement with the Vulcans that began with a 7-0 Penn State win at home on October 28th.

In that first game, the Lady Icers only got one power play opportunity, although senior Sara Chroman made Cal pay with her first of three goals. This time around, PSU was again clicking with the advantage, scoring on its first four tries. Freshman defender Madison Smiddy sniped two of those, both courtesy of Denise Rohlik assists, while Elizabeth Denis scored one of her two goals on the power play. Katie Murphy - a teammate of Smiddy's with Detroit Honeybaked's U19 team last season - closed the scoresheet during Cal's fourth penalty.

Chroman added an even-strength goal and an assist, bringing her totals to four goals, three assists in two games against Cal this season. Paige Harrington, Tess Weaver and Katharine Gausseres contributed helpers.

Mary Kate Tonetti got the start in net, giving Katie Vaughan the rare game off, and earned her first Penn State win and shutout.

PSU will stay on its pattern of alternating ACHA and NCAA games this weekend when NCAA Division III SUNY-Cortland rolls into the Ice Pavilion for Friday night (7:00 p.m.) and Saturday (3:30 p.m.) battles. Just prior to the first game with Cortland, the team will learn what the ACHA coaches think of their start to the season as the first ranking of the season is scheduled for release Friday.

W: Penn State 0-2 at Chatham (NCAA DIII) 0-2

Collegian weekend recap // Chatham Friday recap // Chatham Saturday recap

Friday box score // Saturday box score

(links added as available)

If the Lady Icers keep playing like this, perhaps we should stop thinking of their schedule as “ambitious.”

Penn State’s second weekend road trip against NCAA Division III competition ended even better than the first: in 0-0 and 2-2 ties against the Chatham University Cougars. And while yeah, Chatham maybe isn’t the best measuring stick in the world (0-18-0 last year, with a goals for-goals against of 19-124), the simple fact remains that PSU is proving more than a worthy opponent for teams that are a step up from ACHA competition. It’s a reality that will serve the team well into next year and beyond, when teams like Division I power Mercyhurst begin their regular appearances on the schedule.

Friday’s game, as you might expect in a scoreless tie, was about the goaltenders. PSU’s Katie Vaughan (33 saves) and Chatham’s Megan Buchanan (45 saves) engaged in a stunning head-to-head showdown where neither woman blinked.

From a Lady Icers perspective, it was Katie Murphy (eight shots), Tess Weaver (seven), Elizabeth Denis and Sara Chroman (five each) who tested Buchanan most frequently, but to no avail. Chroman and Katherine Gausseres had breakaway attempts shut down by Buchanan, an Ottawa native. Vaughan’s most frequent nemesis was Sydney Williams, who had nine of Chatham’s 33 shots.

The next day brought some goals, although again in a level proportion. Denise Rohlik had a hand in both PSU ginos – first serving as primary assist on the Denis goal that tied the game at one at 14:36 of the first period, and just 60 seconds after the Cougars had drawn first blood. Then with CU’s Sara Forbes off on a checking penalty the 2011 World University Games vet, who received first-star honors in this affair, struck on the power play. Forbes atoned for the situation with her own power play goal early in the third period, to close the game’s scoring.

That’s not to say that there weren’t chances after that point. The Lady Icers rifled 16 shots on Kaitlynn Smith (who took over for Buchanan on Saturday) in the third period, including a breakaway by Tess Weaver, who then paid Chatham back for their denial with a crucial late blocked shot. PSU followed up by outshooting the Cougars 6-1 in the overtime period.

PSU's next outing, on Friday, is a one-game return to Pittsburgh - this time for a second game in two weeks against California (PA) in a rematch of the Lady Icers' 7-0 romp on October 28th. The following weekend, November 18th and 19th, Josh Brandwene's charges will host NCAA Division III SUNY-Cortland.

W: Penn State 7 vs. California (PA) 0

Box score

In the buildup to their game against the California University (PA) Vulcans Friday night at the Ice Pavilion, here's what some of the Lady Icers' personnel had to say.

"All I am focused on is us and us becoming the best hockey team we can be" - Head Coach Josh Brandwene

"As long as you keep improving, that is all that matters. You may beat the team or you may lose." - junior forward Katharine Gausseres

“We are more worried about how we can play as a team rather than who our opponent is." - freshman forward Tess Weaver

The team's mantra of only being concerned with itself seemed appropriate following a game where PSU might as well have been the only team on the ice - a 7-0 romp over the Vulcans in a successful return home and to ACHA competition.

The Lady Icers (3-3-0) took advantage of a return home and a return to ACHA competition by pounding the California University Vulcans 7-0 at the Ice Pavilion Friday night.

Indisputably, the star of this tilt was senior forward Sara Chroman, who had a hand in the first five goals of the game. Her salvo began on PSU's only power play opportunity of the game and continued through a pair of early second period tallies. Unsatisfied with the natural hat trick, she set up Kate Christoffersen late in the middle frame, then polished off her evening with a fourth goal early in the third. Brandwene was clearly pleased.

I'm no soon-to-be-DI hockey coach, but I do know that constant motion is a good thing in a hockey game.

Cara Mendelson and Elizabeth Denis (who also had two assists and a tremendous write-up in the Collegian this week) rounded out the scoring, while Madison Smiddy added a pair of assists. Denise Rohlik, Chelly Deiling, Allie Rothman, Katie Murphy and Weaver added solo helpers.

In contrast to last weekend, Katie Vaughan had a light workload, saving all 13 she faced before being lifted in the third to get Mary Tonetti some work.

Penn State will now plow back into NCAA Division III ECAC West competition with two games at Chatham November 4th and 5th. They'll have a nice measuring stick for that game ahead of time, as California will attempt to bounce back from the Friday's drubbing quickly with games against the Cougars Saturday and Sunday. The Lady Icers and Vulcans can then compare notes on Chatham if they so choose when they meet up again on November 11th.

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.