Nov. 9, 2015
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By Jack Milewski, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Sometimes a lot can go right for a team except for the outcome.
The Penn State Nittany Lions's women's hockey team had a lot go right for them this weekend against the Mercyhurst Lakers. Despite what showed up on the scoreboard, the Nittany Lions competed for three periods on both Friday and Saturday. Consistency was the name of the game for the girls and could become a possible team identity. The team is at their best when they are consistent in all three zones, and Head Coach Josh Brandwene was quick to point that out.
"That was one of the best, if not the best consistent effort that this team has produced in their four year history," said Brandwene after Saturday's 1-1 overtime tie. "Just a really great consistency and an outstanding job sticking to the game plan today. That was a playoff atmosphere and that what's it all about."
The Nittany Lions were the better team for long stretches of Saturday's game, controlling all three zones of the ice with the consistency that Brandwene mentioned. Despite the frustration of the last couple games, Brandwene says that the team's consistency and overall play are right where they need to be if the team is going to succeed.
"Keep doing what we're doing," said Brandwene. We played really well today, got a lot of scoring chances and (I) loved the intensity."
Work ethic is often the best indication of how a team does in a game, and Shannon Yoxheimer passed the work ethic test with flying colors, scoring Penn State's only goal and also providing multiple quality scoring chances for her team.
"Great job by Shannon today, just leading by example and playing hard," said Brandwene. "She really sets the tone as a power forward, using her feet and putting pucks on net, it was great to see her finally get rewarded."
And while many scoring chances went unrewarded on the weekend for the Nittany, Coach Brandwene is both pleased with the progress and confident in the team's scorers.
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