Jan. 28, 2013
Game Notes | Live Video ($) | | Yearbook
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Nittany Lion women's hockey team plays its third game in five days when it hosts Princeton on Tuesday night at Greenberg Ice Pavilion. The puck drops at 7 p.m. against the Tigers as Penn State tries to snap a four-game skid. Admission is free to the game, which kicks off a five-game home stand for the Nittany Lions.
ADMISSION & PARKING
Fans attending Tuesday's game are able to park for free in the surrounding Orange Lots C, F or G after 5:00 p.m. If the free lots are full, paid parking can be found in the Eisenhower Deck located on Eisenhower Road off Bigler Road. Parking is prohibited in the Nittany Apartments lots and there will not be shuttle service from Orange Lot H.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (7-16-1, 1-10-1 CHA) vs. PRINCETON TIGERS (6-12-2, 2-10-2 ECAC)
Games 25: Jan. 29, 2013 // 7:00 // Greenberg Ice Pavilion // University Park, Pa.
GAME DAY
VENUE: Greenberg Ice Pavilion (1,300)
STREAMING COVERAGE: AmericaOneSports.com
SERIES RECORD: 0-0-0
LAST MEETING: n/a, first meeting Jan. 29, 7 p.m.
NEXT SERIES: Feb. 1-2 vs. Mercyhurst
GAME NOTES
• Penn State plays its third game in five days when it hosts Princeton
• Nittany Lions fell to the Syracuse Orange twice this weekend
• Nicole Paniccia and Celine Whitlinger were stars in the net for PSU at Syracuse
• Paniccia made 45 saves in a 1-0 loss on Fri.; Whitlinger made 51 in a 4-1 loss on Sat.
• Princeton is coming off a 17-day break from games
• Princeton is 1-6-0 in its last 7 games
• The two schools have never met in college hockey
• PSU and Princeton have four common opponents during the 2012-13 season
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Princeton (6-12-2, 2-10-2 ECAC) will play its first game in 17 days when it visits Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Tuesday night. The Tigers are 1-6-0 in their last seven outings, the lone win a 4-1 triumph over UConn on Jan. 3. The Tigers also haven't played a home game since Dec. 8 vs. Quinnipiac, a 3-2 loss.
The scoring duo of Kelly Cooke (11g, 5a, plus-1) and Corey Stearns (4g, 17a, plus-7) lead the Princeton offense. The Tigers score 2.1 goals per game and allow 3.4 goals per game. Sally Butler (5g, 6a) and Brianna Leahy (6g, 4a) are the only other Tigers with double-digit points.
The Princeton defense is anchored by goaltender Kimberly Newell (5-10-2). Newell has a .908 save percentage and a 3.26 goals-against average. Backup goaltender Ashley Holt (1-2-0) has a .849 save percentage and 3.73 GAA.
On special teams, the Tigers have nearly identical numbers on both sides of the puck: 14-for-77 on the power-play, while allowing 14-for-76 on the penalty kill.
COMMON ENEMIES
Penn State and Princeton have four common opponents this season. PSU has gone 0-7-1 in those games, while Princeton is 3-1-1.
LIONS FALL IN SYRACUSE
Penn State dropped both games to Syracuse in its return to CHA play. In the Friday, Jan. 25 matchup, Nicole Paniccia's 45-save performance wasn't enough as a first-period Orange goal was the difference, 1-0. The next day, Celine Whitlinger had to stand tall in net, making 51 saves in a 4-1 loss to Syracuse. The Orange opened the game with three goals in the first 11:29, but Penn State outscored the Orange 1-0 until a last-minute empty-netter capped the scoring. Jill Holdcroft tallied her eighth of the year and her team-leading fourth power-play goal. Shannon Yoxheimer and Jess Desorcie fed the Holdcroft goal.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
As is expected with a brand new varsity program, there are many freshmen on the team--17 in all. All 17 freshmen have made an appearance on the ice this season and have accounted for 73.2% of the goals scored (41 of 55).
LIONS DROP ONE GOAL GAMES AT UNION
Penn State dropped both ends of a two-game series (Jan. 11-12) at Union in one-goal fashion, 1-0 and 2-1. Celine Whitlinger's career-high 48-save performance kept PSU in the opener before a late third-period goal propelled the Dutchwomen. Union took a 2-0 lead in the series finale, but Jess Desorcie cut the lead in half. Nevertheless, the Dutchwomen held on for the slim win.
The rest of the game notes can be found in the PDF document.
PEGULA ICE ARENA ON SCHEDULE
Pegula Ice Arena, a $90 million state-of-the-art facility, will serve as the home of the Penn State hockey programs in 2012-13. As of Jan. 10, 2013, all the steel has been put in place for the project with installation of glass and some brick on the outside. Additionally, portions of the center-hung scoreboard have been assembled.
The building held its official topping off ceremony on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Construction is set to conclude in time for the 2012-13 season as the building will open Sept. 5, 2013.
Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour
For more information on Pegula Ice Arena, visit page 12 of the game notes.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions continue their five-game home stand by hosting Mercyhurst on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.). The home stand concludes on Feb. 8-9 when Lindenwood visits University Park for a pair of 2 p.m. faceoffs.
--NITTANY LIONS--