Oct. 12, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team (1-2-1) welcomes the defending NCAA Champion Clarkson Golden Knights (3-0-1) to the Pegula Ice Arena for a weekend series. Puck drop is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both games will be streamed on GoPSUsports.com for free and fans can also follow along with live stats on GoPSUsports.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single game tickets for the 2017-18 season are five dollars each. Fans can purchase single game tickets, group tickets, and Family 4 Pack deals by calling 1-800-NITTANY. All ticket purchases can be made over the phone (1-800-NITTANY) or by visiting the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.).
PROMOTIONS
Friday -
Cubs Corner Kids Zone featuring crafts & the inflatable.
Saturday -
Family 4 Pack Game (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs & 4 soft drinks for $30); free post-game skate for all fans in attendance;
Cubs Corner Kids Zone featuring face painter & airbrush tattoo artist in addition to crafts & the inflatable.
LAST TIME OUT
The Penn State women's hockey team opened its 2017-18 home slate with a 1-0-1 record last weekend against Union.
In the series opener, three Nittany Lions found the back of the net, including a short-handed goal from Christi Vetter, to help propel Penn State to a 3-1 victory.
The two teams then closed out the weekend with a 1-1 tie after freshman Katie Rankin tied the game with 14:57 left in regulation on her first career goal.
In net, Hannah Ehresmann played the first two periods of the opener before Daniela Paniccia closed out the weekend by playing the final 85:00 minutes.
On the weekend, Paniccia made 24 saves, allowed one goal, tallied a save percentage of .960, and a goals-against average of 0.71 en route to College Hockey America Goalie of the Week honors
SCOUTING CLARKSON
The defending NCAA Champions enter the weekend series against Penn State ranked No. 2 in both major polls.
The Golden Knights are 3-0-1 on the year after tallying a series sweep of Bemidji State last weekend (2-0 & 5-4).
Offensively, three Golden Knights have tallied multiple goals, as Elizabeth Giguere leads the team with three goals.
In net, Shea Tiley has played in 245:00 minutes this year, allowed six goals, has made 93 saves, has a save percentage of .939 and has a goals-against average of 1.47.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CLARKSON
The two programs met for the first time last year with Clarkson capturing a pair of victories at home.
In the first series between the programs, Clarkson topped Penn State, 4-2, before completing the series sweep with a 2-1 victory.
In the 2-1 loss against Clarkson, then-freshman Brooke Madsen netted her first career goal.
CHA HONORS
Penn State netminders Hannah Ehresmann and Daniela Paniccia opened the 2017-18 season with back-to-back College Hockey America Goalie of the Week honors.
In the season-opening series at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, Ehresmann made 60 saves, which included a 38-save outing in the series finale. Ehresmann kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard in four of six periods during the two-game series.
A week later against Union, Paniccia made 24 saves, allowed only one goal, tallied a goals-against average of 0.71 and posted a save percentage of .960. Paniccia led the CHA last weekend in save percentage and in goals-against average.
NEW FACES
Along with the seven freshmen, the Penn State women's hockey program welcomes three new faces to Hockey Valley.
The Nittany Lion freshman class is comprised of Chantal Burke, Natalie Heising, Cam Leonard, Shea Nelson, Katie Rankin, Morgan Rolph, and Sophie Slattery.
Behind the bench, first-year head coach Jeff Kampersal brought on Celeste Brown and Allison Coomey to complete his coaching staff.
COACH KAMPERSAL
Jeff Kampersal brings more than 20 years of experience as a head coach to Hockey Valley.
Prior to joining the Nittany Lions during the summer of 2017, Coach Kampersal was the head coach of the Princeton Tigers for 21 seasons. During his tenure at Princeton, Coach Kampersal tallied a record of 327-261-58.
Heading into the 2017-18 season, Kampersal ranks fifth in career victories among active women's hockey coaches with 327, a total that ranks seventh all-time.
SMART LIONS
Seven members of the Penn State women's hockey program were named All-American Scholars for the 2016-17 season, as announced by American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).
Laura Bowman, Kelsey Crow, Katie McMillan, Amy Petersen, Kelly Seward, Bella Sutton and Christi Vetter were among the 220 Division I-II student-athletes recognized by the AHCA.
HEISING WINS GOLD
Nittany Lion Natalie Heising and the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team defeated Canada, 3-1, to capture its third-straight IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship on Jan. 14, 2017.
Heising, a forward from Maple Grove, Minn., was named one of Team USA's three top players of the tournament.
PRESEASON POLL
After finishing fourth in the 2016-17 College Hockey America (CHA) regular season standings, the Penn State women's hockey team was selected fourth in the 2017-18 CHA preseason poll.
WELCOME BACK
Penn State returns 17 letterwinners to the team for the 2017-18 season, including a pair of College Hockey America (CHA) All-Rookie Team honorees.
In their first year donning the Blue & White, Brooke Madsen and Katie McMillan made their presence felt throughout the season.
Madsen, a forward, played in all 35 games and netted 21 points (7g, 14a). Madsen's season was highlighted with a three-assist outing in an 8-1 victory at Union (10/7).
On the blueline, McMillan recorded 11 points on four goals and seven assists in 35 games played.
2017-18 CAPTAINS
Senior defenseman Bella Sutton will captain the 2017-18 Nittany Lions, while Kelsey Crow and Aly Hardy will serve as alternate captains.
Sutton holds program records for goals by a defenseman (13) and points by a defenseman (41). She also ranks second in assists by a defenseman with 28.
On the power play, Sutton ranks fourth all-time in points (23), fourth in goals (nine), and is tied for third in assists (14).
Crow, a junior defenseman, served as an alternate captain last season and she ranks sixth all-time at PSU in points by a defenseman with 12.
Hardy, a senior forward, has played in 75 games and tallied 10 points on three goals and seven assists. Off the ice, Hardy serves as the vice president for the Penn State Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB).
THE 2017-18 SLATE
Penn State is slated to play 34 contests during the 2017-18 regular season, which includes 15 games at the Pegula Ice Arena.
The 2017-18 regular season is highlighted by a trip to Minnesota Duluth (Sept. 29-30), hosting defending NCAA Champion Clarkson (Oct. 13-14), two series against Robert Morris (Oct. 28-29 & Jan. 26-27), a trip to Ohio State (Jan. 5-6), and hosting Princeton (Jan. 30).
NEXT UP
Penn State hits the road for a pair non-conference games against Merrimack. Puck drop is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. at Lawler Rink.