WHKY: Nittany Lions Take One Win Against Lindenwood

Story posted November 12, 2016 in CommRadio, Sports by Zach Seyko

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Women’s Hockey team won the first game and tied the second of the series on Friday and Saturday against the visiting Lindenwood Lady Lions.

The Blue & White mounted a comeback in the first game to win by final of 3-2, while tying 1-1 in the following match.

In game one, Penn State fell behind midway through the first period when Lindenwood junior forward Britannia Gilland found the back of the net. Sophomore defenseman Ally Larson and sophomore forward Carla Goodwin were credited with assists.

Penn State freshman goalie Daniela Paniccia stood her ground in net before allowing her second goal of the afternoon to Lindenwood freshman forward Kirsten Martin, who was assisted by freshman forward Cierra Paisley and Goodwin.

The Nittany Lions responded immediately behind sophomore defenseman Meike Meilleur’s third goal of the season, assisted by junior forward Irene Kiroplis and senior defenseman Kelly Seward.

With time winding down in the second period, freshman defenseman Katie McMillan notched Penn State’s second goal of the game to tie it up before intermission. 

Six minutes into the third period, Penn State pulled off the comeback and took a 3-2 lead when junior defenseman Bella Sutton snuck one past Lindenwood sophomore goalie Jolene DeBruyn. 

Head coach Josh Brandwene thought his team battled until the end and had a short-term memory to get the win.

“To come out and change the complexion of a game and continue to build on it and grow during the second of the game,” Brandwene said. “[It] says a lot about the student-athletes on this team and I’m really proud of them for the adjustments they made during the second half.”

Panicca and the Penn State defense were stellar for the remainder of the game stopping 15 Lindenwood shots from tying the game, solidifying their victory.

Game two began similar to the first for Penn State, as they fell behind Lindenwood in the first period. Five minutes into the first, Gilland duplicated her game one performance and scored her second goal of the series unassisted.

McMillan would not let her team go down without a fight, as she tied the game at one apiece. Brooke Madsen and Laura Bowman were credited with assists.

 

McMillan’s teammates have been impressed with her growth as a player and thought she performed well in the series.

“I’m loving her play right now,” said Bowman. “She’s doing great. I played with her in high school. She’s always been an awesome defender. And I’m like if [McMillan] keeps scoring, we’ll keep passing to [her].”

Lindenwood and Penn State were neck and neck for the final two periods. Both teams were close to taking the lead multiple times, but Panicca and DeBruyn shut the door against their opposing teams.

The Nittany Lions nearly took the lead with less than 20 seconds to go in the third period. The puck was loose in front of the goal before the Lindenwood defense shoved it away from the attacking Penn State forwards.

Penn State and Lindenwood entered a sudden death overtime period, but neither emerged victorious and settled for the tie. 

The Nittany Lions are now (5-6-3) overall and (4-1-1) in conference, while Lindenwood is (0-9-1) overall and (0-3-1) in conference.

Penn State has a tough test in the following week when they host the No. 4 St. Lawrence Saints in the Pegula Ice Arena on Monday and Tuesday.

 

Zach Seyko is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in communication arts & sciences. To contact him, email zachseyko@msn.com.