UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State continues its road swing through New York State, traveling to Colgate for games on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 8 at 4 p.m.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERSColgate was swept in its first two conference games of the season, falling 4-1 to No. 5 Quinnipiac and dropping its final game of the weekend, 4-2, to Princeton. The team scored almost half of its goals this season (14) in its season opener, netting six against Robert Morris. Despite that, the offensive production is distributed well with four players recording five points each. Megan Sullivan has been a weapon for the Raiders, as all four of her goals came on the powerplay. Ashlynne Rando has seen the most action between the pipes, wielding a 2.66 goals against average and .899 save percentage in 338:09.
POWER PLAY POWERHOUSEEarly in to the 2014-15 campaign, the Nittany Lions have been a powerhouse on the powerplay. In the weekend finale against the Orange, Penn State scored a pair of goals with the advantage. Laura Bowman cashed in just over nine minutes in to the game, and Amy Petersen's eighth of the year tied the game with 4:20 left in regulation.
PETERSEN LIGHTS IT UPAmy Petersen has been unstoppable to start the season to become the best sophomore campaign by a Nittany Lion. Her eighth of the year in the 2-2 tie with Syracuse tied her with Shannon Yoxheimer for the most goals scored in program history by a sophomore.
SAVING THE DAYIn a 2-2 tie with Syracuse, Hannah Ehresmann was a wall in net. The freshman made 50 saves, including 23 in the first period, for the 12th-most stops in program history. This season, her .944 save percentage is the eighth-best mark in the NCAA.
RECORD BOOKS RESETAfter a 1-1 weekend against Princeton, the Nittany Lions rewrote the program record books. The team posted the first above-.500 win percentage in program history at 3-3-2. In addition, Penn State enjoyed a four-game unbeaten streak (Oct. 12-26), also a program-best.
H-A-L LINE HAILS OPPONENTSThe line Amy Petersen, Laura Bowman and Hannah Hoenshell has been stellar for the Nittany Lions this season, accounting for 22 of the team's 40 points this season. Petersen's stellar start to her sophomore season has been unmatched by any College Hockey America player, as she has a conference-best eight goals and ranks second in points per game (1.10). Bowman, meanwhile, has the second-most assists in the CHA with seven and Hoenshell has a pair of helpers.
UNBEATEN AT UNIONThe Nittany Lions posted its first unbeaten weekend of the season at Union, going 1-0-1 against the Dutchwomen.
In the first game, Penn State's junior class led the team to a 4-1 win. Celine Whitlinger made 21 saves for her first win of the year, while Hannah Bramm assisted on Penn State's (2-2-1) opening two markers, Shannon Yoxheimer netted the second goal, Amy Petersen got the 3-0 score and Micayla Catanzariti helped on the 4-1 empty net goal.
The series finale saw Union and Penn State trade goals for the 2-2 tie, thanks to Amy Petersen's third in as many games, and Kelly Seward's first of the year. The Blue and White took a season-high 37 shots, 18 of which came in the second period.
REILLY, WHITLINGER WIN WEEKLY HONORSFollowing a 1-0-1 weekend at Union, junior Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) and freshman Caitlin Reilly (Chanhassen, Minn.) were respectively named the CHA Goaltender and Rookie of the Week. In a 4-1 win over Union, Whitlinger allowed one goal in her first victory of the year. She made 20 saves, posting a .952 save percentage. Reilly scored the gamewinner in that win and assisted on the Nittany Lions' second goal of the game. In the series finale against the Dutchwomen, a 2-2 tie, Reilly took four shots.
STRONG OPENING WEEKEND IN PEGULAIn its first showing of the 2014-15 season at Pegula Ice Arena, Penn State went 0-1-1 against No. 8 Quinnipiac on Oct. 11 and 12.
In the home opener, the Nittany Lions couldn't break through a stifling Quinnipiac defense, putting just 10 shots on goal in the 3-0 loss. Penn State had a solid presence in net, with junior Celine Whitlinger making 31 saves.
In the series finale, reigning CHA Rookie of the Week Hannah Ehresmann made 45 saves in the 1-1 tie. Sophomore Amy Petersen scored the game-tying goal, her second tally of the season, 3:10 into the third to mark the first time in program history the Nittany Lions tied or beat a ranked opponent.
NEXT TIME OUTPenn State closes its road swing through New York State with a two-game set at RIT on Nov. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and 3 p.m.