Dec. 29, 2016
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team closes out the 2016 calendar year with a two-game road trip at No. 8 Quinnipiac and Princeton, Dec. 30-31. The Nittany Lions take on No. 8 Quinnipiac Dec. 30 inside the TD Bank Sports Center at 6 p.m. and then travel to Princeton for a 3 p.m. puck drop inside the Hobey Baker Rink on Dec. 31.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with live stats for free for both games. Friday's game against Quinnipiac will have a free live video stream, but Saturday's game against Princeton requires a subscription to the Ivy League Digital Network.
SCOUTING QUINNIPIAC
Quinnipiac heads into the game against Penn State with an overall record of 13-4-3 and a record of 7-2-1 in ECAC play. The Bobcats are ranked No. 8 in both polls.
Offensively, junior Taylar Cianfarano leads the Bobcats with 18 points on 11 goals and seven assists, while Emma Woods has 17 points on eight goals and nine assists.
In net, senior Sydney Rossman boasts a record of 11-4-2, has a goals against average of 1.48, owns a save percentage of .919, made 284 saves and has recorded five shutouts.
On the year, the Bobcats are unbeaten in their last eight games (6-0-2) and have not played since Dec. 2-3 when they beat Union, 4-0, on Dec. 2 and topped RPI, 6-1, on Dec. 3.
SERIES HISTORY VS. QUINNIPIAC
Friday's game marks the fifth game between the two teams with Quinnipiac leading the all-time series, 3-0-1. The two programs last met on Oct. 11-12, 2014, when Quinnipiac defeated Penn State, 3-0, and then the two teams played to a 1-1 tie.
SCOUTING PRINCETON
The Princeton Tigers sport an overall record of 9-6-1 and a record of 5-4-1 in ECAC play. The Tigers are coming off a series sweep of Mercyhurst on Dec. 10 (4-2) and Dec. 11 (5-2).
Sophomore Karlie Lund leads the Princeton offense in 2016-17 with 26 points on 14 goals and 12 assists, while senior Cassidy Tucker has netted 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists.
Goaltender Alysia DaSilva has a record of 6-5-1 on the year, which includes a save percentage of .924, a goals against average of 1.98 and 266 saves.
SERIES HISTORY VS. PRINCETON
Saturday's game marks the seventh meeting in program history between the two programs. Princeton leads the all-time series 5-1 with Penn State picking up its lone win on Oct. 26, 2014, behind a pair of goals from then-sophomore Amy Petersen in a 2-1 victory.
LAST TIME OUT: ROBERT MORRIS
The Nittany Lions dropped a pair of CHA games against Robert Morris (4-2 & 6-5) prior to winter break inside the Pegula Ice Arena on Dec. 3-4.
Offensively for the Nittany Lions, senior captain Laura Bowman netted a team-best four points (3-1--4) and sophomore Meike Meilleur added three points (1-2--3).
Freshman Daniela Paniccia started both games in between the pipes for the Nittany Lions. In the series, Paniccia tallied 50 saves.
The Nittany Lions scored a power play goal in each game bringing their season total to 15, which is seven shy of the program record of 22 set during the 2014-15 season.
In the series finale, Bowman tallied her third career hat trick and the sixth in program history. Also in the series finale, freshman Katie McMillan tied a career-best two assists and Meilleur netted her second career multi-point game.
CHA HONORS
On the year, Penn State has received eight weekly honors and two monthly honors from the CHA conference office.
Following the Union series (Oct. 7-8), Brooke Madsen was named the Rookie of the Week for the first time, while Amy Petersen was tabbed the Player of the Week for the second time in her career. Daniela Paniccia became the third Nittany Lion to garner CHA weekly honors in 2016-17 following her performance in net against UConn (Oct. 21).
Madsen tied a program-best three assists in Penn State's 8-1 win over the Union Dutchwomen on Oct. 7. She finished the game with a +5 rating, which is tied for a program-best mark. With her three assists on Oct. 7, Madsen opened up her Nittany Lion career with a three-game point streak (1-4--5).
Petersen tallied five points (3-2--5) in the Union series, which included a career-best four points (3-1--4) in the series opener.
In the series opener, Petersen recorded the fourth hat trick in program history over a span of 10:31 to open the game. Her natural hat trick started with the fastest goal in program history to start a game (29 seconds). Petersen also became the first Nittany Lion in program history to score two power play goals in a single game. She then closed out the series with one assist on Oct. 8.
After recording the first solo shutout by a Nittany Lion freshman goaltender in program history, Paniccia was named the Rookie of the Week on Oct. 24. In net against UConn on Oct. 21, Paniccia made 33 saves in a 0-0 tie. A week later, Paniccia received Goalie of the Week honors after posting a pair of shutout victories at RIT.
Senior Laura Bowman was named the Player of the Month for Sept./Oct. after tallying 15 points on nine goals and six assists to open the 2016-17 season. Along with Bowman, Paniccia was tabbed the Goalie of the Month. In her first month with Penn State, Paniccia tallied a record of 3-1-1, posted a save percentage of .949, recorded a goals against average of 1.56 and posted three solo shutouts.
Following the Mercyhurst series, Katie McMillan was named the Rookie of the Week for the first time and Petersen garnered Player of the Week honors for the second time in 2016-17. Both McMillan and Petersen tallied three points each in the Mercyhurst series as McMillan scored one goal and netted two assists, while Petersen scored two goals and tallied one assist.
Paniccia then picked up her second Goalie of the Week plaudit after she went 1-0-1 against Lindenwood. On the weekend, Paniccia tallied 42 saves, posted a save percentage of .933, recorded a goals against average of 1.44, and allowed three goals.
Bowman was named the Player of the Week on Dec. 4 after recording a four-point weekend against Robert Morris. In the series, Bowman tallied an assist in the series opener, before netting the sixth hat trick in program history in the series finale.
ECLIPSING THE CENTURY MARK
Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen are both inching closer to becoming the first Nittany Lions in program history to eclipsing 100 career points. Bowman has 95 points on 56 goals and 39 assists, while Petersen has 90 points on 34 goals and 56 assists.
HAT, HAT, HAT TRICK
The Nittany Lions have tallied three hat tricks during the 2016-17 season, which included a pair of hat tricks in an 8-1 win over Union on Oct. 7. The Nittany Lions are one of five teams to tally at three hat tricks on the year.
Individually, Laura Bowman has recorded two hat tricks (Oct. 7 - Union & Dec. 4 -- Robert Morris) and Amy Petersen has one hat trick on the year (Oct. 7 -- Union). Bowman is one of three individuals to tally at least two hat tricks this season.
AMONG THE BEST OF THE BEST
Heading into the series, Laura Bowman is near the top-10 in numerous national rankings. She is tied for sixth in goals (13), is tied for 14th in points (13-11--24), is tied for eighth in shots on goal (92) and is fourth in faceoff wins (238).
Amy Petersen is tied for 22nd in goals (10), is tied for 46th in assists (10), is tied for 27th in points (10-10--20), is tied for fourth in short-handed goals (two) and is fourth in shot percentage (.233).
Brooke Madsen is tied for fifth among freshmen, and is tied for 31st, in assists (11).
Freshman goaltender Daniela Paniccia ranks 14th in save percentage (.924), is tied for seventh in shutouts (three) and she ranks 20th in goals against average (2.28). Paniccia leads freshmen goaltenders in goals against average, save percentage, shutouts and wins.
PLAYING SMARTER
The Nittany Lions opened the year with a record of 2-5-2 over the first nine games and during that span the Nittany Lions committed 56 penalties. Over the last nine games, the Nittany Lions have a record of 3-5-1 and have committed 33 penalties.
POUNCING EARLY
Penn State is 4-0-1 on the year when leading after the first period and 4-2-0 when leading after the second period. Penn State has been out-scored by the opposition, 14-13, in the first period and has out-scored their opponents, 20-19, during the second period. Penn State is 4-2-1 on the year when scoring first.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Nittany Lions opened the year with five of the first six weekends on the road. To open the year, Penn State traveled to New York three times and traveled to Connecticut and Pennsylvania each one time.
PETERSEN TO BOWMAN
During the 2016-17 season, Amy Petersen has assisted on six Laura Bowman goals. Last season, Petersen recorded an assist on 12 Bowman goals.
FUTURE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State women's hockey head coach Josh Brandwene announced the signing of six future Penn State student-athletes to National Letters of Intent Wednesday, Nov. 16. Natalie Heising (Maple Grove, Minn.), Cam Leonard (Cary, N.C.), Shea Nelson (Evanston, Ill.), Katie Rankin (Kanata, Ontario, Canada), Morgan Rolph (Mitchell, Ontario, Canada) and Sophie Slattery (Edina, Minn.) will be on campus for the 2017-18 season.
PRESEASON POLL
The Penn State women's hockey team was selected fourth in the CHA Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the conference office Sept. 19.
2016-17 CAPTAINS
Laura Bowman was named the captain of the 2016-17 Nittany Lions, while Kelsey Crow and Amy Petersen were named alternate captains.
DYNAMIC DUO
Nittany Lion linemates Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen return to the Blue and White for their senior season in 2016-17. During their junior seasons, Bowman tallied 25 points (17g, 8a) and Petersen recorded a career-best 29 points (8g, 21a).
Last season, Petersen recorded an assist on 12 Bowman goals. Petersen closed out her junior year with 18 points over the final 16 games and Bowman ended the year with four-straight games with a goal.
2015-16 RECAP
The Nittany Lions finished the 2015-16 season with an overall record of 12-19-6 and a record of 6-8-6 in CHA play. Penn State finished third in CHA regular season standings, its best finish in program history.
Penn State tallied a record of 5-2-1 during the month of January last season.
In the first-ever meeting between the Nittany Lions and the Boston University Terriers, Penn State topped the No. 7/8 Terriers, 5-3, for its third win in program history over a ranked team.
In the all-time record books, Laura Bowman scored a single-season program-record 17 goals, she also tied a single-season program-best six power play goals scored and Amy Petersen recorded a single-season program-best 21 assists.
THE 2016-17 SLATE
The Nittany Lions will play 34 games over the course of the 2016-17 regular season, which includes 16 home games inside the Pegula Ice Arena.
The 2016-17 schedule features the 2014 NCAA champion Clarkson Golden Knights (Sept. 30-Oct. 1), the second-ever series against Boston University (Oct. 14-15), a home series against Ohio State (Jan. 6-7) and the Nittany Lions close out the regular season at home against Syracuse (Feb. 24-25).
NEXT UP
The Nittany Lions close out their 2016-17 non-conference slate against Ohio State on Jan. 6-7 inside the Pegula Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. and 2 p.m.