WIHC Unveils Second Schedule

Returning stars (left to right) Allie Rothman, Katie Vaughan, Carly Szyszko, Mary Kate Tonetti

The ACHA Division 2 Women's Ice Hockey Club has revealed its schedule for the 2013-2014 season, the team's second since it was born out of the massive reshuffling of PSU's hockey teams that resulted from the Icers and Lady Icers transitioning to varsity status.

First and foremost, some welcome news for those familiar with the club's scheduling woes in its inaugural campaign: PSU is now part of a conference and will be a charter member of the women's half of College Hockey East along with West Chester, Delaware and California (PA). Given that each of the four qualified for the ACHA National Tournament last season, CHE should immediately become one of the ACHA's toughest conferences in any division. The league slate will involve one home series and one away series (four games total) against each rival.

Notably, the men's side of CHE includes Penn State's commonwealth campus teams at Behrend and Altoona, as well as the top men's team at Cal.

Out-of-conference teams Michigan State, Liberty and Slippery Rock fill the remaining seven slots of 19 total. Overall, the WIHC saw four of its six opponents in 2012-2013, going a combined 4-4-0 against WCU, Cal, SRU and MSU.

Following the 2013-2014 regular season, which opens at home against Liberty on September 27th and closes at Slippery Rock on February 9th, the CHE playoffs will take place from February 21st through 23rd. The 2014 ACHA National Tournament follows and will be hosted by Delaware from March 13th through 16th.

Penn State's debut last year, of course, was one of the ages. The team battled through a light schedule, an ice time crunch at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, several game cancellations and the occasional opponent forgetting about a match (yeah you, Navy) to complete a 6-3-0 regular season and qualify for nationals in Ashburn, VA as the east region's fourth seed. A stirring run followed, as PSU mowed down west top seed Alaska and defending champ Wisconsin-Stout in the group stage, followed by another win over Stout in the semifinals on Nina Elia's overtime goal. West Chester, behind ACHA Player of the Year Becky Dobson's natural hat trick, proved too much in the national championship game though.

The WIHC is expected to return virtually its entire roster, making head coach Patrick Fung's squad an easy call as one of this season's title contenders. Included in that count: goaltender Katie Vaughan and forwards Mandy Mortach and Devon Fisk, who were named ACHA All-American honorable mentions back in March, with Vaughan (second team) and Fisk (first team) also collecting ACHA All-Tournament recognition. Forward Mary Kate Tonetti, also returning, was named the ACHA's Off-Ice MVP for community work.

Here's the full schedule:

Date	Time	Opponent	Location
Fri. Sept. 27	10:15 p.m.	Liberty	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Sept. 28	6:30 p.m.	Liberty	Galactic Ice Rink // Altoona, PA
Fri. Oct. 11	9:30 p.m.	California (PA)	Rostraver Ice Garden // Belle Vernon, PA
Sat. Oct. 12	4:15 p.m.	California (PA)	Rostraver Ice Garden // Belle Vernon, PA
Sat. Oct. 19	3:15 p.m.	Michigan State	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Oct. 20	8:30 a.m.	Michigan State	Galactic Ice Rink // Altoona, PA
Sat. Nov. 9	9:00 p.m.	West Chester	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Nov. 10	5:00 p.m.	West Chester	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Nov. 16	6:15 p.m.	Delaware	Rust Ice Arena // Newark, DE
Sun. Nov. 17	3:15 p.m.	Delaware	Rust Ice Arena // Newark, DE
Fri. Nov. 22	9:00 p.m.	Slippery Rock	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Dec. 7	2:00 p.m.	Delaware	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sun. Dec. 8	11:30 a.m.	Delaware	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Jan. 18	3:30 p.m.	West Chester	Ice Line // West Chester, PA
Sun. Jan. 19	11:00 a.m.	West Chester	Ice Line // West Chester, PA
Fri. Jan. 31	10:15 p.m.	California (PA)	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 1	3:15 p.m.	California (PA)	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat. Feb. 8	9:00 p.m.	Slippery Rock	TBD
Sun. Feb. 9	10:30 a.m.	Slippery Rock	TBD
Fri. Feb. 21- Sun. Feb. 23	TBD	CHE Playoffs	TBD
Thu. Mar. 13- Sun. Mar. 16	TBD	ACHA National Tournament	Rust Ice Arena // Newark, DE