Jan. 11, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's hockey team (5-8-8, 2-2-4 CHA) closes out its 11-game road trip with a pair of games at Lindenwood (5-12-1, 3-5-0 CHA), Jan. 12-13. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (EST) on Friday, Jan. 12, and 2 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, Mo.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both games will be streamed via stretchinternet.com, but fans must have an account to access the video. Fans can also follow along with live stats on lindenwoodlions.com.
LAST TIME OUT: OHIO STATE
The Nittany Lions opened the 2018 calendar year with a series split at then-No. 6/7 Ohio State, Jan. 5-6.
Penn State took the opener, 5-1, behind freshman Katie Rankin's first career two-goal outing. Along with Rankin, Aly Hardy, Meike Meilleur, and Christi Vetter all netted a goal in the victory.
The two teams closed out the series with Ohio State capturing a 2-0 victory. The loss at OSU snapped a seven game unbeaten streak for PSU (3-0-4).
In net on the weekend, senior Hannah Ehresmann recorded 70 saves, posted a goals-against average of 1.51 and a save percentage of .959.
For their performances at Ohio State, Ehresmann was tabbed the CHA Goalie of the Week, while Rankin was named the CHA Rookie of the Week.
LOOKING AT LINDENWOOD
Sitting just two points behind the Nittany Lions for fourth-place in the CHA standings, Lindenwood is 3-5-0 in CHA play (six points). Overall, Lindenwood is 5-12-1 on the year.
Lindenwood is coming off a series split against then-No. 10 St. Lawrence. Lindenwood took the opener, 5-4, before falling, 3-2, in the finale.
Offensively, the Lions are paced by sophomore Taylor Girard. Girard leads the team in goals (12) and points (21), along with tallying nine assists.
In net, Jolene deBruyn has started 16 of 18 games this season for the Lions. On the year, she has a record of 4-10-1, a save percentage of .908, a goals-against average of 3.16 and has one shutout to her name.
SERIES HISTORY VS. LINDENWOOD
Penn State leads the all-time series against Lindenwood, 10-9-3.
Last season, the Nittany Lions went 3-0-1 against Lindenwood, which included a series sweep at Lindenwood (Feb. 10-11).
PLAYING EXTRA TIME
With 21 games into the season complete, Penn State has played to overtime 10 times, which ties the program record set in 2015-16. Penn State is 1-1-8 in overtime contests this season.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Heading into the Lindenwood series, the duo of Natalie Heising and Katie Rankin have made their impact felt among the freshmen in the College Hockey America conference.
Among freshmen in the CHA, Heising is first in shots (67), points (14), assists (eight), power play assists (four), power play points (six), and is tied for first in goals (six). Heising also ranks fifth in faceoff wins with 101.
Along with Heising, Rankin is first in faceoff wins (260), is fourth in shots (53), is tied for fifth in goals (five), is tied for ninth in assists (five), and is tied for fourth in points (10).
BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS
The Penn State women's hockey team tallied a pair of shutout victories in its series win at RIT on Dec. 1-2.
Penn State captured a 5-0 victory in the opener before tallying a 2-0 decision in the finale.
CHA HONORS
Five Nittany Lions have combined for 10 awards from the College Hockey America (CHA) conference in 2017-18.
Hannah Ehresmann and Daniela Paniccia have both been named the CHA Goalie of the Week.
Freshmen Natalie Heising, Katie Rankin, and Sophie Slattery have all been named the CHA Rookie of the Week. In addition to the Rookie of the Week awards, Heising has been named the CHA Player of the Week and the CHA Rookie of the Month.
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
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 blue line, McMillan recorded 11 points on four goals and seven assists in 35 games played.
2017-18 CAPTAINS
Senior defenseman Bella Sutton is the captain of the 2017-18 Nittany Lions, while Kelsey Crow and Aly Hardy are the alternate captains.
Sutton holds the major scoring program records by a defenseman with 15 goals, 34 assists, and 49 points.
On the power play, Sutton is tied for third in points (28), fourth in goals (nine), and is tied for second in assists (19).
Crow, a junior defenseman, served as an alternate captain last season. Crow is tied for second in goals by a defenseman (eight), is fourth in points by a defenseman (19), and is tied for fifth in assists by a defenseman (11).
Hardy, a senior forward, has played in 92 games and tallied 11 points on four 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
The Nittany Lions return home to the Pegula Ice Arena for a series against the Syracuse Orange, Jan. 19-20. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 3 p.m. on Jan. 20.