WIHC Announces Second Roster

Geosciences and biogeochemistry scholar Elizabeth Denis, a former NCAA player at Brown, returns.

The ACHA Women's Division 2 Penn State Women's Ice Hockey Club has announced a roster for the coming season, one that presents both challenges and opportunity.

The primary challenge involves making up the offensive production of Devon Fisk and Mandy Mortach, as PSU's top two scorers from 2012-2013 both decided to not play this season. There's really no other way to slice it: their combined 26 goals will either need to be replaced somehow or sorely missed. They weren't garbage-time tallies either - in the team's run to the ACHA national championship game in March, Fisk scored the winner against top-seeded Alaska in the tournament opener to serve notice. Mortach followed with a pair in a win over Wisconsin-Stout the next day, and in a rematch with the Blue Devils in the semifinals, Fisk may have scored with Penn State 8:40 from elimination to force an ultimately successful overtime (whether or not she touched Tara Soukup's power play blast on the way through is a point of some uncertainty, but at the very least, it was a good screen).

On the other side of the ledger, the team's defense and goaltending should be good. Really, really good. Starting in the crease, both netminders return. Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut are two of the ACHA's best, with the former winning All-American (honorable mention) and All-Tournament (second team) honors as a junior. While Vaughan was the usual starter a year ago, neither had a save percentage under 0.923 or a goals against average over 1.51.

In front of Vaughan and Eisenhut, Soukup, Ashton Shaffer, Allie Rothman and Jackie Saideh will try to carry on their status as one of the nation's top defenses. Reinforcements will help the WIHC run three pairs deep, as former Tier 1 player Kim Badorrek, Princeton Tiger Lilies alumna Cassie Dunne and Anna Marcus, an all-conference selection at Ridgefield (CT) High School last year, come on board. As stellar as the goalie stats were in 2012-2013, there's good reason to believe they'll be even better in the coming campaign.

There is promise in the forward group, even without Fisk and Mortach. For starters, Carly Szyszko is back for one more go as someone with proven scoring ability who simply does not get outworked. Former goaltender Mary Kate Tonetti enjoyed a very good first year ever without the pads and will only grow as a threat. Elizabeth Denis averaged a goal every other game after joining the team in the middle of last season and brings a physical dimension as well. The new players up front include Sam Summers, who previously played 48 games in two seasons (2009-2011) as a member of the Lady Icers. Once, on January 21, 2011, she enjoyed a three-point game in a 5-1 win over now-conference rival Cal (PA) that gave Szyszko a goaltending win (both of PSU's regular goalies were in Turkey for the World University Games at the time).

Other newcomers include Lucy Yeatman, Hannah Dier and Geneva Wagoner. Wagoner played for Millbrook School in New York, the New England prep Division II runners-up a year ago while Yeatman showed promise with the Chester County Skating Club.

Here's the full squad, which will open up in the Pegula Ice Arena's Community Rink against Liberty on September 27th at 10:15 p.m.

No.	Name	Pos.	Class	Shoots	Hometown	Last Team
1	Katie Vaughan	G	Sr.	Left	Pittsburgh, PA	Team Pittsburgh
3	Anna Marcus	D	Fr.	Right	Ridgefield, CT	Ridgefield HS
5	Nina Elia	F	So.	Right	Skaneatles, NY	Skaneatles HS
6	Geneva Wagoner	F	Fr.	Right	Alexandria Bay, NY	Millbrook School
8	Jackie Saideh	D	So.	Right	Concord, MA	Concord-Carlisle HS
9	Ashton Schaffer	D	Jr.	Left	Midlothian, TX	Alliance Bulldogs
11	Mary Kate Tonetti	F	Jr.	Right	West Chester, PA	West Chester Quakers
12	Taylor Nyman	F	Jr.	Right	Souderton, PA	Hatfield Angels
14	Carly Szyszko	F	Sr.	Left	Bensalem, PA	New Jersey Colonials
15	Hannah Dier	F	Fr.	Right	Wall, NJ	Wall HS
18	Kim Badorrek	D	Sr.	Right	Altoona, PA	Team Pittsburgh
19	Tara Soukup	D	So.	Left	Pittsburgh, PA	Ohio Flames
20	Allie Rothman	D	Sr.	Right	West Chester, PA	West Chester Quakers
23	Lucy Yeatman	F	Fr.	Right	Avondale, PA	CCSC Cougars
28	Elizabeth Denis	F	Gr.	Left	Durham, NH	Brown University
31	Sarah Eisenhut	G	Jr.	Left	Lansing, NY	Ithaca Shooting Stars
33	Cassie Dunne	D	Fr.	Right	Wyndmoor, PA	Princeton Tiger Lilies
36	Sam Summers	F	Sr.	Right	Ellicott City, MD	Susquehanna Rapids

Three Stars: August 19-25

3. Beantown Classic – Scouting the Forwards
(Over The Boards)

Forward A.J. Greer, a Nittany Lions commit scheduled for 2015 entry, participated in the highly-regarded Beantown Classic showcase from August 10th through 14th. And did quite well for himself - OTB rated him the number two forward there and had this to say:

Greer started strong here and never let up. Consistently created chances and used his outrageously long reach to score a number of creative goals including a wrap-around and a full-reach fake that got one of the better goalies here to bite just enough for Greer to bury in the ensuing opening. Surprisingly deceptive and will only get better. Would like to see more snarl from the forward but he did show a mean streak here at times. Youngest player in the pro division but finished second in overall scoring.

Just one guy's opinion? Au contraire, mes amis. USHR tabbed Greer the number two forward in the pro division (1996 birth years and older, in case you're wondering).

AJ Greer, late ’96 F, KUA (#11 Bombers) – 6’4”. The youngest player in the pro division, the Penn State recruit is not even draft-eligible until 2015. A power forward in the making.

We got ourselves a pretty good one here, guys.

2. Preseason Previews: PSU Still Too Many Unknowns
(B1G Ice Hockey)

The Big Ten Hockey Blog predicts that PSU will finish last in the conference, largely due to the unknown quantity of conference play for the young program.

I'm not going to say too much about it here, because I'm still contemplating writing a full post in response (I did fire off a few points in the comments over there if you're interested). However, I think relegating the Nittany Lions to the basement out of hand because the other league teams "have been doing it for decades" is a mistake. Banners don't skate, as the saying goes, and I sincerely cannot identify a single reason to say that Penn State is any worse than Ohio State or Michigan State right now. Given the whole 2-1-0 situation against that pair in 2012-2013 with eight pure ACHA players on the roster, there is reason to see it the other way around.

1. Penn State breaks in new Pegula Ice Arena ice sheet
(Western College Hockey Blog)

For the record and on Thursday, Joe Battista, Guy Gadowsky, Josh Brandwene and their families were the first to go for a skate at Pegula Ice Arena. Evidence of the happenings comes from Battista's Twitter, the men's team's Instagram (twice), and the women's team's Instagram (again, twice).

Most coverage of the ice's initiation focused exclusively on Gadowsky, which is understandable to a degree, as the men's team is the one that draws the eyeballs. But also a mistake, because it meant whiffing on a story like this:

(Belated) happy anniversary guys! The next 21 go pretty fast, from what I hear.

Best of the Rest

@Fung_er
(Twitter)

It certainly took a while, but the Women's Ice Hockey Club's Mary Kate Tonetti finally has her ACHA Women's Division 2 Off-Ice MVP award after being named its winner back in March.

York City Ice Arena to Host CHE Playoffs
(psuwihc.com)

Sticking with the ACHA women, some pretty great hockey will be coming to York on February 22nd and 23rd in the form of the College Hockey East playoffs. The four teams that make up this season's inaugural edition of CHE (PSU, West Chester, California (PA) and Delaware) were half of the field at the 2013 ACHA WD2 National Tournament, including both championship game participants.

Charles Vance McCullough
(Centre Daily Times)

Here's the obituary for Vance McCullough, the long-time head of Penn State's club sports who passed away unexpectedly last Monday at age 69.

Vance was a driving force in creating a club sports department supporting many programs that were organizationally on par with NCAA teams. His legacy includes the Men's and Ladies Icers Hockey teams, as well as the nationally recognized men's and women's rugby teams.

Hey wait, that sounds awfully familiar...

McCullough was a driving force in creating a club sports department supporting many programs that were organizationally on par with NCAA teams, but for the recognition and the existence of scholarships. His legacy included not only the Icers and later the Lady Icers, but continues today through the success of the Ice Lions and Women's Ice Hockey Club, as well as Penn State's nationally-recognized men's and women's rugby teams.

Flattered, Koch Funeral Home guy who wrote the obit.

Top 5 Big Ten Off-Season Stories
(Western College Hockey Blog)

PSU doesn't even register in this rundown of the Big Ten's offseason beyond a mention of the school's first NHL draft picks, with stories like the Illinois rumors and Ohio State's post-Osiecki meltdown collecting the attention. The crazy thing? PSU doesn't really deserve to register in a rundown of the Big Ten's offseason beyond the draft picks and maybe Pegula Ice Arena's completion.

Basically, Penn State's program has finally reached sort of an awkward milestone: it's more or less completely normal.

Other than new program-type stuff, making offseason news is bad roughly 92 percent of the time. So here's to never, ever appearing in one of those types of posts again.

@OhioState_MHKY
(Twitter)

Ohio State has new alternate jerseys (above), and suddenly, I want to go get Taco Bell.

Although they include a few striping modifications, they're essentially a white adaptation of the jerseys the Buckeyes wore for the Frozen Diamond Faceoff, a January 15, 2012 outdoor game against Michigan in Cleveland.

Just made you smarter than your friends on a completely useless topic. You're welcome.

In other OSU news, the team named its leadership group last week, headlined by captain Curtis Gedig.

Pittsburgh-born Saad savors his day with Stanley Cup
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Brandon Saad, the brother of former Nittany Icer George who became the first Pittsburgh born and trained player to win the Stanley Cup in June, got his customary time with sport's most iconic trophy on Thursday.

Penn State Athletics Announces National Anthem Performer Auditions for 2013-14 Year
(gopsusports.com)

Karen Newman, Lauren Hart, Jim Cornelison, Jeff Jimerson, Rene Rancourt... anthem singers can become legends to their team's fans in hockey. If you think you're up to it, September 5th is a date you should circle.

Bennett takes his hockey show to the Lone Star State
(Foster's Daily Democrat)

Luke Bennett, a Rochester, NH-native forward who recently signed with Corpus Christi in the NAHL, is interested in Penn State. But not that interested.

Bennett has grown to like the western brand of hockey.

“I like the style,” Bennett said. “It’s a little different. It’s faster with less fights (than East Coast hockey). I’m a skill guy, not a fighter. I’m 165 (pounds). I’m not throwing around too much.”

Bennett plans to use his time in Texas to expand his game and draw D-I college attention. He mentioned schools like Western Michigan, Penn State and UMass-Lowell, but adds that in his heart he wants to stay in the west.

Construction Webcam
(rit.edu)

Last week, structural steel went up on RIT's Gene Polisseni Center. The 4,500-seat arena, which will replace PIA as NCAA Division I's newest hockey venue, is scheduled to open in time for next season. The Nittany Lion women, of course, will play there each year as part of the CHA schedule.

Despite the lost distinction for Penn State, it actually is quite fun watching someone else's dream building materialize. And if you still have the urge to hate, just remember that Polisseni Center broke ground during RIT's homecoming last October - a weekend that was spoiled (for Tigers faithful) by the PSU men and their big win in Rochester.

@GopherHockey
(Twitter)

A quick bit of setup: Minnesota fans have been very vocally opposed to the Big Ten's "intrusion" into the hockey bubble because they'll miss their big games against Bemidji State and Mankato State Minnesota State-Mankato Minnesota State in the WCHA, or something like that. Furthermore, despite his pair of national titles, four Frozen Fours and seven conference regular season or playoff championships, they aren't exactly thrilled with their coach, Don Lucia, either. Because they're the State of Hockey, as they're more than happy to remind you, and if they don't win everything ever, THINGS WILL EXPLODE.

So with all of that out there and from a Penn State perspective, you can understand why the photo above, of Lucia (left) presenting Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany with a Gophers jersey, could be considered quite entertaining.

@TYTBlog
(Twitter)

A quick, shameless self-link to share some news for the Twitter-free among you:

Confirmed: Rodney Martin will return as PA announcer for the inaugural Pegula Ice Arena season. Fantastic news.

Really could not imagine things any other way.

Club Sandwich: January 16th

Taylor Nyman and her orange laces made a three-point debut against Navy.

Women

PSUWIHC.com recap and box score // PSUWIHC.com highlights

Black Shoe Diaries recap // Mary Kate Tonetti/Carly Szyszko postgame video

Suffice it to say that the women's ACHA team had quite an interesting day on Sunday, one that began with their being locked out of the Ice Pavilion when preparing to make the drive to Annapolis for their first game of the new semester.

Once arriving at the Naval Academy, it quickly became apparent that Navy's team had forgotten about the game, scheduled for 1:55 p.m., and several options, including simply giving the ice time to PSU for a practice and recruiting some of the under-19s from the game scheduled prior to PSU-Navy were considered. But in the end, the Midshipmen were able to piece together something resembling their regular club.

For those who don't know, I've taken on the task of putting together a website for the team, so it would be kind of foolish to not plagiarize myself at least a little here in recapping the game, one notable for the successful debuts of semester break additions Taylor Nyman and Elizabeth Denis, both forwards (Denis, of course, played for the Lady Icers last year).

---

Mandy Mortach scored four times and added two assists, while five other players enjoyed multi-point games as No. 4 Penn State climbed to 5-1-1 with a 9-1 rout of the Naval Academy.

After a fairly slow and even start, Elizabeth Denis opened the scoring on a 2-on-1 with Devon Fisk 6:30 into the game. From there the floodgates opened, as just 28 seconds later, Carly Szyszko put back the rebound of a Tara Soukup shot. By the end of the first period, PSU had a 5-0 lead after Fisk created a turnover and fired home, Mortach buried a second rebound goal started by a Soukup shot during a PSU power play - then added her second four minutes later.

Navy did get a goal back on a rebound effort with 4:06 remaining in the second period, but not before Mary Kate Tonetti's redirection of a Szyszko pass followed by Tonetti's assist of a Mortach laser from the high slot pushed the game into blowout status.

In addition to Denis, and her goal in her re-introduction to Penn State hockey, Taylor Nyman made a highly-successful debut with the team. She scored the game's final goal from just outside of the blue paint while assisting on two others, including a late helper to Mortach on a 2-on-0 that she easily could have taken herself.

Katie Vaughan started in goal and gave way to Sarah Eisenhut after the first period. Both were outstanding, combining for 16 saves and continuing PSU's three-month streak of not allowing more than one goal in a game.

---

Fourth-ranked PSU is in for a much more difficult test next up on January 26th and 27th at No. 2 West Chester. It goes without saying, but those two games carry huge implications for the next ACHA WD2 poll, due out the week following those games, and therefore for the ACHA national championship tournament.

Max O'Malley scored an important goal last Friday against Liberty.

Men

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap

The Ice Lions also opened their semester over the weekend, with the always-tough Virginia road trip to face MACHA South Division opponents Virginia Tech and Liberty - but thanks to two tight wins it was a successful one, as Penn State is now 15-4-1 overall.

Despite a first-period Ryan Urban goal and heavy dominance on the shot board, the Ice Lions found themselves facing a third-period deficit against Liberty on Friday, due to Flames tallies from D.J. Dinnison (twice) and Bobby Cervone in the middle frame surrounding PSU defenseman Max O'Malley's second goal of the season.

The contest swung back in the Ice Lions' favor thanks to a late second-period boarding major to LU's Seth Reed. Penn State took full advantage of that glorious opportunity by scoring twice on the long power play, once by Chris Lewis (from Joe Zitarelli) and also by Urban (from Mac Winchester and Tyler Starn). Goalie Ryan Demuth (25 shots, 22 saves) held things down for the last 16:05 of the game, including through two Flames power plays.

Box score // Black Shoe Diaries recap // HockeyYall.com recap

Against Virginia Tech the next night, the Ice Lions allowed the game's first goal, to the Hokies' Alex Hashmi, with just 15 seconds remaining in the first period. Perhaps even worse than that, PSU failed to capitalize on four power plays during the stanza, including a long 5-on-3.

The team recovered well though, with Peter Daley's rebound goal tying the game during the middle stages of the second period and Urban finally cashing in a power play with a backhander shortly after. Fredrik Linge assisted on both goals.

Demuth, who turned in another strong effort with 23 saves on 25 shots, surrendered a Virginia Tech goal to Peter Veltri with Starn in the box for interference halfway through the third to tie things back up just after a 5-on-3 ended. However, he stopped two of three Hokies during the shootout that followed a scoreless overtime, allowing goals by Zitarelli and Brandon Russo to give PSU the win.

The Ice Lions, who have likely solidified their position of second in the ACHA D2 Southeast Region (significantly, a ranking that would earn an autobid to the ACHA national championship tournament) with the two wins over the regional Nos. 7 and 8, have just six regular season games left. The first two of those are this coming Friday and Saturday at Kentucky, home of two ACHA legends: midnight starts and schedule posters.

12/9 Postgame: Mary Kate Tonetti, Allie Rothman, Carly Szyszko

Comments from (left to right in the video) forward Mary Kate Tonetti, defender Allie Rothman and forward Carly Szyszko following the ACHA women's team's 8-0 win over Slippery Rock Sunday morning.

ACHA WD2: Penn State 8 vs. Slippery Rock 0

Box score

Back in September, I wrote this:

Hopefully you'll forgive me if one day, when this blog has run its course, I end up volunteering with Akron or another ACHA team local to wherever life takes me between now and then.

Little did I know how short that wait to volunteer would actually be, or that it would end while TYT is still running full tilt.

Here's the story: I arrived at Galactic Ice in Altoona shortly before 9:00 Sunday morning for the 9:50 puck drop between the ACHA women and Slippery Rock. Things started off pretty well, as I was allowed up to the mezzanine level just above the benches, where I set up a makeshift press box by hauling a table over from the party room. The rink's wifi was down, but I wasn't overly concerned with that - I could just skip the live blog, take notes, and write a recap. Put that together with a postgame interview and a few photos, and I'd be satisfied that I gave the team the coverage it deserves.

With setup complete and seeking to snap a few photos during warmup, I went back downstairs. My stay wasn't temporary though, because nobody was available to run the scoreboard. So, in the participatory sports journalism tradition established by George Plimpton, with much trepidation, and after PSU coach Pat Fung gave a quick tutorial, I did. And, with Kim Vaughan (the mother of Penn State starting goalie Katie) working the scoresheet next to me, I had a blast.

I think I did fairly well too, considering. The button to start the clock was rather unreceptive, so the 17-minute periods were probably about 17:18 in actuality. I did make mistakes on both of the game's penalties, though. On the first, to Slippery Rock leading scorer Christy Pastucha, I punched in number 21 instead of her actual 41. More egregiously, on a third-period tripping call to PSU's Jackie Saideh, I put eight minutes of penalty time up on the board and held up the proceedings for a minute (that felt like about 20) while I scrambled to fix it.

Perhaps I was subconsciously trying to help balance out the game, which to be honest, wasn't much of one, with Penn State blowing out Slippery Rock to finish its first fall semester 4-1-1. Devon Fisk - who now has 10 goals in six games - scored four times, as did OHA product Mandy Mortach. Vaughan (34 minutes) and Sarah Eisenhut (17 minutes) split a relatively easy 14-save shutout and watched 36 shots launched at Pride goalie Tori Sheffel in the opposite crease.

Captain Carly Szyszko helped open the scoring with an assist on Mortach's transition effort, while Mary Kate Tonetti and Ashton Schaffer added a pair of apples each. Allie Rothman's first-period bomb set up the 3-0 goal that unofficially signaled the end of any reasonable doubt as to the game's outcome. A stout team defensive effort rendered Pastucha, who had 22 goals in 10 games entering the contest, a non-factor, and Vaughan and Eisenhut saw their already-microscopic goals against averages drop to 0.86 and 0.72, respectively.

Really, there was nothing to dislike from a Penn State perspective, including the big-picture implications. An expanded national tournament for ACHA Women's Division 2 this season will see the top four eastern and western teams invited to Ashburn, VA in March. Fourth in the east right now? PSU. Fifth? Slippery Rock. It could be said that Sunday's game drew a thick, black line between tournament and non-tournament teams, but that's probably an understatement (although as we learned with the Lady Icers in in both 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, don't trust the ACHA polls to get it right).

Before that though, there are more games to be played and more statements to be made. The second half of the schedule opens at Navy on January 13th, followed by series at West Chester, at D1 Buffalo and the regular season finale on February 22nd at the Ice Pavilion.

As for me? I'm just hoping they need someone to run the scoreboard on the 22nd. Or do anything else for that matter, that day or before then. And while I have no immediate plans to quit blogging, I think I've added more specificity to my goals for when that time comes. Hey, you guys do need a website...just saying.

Club Sandwich: November 6th

Containing Devon Fisk (15) proved impossible for Maryland Saturday night. Photo: Kim Vaughan

Women

Freshman sniper Devon Fisk's hat trick boosted Penn State (3-1-1) to a third straight win, 5-0 at Maryland Saturday night.

Goalies Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut, who are 1-2 in ACHA Women's Division 2 in goals against average, bolstered that status with a combined shutout of the Terps, who entered the game with a 3-1-0 record and scored 18 times during a three-game winning streak that PSU snapped. Vaughan played the majority of the game and made 15 saves, before Eisenhut finished up the last couple minutes, saving a pair. PSU fired 28 shots on the Maryland cage.

Fisk jump started the offense early by scoring on the very first shift of the game, then added another in the second period. Penn State's third tally came from a somewhat unusual source: Mary Kate Tonetti, who played goalie for the Lady Icers last year (and before that, obviously) but moved to forward this year to help the team achieve positional balance. It was her first-ever goal, although she scored like she had been doing it for a while, with two Terps proving no contest for the former West Chester Quaker.

Mary Kate Tonetti sheds the defense en route to her second-period goal. Photo: Kim Vaughan

In the third period, Fisk scored her third of the game and sixth of the season, while captain Carly Szyszko finished things off on a breakway.

The club's next game is scheduled to be their Ice Pavilion debut on December 14th, although no opponent has committed for the date as of yet.

Men

Despite having their pair of games in New Jersey postponed for obvious reasons, the Ice Lions (6-2-1, 3-0-0 MACHA North) were not light on news last week. Senior Joe Zitarelli, an Icer for two seasons, was named captain for this season, succeeding the graduated Jim Recupero. He'll be assisted by fellow senior Mac Winchester and sophomore Chris Lewis.

Furthermore, the first set of ACHA Division 2 rankings of the season were released Thursday. Penn State was voted fourth in the southeast region, behind Miami, Rowan and Bowling Green. It's worth reiterating that the top two teams in each of the four regions at the end of the regular season get autobids to the ACHA national tournament, while the teams ranked third through tenth in each region compete in a playoff to determine the other half of the national championship contenders. Long story short, the Ice Lions are in position to keep the season going right now, but they'd prefer to climb at least two slots by February.

This weekend, the team will travel to Siena College in Loudonville, NY for games against the Saints, William Paterson and Florida Gulf Coast. It's a pretty daunting slate of games, as all three of those teams appeared at nationals last year, and all three are ranked in the top nine of their respective regions this year. It's made even more difficult by the fact that following the Sunday morning game with FGCU, PSU will head down to Hershey for a night game against ACHA D1 Lebanon Valley College.

ACHA D2 Women's Roster Announced

The new women's ice hockey club will benefit from Katie Vaughan being left off of the NCAA roster.

The first players to skate for the newly-formed ACHA D2 women's hockey club have been posted to the ACHA's website.

Defenders (7)          Yr.  No.  Hometown
Nina Elia              Fr.   5   Skaneateles, NY
Georgia Foulds         Fr.   7   Monmouth Jct., NJ
Lisa Frank             So.  23   Hopewell, NJ
Amanda Krakovitz       Fr.  35   Penn Valley, PA
Allie Rothman          Jr.  20   West Chester, PA
Ashton Schaffer        So.   9   Midlothian, TX
Tara Soukup            Fr.  19   Pittsburgh, PA

Forwards (6)           Yr.  No.  Hometown
Devon Fisk             Fr.  15   West Chester, PA
McKenzie Kirk          So.  22   Jamestown, PA
Jacqueline Saideh      Fr.   8   Concord, MA
Carly Szyszko          Jr.  14   Bensalem, PA
Mary Kate Tonetti      So.   6   West Chester, PA
Alex Warren-Caldwell   So.  18   Arlington, MA

Goaltenders (2)        Yr.  No.  Hometown
Sarah Eisenhut         So.  31   Lansing, NY
Katie Vaughan          Jr.   1   Pittsburgh, PA

While 15 players might seem a little light, it's not at all out of line with the competition. Defending D2 national champ Wisconsin-Stout carries a roster of 16. West Chester and California (PA), two known opponents for the coming season, have 15 and 18, respectively. Rules differences from women's D1 include "recommended" 17-minute periods with a "minimum" of 12, down from 20, which of course minimizes the need for a huge roster.

Several of the names, including Frank, Rothman, Schaffer, Szyszko, Tonetti, Eisenhut and Vaughan are familiar from last season's Lady Icers team that won the ECWHL regular season championship. Vaughan, as she was with the Lady Icers, will likely be counted on heavily to ensure the team's success against more established outfits. Notably Tonetti, the club's president and a former goalie herself, will play forward to help address the team's thinnest position.

Freshman Tara Soukup was an alternate captain at Baldwin High School.

The newcomers are quite capable as well, though. Warren-Caldwell (who actually started last season with the Lady Icers) and Saideh both earned honors for their high school play in the ultra-competitive Boston hockey market. Soukup was an alternate captain for her boys high school team in suburban Pittsburgh. Foulds has been to the USA Hockey national championships with both the New Jersey Rockets (Tier I) and Hershey Jr. Bears (Tier II) - and in fact, scored the goal that got the Bears there in 2011. Kirk comes from the Behrend campus where she played water polo (not necessarily related to hockey, but awesome nevertheless), while Fisk is a six-time invitee to Atlantic District Select Camps.

Even as a first-year team, the women will be eligible for the six-team D2 national tournament, which will be held in Washington, DC this season. The full schedule has not yet been posted, but from the submissions of opponents to the ACHA website, we do have the following:

October 2012

Sat. 6 at California (PA), 6:10 p.m.
Sun. 7 at California (PA), 2:00 p.m.

November 2012

December 2012

Fri. 14 vs. TBA, 8:00 p.m.

January 2013

Sat. 26 at West Chester, 5:15 p.m.
Sun. 27 at West Chester, 12:45 p.m.

February 2013

Sat. 9 at Buffalo (ACHA D1), 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 10 at Buffalo (ACHA D1), 12:00 p.m.

March 2013

Thur. 7 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (Washington, DC), TBD
Fri. 8 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (Washington, DC), TBD
Sat. 9 at ACHA D2 National Tournament (Washington, DC), TBD

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.