March 2, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 2, 2015 - Celine Whitlinger (Garden Grove, Calif.) captured her sixth College Hockey America (CHA) Goaltender of the Week nod and Bella Sutton (Shoreview, Minn.) picked up her first CHA Rookie of the Week honor after the pair helped lead the Penn State women's hockey team (17-15-4) to a CHA Tournament semifinal berth with 1-0 and 3-1 wins over Lindenwood last weekend.
Whitlinger, a six-time CHA Goaltender of the Week and two-time CHA Goaltender of the Month, finished the weekend with a perfect 2-0 record, allowing just one goal in 120 minutes on the ice to help Penn State to its first CHA Tournament semifinal game. The junior made 47 saves over the two games, recording an outstanding .979 save percentage. In the opening first round game against Lindenwood, Whitlinger posted her third shutout of the season with a 23-save performance, becoming the first Nittany Lion in program history to record three solo shutouts in a season. She turned away 24 saves in the second game of the weekend, a 3-1 victory. She finishes the first round of the conference tournament with a 13-10-1 record.
The Jan. 19 CHA Player of the Week, Sutton had a hand in all of Penn State's goals in its 3-1 win over Lindenwood to secure the Nittany Lions' spot in a CHA Tournament semifinal game. Her first goal of the game was a perfectly placed clear, which trickled over the Lady Lions' goal line for a 1-0 lead two minutes in. The Shoreview, Minn., native earned the primary assist on the eventual game-winner, and scored her second of the game on the power play with a slap shot 12:13 into the second period. During the weekend, Sutton blocked five shots to tie for the team high. The freshman currently ranks fourth among defensemen in the CHA with 0.42 points per game.
The Nittany Lions will face No. 2 seed Syracuse in the CHA Tournament semifinal game on Fri., March 6 at No. 1 seed Mercyhurst. Puck drop in Mercyhurst Ice Center is set for 7 p.m.