Nov. 1, 2017
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team (2-5-3, 0-0-2 CHA) closes out its four-game homestand with a series against the Mercyhurst Lakers (1-6-1, 1-1-0 CHA), Nov. 3-4. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. each day.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can also follow along with live stats and live video on GoPSUsports.com for free.
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.).
PARKING INFORMATION
Fans attending Friday's game can park in the Stadium West lot for no charge.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
FRIDAY
- Bring an item to donate to The Lion's Pantry and only pay for a $3 ticket
- The Lion's Pantry is the on-campus food pantry that was created to address the issue of food insecurity at Penn State University Park. - (Suggested Items for The Lion's Pantry)
- Family 4 Pack Game
- Cubs Corner Kids Zone featuring a face painter
SATURDAY
- Cubs Corner Kids Zone
LAST TIME OUT: NO. 9/10 ROBERT MORRIS
Penn State is coming off a pair of ties at home against then-No. 9/10 Robert Morris, Oct. 28-29.
The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie in the opener, before playing to a 2-2 decision in the finale.
In the opener, three Nittany Lions tallied one-goal and one-assist outings, as Kelsey Crow, Natalie Heising, and Meike Meilleur each lit the lamp and netted an assist. In addition, freshman Sophie Slattery tallied her first career two-assist outing.
After 20 minutes of play RMU lead Penn State, 2-0, but the Nittany Lions were able to take a 3-2 lead midway through the third period. RMU would go on to net the game-tying goal with 1:37 left on the clock in regulation.
In the finale, Brooke Madsen and Christi Vetter each tallied a goal in the second period to take a 2-1 lead, but Robert Morris forced the game into overtime with a goal in the third period.
In net for the Nittany Lions last weekend, senior goaltender Hannah Ehresmann recorded 25 saves in the opener before tallying a 20-save outing in the finale.
LOOKING AT MERCYHURST
The Mercyhurst Lakers enter the series against Penn State with an overall record of 1-6-1 and a record of 1-1-0 in CHA action.
The Lakers opened the year with a pair of four-goal losses at Wisconsin, as the Badgers took the opener 4-0 before posting a 5-1 victory in the finale.
Two weeks later, Mercyhurst opened up conference play with a series split at Lindenwood, Oct. 13-14. Lindenwood captured a 3-2 win in the first game before Mercyhurst tallied a 6-1 decision in the series finale.
Alexa Vasko leads the Lakers with five points on five assists, while Jennifer MacAskill and Vilma Tanskanen are tied for the team lead in goals with three apiece.
In net, Kennedy Blair and Sarah McDonnell have both started four games on the year.
Blair has a record of 1-3-0, tallied 81 saves, allowed 11 goals, has a goals-against average of 3.28, and has a save percentage of .880.
On the year for McDonnell, she has a record of 0-3-1, made 108 saves, allowed 14 goals, posted a goals-against average of 2.99, and has a save percentage of .885.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst leads the all-time series against the Nittany Lions, 15-3-2.
Last season, Penn State tallied its first-ever win at the Mercyhurst Ice Center with a 3-2 overtime victory on Nov. 5.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Heading into the Mercyhurst series, the duo of Natalie Heising and Katie Rankin have made their impact felt among the freshmen in the College Hockey America conference.
Heising leads the CHA freshmen in points (six), is tied for the lead in goals (three), is first in shots (32), is tied for second in assists (three), and is fifth in faceoff wins (49).
Among the CHA freshmen, Rankin is first in faceoff wins (133), is second in shots (27), is tied for third in goals (two), is tied for fourth in points (four), and is tied for seventh in assists (two).
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.
In addition to Ehresmann and Paniccia, freshman Natalie Heising brought home the CHA Rookie of the Month honor for Sept./Oct.
Among the CHA rookies after the first month of action, Heising ranked first in points (six), was tied for the lead in goals (three), ranked first in shots (32), was tied for second in assists (three), and was fifth in faceoff wins (49).
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 the major scoring program records by a defenseman with 14 goals, 30 assists, and 44 points.
On the power play, Sutton ranks fourth all-time in points (25), fourth in goals (nine), and is third in assists (16).
Crow, a junior defenseman, served as an alternate captain last season. Crow ranks third in goals by a defenseman (seven), is fourth in points by a defenseman (15), and is tied for sixth in assists by a defenseman (eight).
Hardy, a senior forward, has played in 81 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 continues its six-game stretch of conference games at Syracuse, Nov. 10-11. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Tennity Ice Pavilion.