By: Sean Flanery, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer 

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - After a season filled with firsts, the Nittany Lions dropped a hard-fought series in the opening round of the College Hockey America playoffs. Now, with a bounty of lessons learned during their inaugural season, Penn State will turn their focus to the 2013-14 season.

"I'm really proud of the effort that this group put in and the way they battled all year," said Penn State head coach Josh Brandwene. "They got better and better as the year went on. We said we wanted to play our best hockey at the end of the year and despite the heartbreaking result in the CHA playoffs they played their best hockey of the year at the end of the year. I think that is something that's going to be a real pay it forward thing for us as we move into next season."

At the start of its inaugural season, Penn State (7-26-2) featured a team comprised of 17 freshmen, a few transfer players, and a number of players from the club hockey team. Despite the youth and lack of Division I experience, the Lions battled all season and stuck to the systematic plan Brandwene developed at the start of the season and the improvements on the ice became apparent.

"The level of effort and improvement is phenomenal and that is to their credit as people and hockey players," said Brandwene. "[Our players] are so coachable, so willing to learn, and that paid big dividends for that group this year. It will pay even bigger dividends next year with hard work moving forward."

Now, as the tide turns and the Blue and White turn their focus to a new season and a clean slate, the team has a lot to look forward to. Next year, the Blue and White will feature a group of 17 sophomores, which now have the experience out on the ice that will prove to be pivotal.

One freshman in particular that played a vital role in the Lions' success this season was Shannon Yoxheimer, who recently earned All-CHA rookie team honors for her outstanding play this season. The young forward led the Lions in points this year with 31 (14 G, 17 A). The Michigan native said she couldn't have received the same experience on the ice with any other program besides Penn State and she is already looking forward to next season.

"I think the experience that we gained from this year will definitely help," said Yoxheimer. "We are going to start off with that experience rather than have to gain that throughout the year and we still have more to gain, but we have some experience under our belts and that always helps with everyone's game."

Another bright spot for Penn State will be the return of some of their veteran leadership positions that had previously transferred from Connecticut, as net-minder Nicole Paniccia, along with forwards Jenna Welch and Taylor Gross are only juniors.

"I've always been younger on teams," said Paniccia. "I have a really late birthday, so I've been kind of the baby on the team, so I knew I was going to have to step up. It was really my first time being a leader on a team and being one of the older girls, so I think the biggest thing for me this year was to step up my leadership role."

Now, with experience, a returning group that has a year of captaincy under the belts, and a solid core of youthful talent, the Lions are poised to come back next year with even higher expectations. In addition to the experience the group gained this past season, Brandwene and his staff will have the luxury of adding a very talented recruiting class.

The Lions will be adding four new skaters to the roster next season. Penn State will introduce three new forwards in Sarah Nielsen from Edina High School and teammates Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen from the Minnesota AA High School State Championship team Minnetonka High School. In addition to the highly coveted offensive firepower Penn State will be adding, they will also be welcoming a 5-foot-9 defensive presence in Kelly Seward from Williamsville, N.Y.

"They're great players and even better people that are going to fit in so well in our culture," said Brandwene. "It's just an ideal situation for this program to have a nucleus, a great core, and such wonderful people and talent newcomers joining us that, I'm counting the days until we get started."

A talented core is in place that posses an unmatched level of team chemistry, a new recruiting class full of talent is on the way, and a brand new state-of-the-art facility in Pegula Ice Arena that will be opening before next season, are all things for the Nittany Lion faithful to get excited about.

Penn State seemingly has all of the pieces in place for what could be an excellent and successful second season. While many will never forget the memories that were made both on the road and at home in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion during the inaugural season, it's hard to not focus on the very bright future ahead for women's hockey in Happy Valley.

"We've got a perfect storm coming together here with a great foundation, a great nucleus that has outstanding leadership, now has experience and add tremendous skill, with this recruiting class coming in," said Brandwene. "I'm really looking forward to next year."

--NITTANY LIONS--

By: Sean Flanery, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Since wrapping up the regular season portion of its inaugural campaign, Penn State (7-24-2) and head coach Josh Brandwene have had a week of practice to prepare for the team's first appearance in the College Hockey America Tournament.

The CHA women's conference has been in existence since the fall of the 2002 season and was then comprised of four teams. Now, the league has slowly lost a few teams, but also gained some to now account for six of the nation's Division I women's programs. This past fall, Penn State, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Lindenwood all made their CHA debuts.

With the CHA now being comprised of six teams, the format of the postseason tournament has undergone a few changes. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will now get a bye in the first weekend of action while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will do battle with the No. 6 and No. 5 seeds, respectively.

"It's an interesting element of the series that we just played [RIT] pretty recently," said Brandwene. "They've got a great team and they've had a great season. I have tremendous respect for coach McDonald and the job he's done with that program. They're the third place team and the pressure is on them to move on."

Penn State finished the season stronger defensively than it started it, but struggled offensively down the stretch. However, the regular season is now in the past and it doesn't matter how many goals anyone has scored, or allowed up to this point. All that matters now is what each team does in the playoffs. Penn State will make its' tournament debut when it travels to play RIT in a best-of-three series beginning Friday at 2 p.m. inside Ritter Arena.

"[Our players] have worked so hard," said Brandwene. "They've been so competitive and the beauty of it is everybody's worked really hard. All programs have worked really hard during the regular season and it's sort of a reset button heading into playoffs, so anything can happen. We've got the underdog mentality and we're going to go up there with everything to gain and nothing to lose and give it our best shot."

All tournament seeds are based upon how the teams faired throughout conference play with the tiebreaker coming from head-to head records between the tied teams.

College Hockey America Tournament Breakdown
 
1. No. 9 Mercyhurst (26-6-1, 17-3-0 CHA) 34 points:

= The Lakers are led by forward Christine Bestland who posted a season total of 66 points (26 Goals, 40 Assists) this past year.
= In goal, Stephanie Ciampa led the CHA in goals-against average (1.40), winning percentage (.944), and ranked second in save-percentage (.935).
= The Lakers had won 10 consecutive CHA titles coming into this season.
= Mercyhurst's conference record dating back to 2002 is 114-5-9.
= This season, the Lakers posted a goals-per-game average of 4.3 while limiting opponents to a 1.7 average.

This season, Mercyhurst proved once again why it is regarded as one of the most elite Division I women's hockey programs in the country. Under the direction of Michael Sisti, the Lakers have dominated the conference while making eight straight NCAA tournament appearances including two consecutive trips to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The team's strength this season was their size and speed while having the help of one of the most elite forwards in the country in Christine Bestland who led the CHA with 66 points this season.



2. Syracuse (19-14-1, 13-6-1) 27 points:
= Balanced attack led by sophomore forward Nicole Ferrara (24 points; 10 G, 14 A) and senior forward Holly Carrie-Mattimoe (24 points; 9 G, 15 A).
= Junior goaltender Kallie Billadeau regarded as second-best net-minder in the CHA posted a conference best save percentage of .941.
= Syracuse's inaugural season in the CHA was in 2008-09 season.
= It took the team just three years to make a place for itself atop the CHA conference under Paul Flanagan making a trip the conference title game losing to Mercyhurst 5-4 in 2011.

In the 2012-13 campaign Syracuse battled through its' schedule with a balanced attack including five players registering 20 or more points for the season. Also, the Orange benefitted from having one of the most elite goaltenders in the conference in Billadeau who posted a 14-8 record this season. The team relied heavily on its defense while its' offense produced only an average of 2.7 goals-per-game. Syracuse played in several close games this season including 17 games decided by only one goal, which will bode well for the team in the playoffs having experience in close games.

3. RIT (14-15-5, 7-8-5) 19 points:
= Posted an average of 2.7 goals-per-game this season while holding opponents to 2.2 goals-per-game.
= The team was led by senior forward Tenecia Hiller as she registered 25 points this season (14 G, 11 A).
= The team featured a duo of goaltenders that both finished right around .500 in sophomore Ali Binnington (9-9-4) and junior Laura Chamberlain (5-6-1).
= Impressively, both net-minders averaged a 2.32 goals-against-average or better.

In the Tigers first year in the CHA and as a Division I team, they relied heavily on their defense and outstanding goaltenders to finish third in the conference thanks to a helpful head-to-head tiebreaker with Robert Morris. Head coach Scott McDonald ranks as the team's all time leader in coaching wins and led the team to its' first ever NCAA Championship as a Division III program just last season posting a 28-1-1 mark. The Tigers will host the Nittany Lions of Penn State in the first round of the CHA playoffs beginning March 1. This season, the Tigers posted a record of 3-0-1 against the Nittany Lions while outscoring them by a total of 13-4.

4. Robert Morris (13-14-3, 9-10-1) 19 points:
= A terrific penalty kill unit that allowed only 18 goals in 124 power plays all season.
= Forward Rebecca Vint led the team registering 31 points on the year (16 G, 15 A).
= Goaltender Kristen DiCiocco posted an 11-12-3 record while posting a goals-against-average of 2.32.
= The Colonials are the defending CHA Tournament Champions after defeating Mercyhurst in 2012.         

The Colonials will look to defend their CHA tournament title this season, but drawing the four seed could mean trouble as the team will have to play an extra series to get into the championship round. This year, the team has drawn red-hot Lindenwood who finished the season going 5-1-2 in the month of February. Robert Morris posted a 1-3 record versus the Lions this year, so the road back to the championship round will be challenging.





5. Lindenwood (7-24-3, 7-10-3) 17 points:
= Finished the season on a strong note going 5-1-2 in the month of February.
= All seven of the team's wins came in conference play, which should help in the tournament.
= Posted a goals-per-game average of 1.8 while allowing just over four goals-per-game (4.3).
= Sophomore forward Alison Wickenheiser led the team with 23 points (12 G, 11 A) in 148 shots on net.
= Freshman goaltender Nicole Hensley ranked first in the conference for shots faced with 993.    

The Lions ended the season exactly how they needed to, making a push for the four seed, but ultimately fell just short by two points to Robert Morris. So, Lindenwood will have to make the trip to Neville Island, Pa. in the first weekend of the CHA tournament where the team went 1-1 against Robert Morris in the regular season while matching the Colonials goal-for-goal in that series with seven apiece.




6. Penn State (7-24-2, 1-17-2) 4 points:
= The Nittany lions made their Division I debut in early October and will be competing in the CHA tournament for the first time.
= The roster includes 17 freshmen along with a number of transfer and former club players.
= The team averaged just 2.0 goals per game in its' first season while allowing 3.2 goals-per-game.
= Freshman forward Shannon Yoxheimer led the Lions with 30 points (14 G, 16 A) and tied for fifth in the CHA in goals.
= Junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia (6-17-2) ranked as the third best goaltender in the conference posting a goals against average of 3.20 while saving .925 percent of the shots she faced, which ranks third in the CHA.

Under the direction of head coach Josh Brandwene the Nittany Lions proved that there are many ups and downs that come along with an inaugural season, but they have steadily improved over time. Now, as the tournament is finally here, Penn State will head to Rochester, N.Y. where they will square off with RIT, a team that they went 0-3-1 against in the regular season and just paid a visit to two weeks ago.

--NITTANY LIONS--

By: Sean Flanery, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - After falling in two games this past weekend to Rochester Institute of Technology, the Nittany Lions are preparing for the final series of their inaugural season.

Last weekend the Lions' offensive woes continued, managing to find the net only once in their two game series at RIT and they will look to right the ship this weekend. Penn State (7-22-2) will travel to Neville Island, Pa. to do battle with in-state foe Robert Morris (11-14-3) in the final series of the regular season.

"I think it has to start in the defensive zone to create more offense," said freshman forward Shannon Yoxheimer. "We have to have good breakouts, get the puck out quickly and transfer momentum from the defensive zone into the offensive zone."

Penn State's defense, despite this past weekend, has played well in the second half of the season. The Blue and White have allowed just 2.6 goals per game, in comparison to its season average of 3.1 goals allowed. The improvement in their defensive zone has been apparent, but at the offensive end of the ice continues to search for their footing.

The team has managed just 10 goals in its last 11 games, which does not bode well for being on the right end of the scoreboard. However, the team has endured some tough competition of late in playing teams such as No. 7 Mercyrhust, Syracuse and RIT, which makeup the top of the College Hockey America standings.

"It's definitely key to keep playing better in the defensive zone and get [the puck] out," said sophomore forward Jess Desorcie. "Keep moving it around the offensive zone and don't get caught up in just taking shots. You have to keep moving [the puck] around and getting it up to our points a lot more."

Getting the puck out has been a problem for the Lions as of late and Yoxheimer accredits the team's recent struggles to not focusing enough on the simple things and clearing pucks out of their own zone. Both Yoxheimer and Desorcie said that the team has used this final week of practice before their last regular season series at Robert Morris to address that very issue.

"We've been working a lot in practice on getting the puck out and getting clears rather than hanging on to the puck in our end," said Yoxheimer, "especially when it's near the blue line. I think that's a big thing that we're going to focus on this weekend as a group."

There is plenty of work to be done as the Lions gear up for the last series of their inaugural season and their first ever College Hockey America tournament in the first week of March.

"Going into this last weekend we just want to be really positive and finish off the season on a good note," said Desorcie. "Even though we have had our rough patches through the year, we have definitely learned a lot. We just want to wrap up the regular season on a high note this weekend before heading into playoffs."

--NITTANY LIONS--

By: Sean Flanery GoPSUsports.com, Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Four years ago, when senior Lindsay Reihl (Cheshire, Conn.) made Penn State her college choice coming out of high school, she thought her dream of one-day playing Division I hockey was over.

Upon arriving in University Park, Reihl became a star defenseman on the university's women's club team, the Penn State Lady Icers, which competed in the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League at the non-NCAA level in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

While with the club team, Reihl thrived on the ice helping to lead her team to an ACHA tournament appearance in 2010, as well as an ECWHL regular season title in 2012. The Connecticut native was also named the team's Defensive Player of the Year during each season she spent at the club level.

However, during her third season with the Lady Icers, Reihl's dream of one-day competing at the Division I level, which had previously seemed to vanish, came to life again.

"As soon as I heard that [Penn State] was adding a Division I team, I wanted to play for it," said Reihl. "It's had always been my dream to play Division I hockey, but I just never thought that it would actually happen, so when I heard [Penn State] got a team I just tried to work really hard. This has been an amazing transition. It's an unreal experience playing Division I hockey and I love it."

It wasn't too long after the hiring of head coach Josh Brandwene to lead the Nittany Lions that the team announced the addition of 12 new players to the inaugural seasons roster, one of which being Reihl. The defensemen's dream had become a reality right before her eyes and the opportunity had practically fallen in her lap.

As time passed, the dream Reihl was finally living kept expanding. In mid-September just before the season began, the team collectively took a vote on who would become the assistant captains alongside junior captain Taylor Gross (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Once again Reihl's name appeared. The senior became one of Penn State's two assistant captains, alongside junior Jenna Welch, it its inaugural campaign.

"It was awesome because I didn't have any Division I experience myself, but now I am a leader on the team," said Reihl. "I can teach everyone our Penn State ways and I had help from Taylor and Jenna. They're awesome co-captains. They've just helped with the whole Division I transition and they're really awesome to work with."

With both Gross and Welch transferring from Connecticut last year and 17 freshmen coming in to fill out the program's roster in its first season, it was vital for Penn State to have a leader that was familiar with the university.

"It's great," said Gross. "Lindsay and I have become really good friends and it's great to have experience on the team. Especially in hockey and school wise, she has done a really good job of helping the younger girls adjust."

Now, Penn State (7-20-2) is no longer a team compiled of transfers, former club members, and freshmen, but it's rather a battle-tested seasoned group as coach Brandwene so often puts it.

Penn State's progress this season may not always show on the scoreboard, but due in part to the tremendous captaincies of Gross, Reihl and Welch, the Lions have created high hopes for a bright future for women's hockey in Happy Valley.

"I think we have come a long way since the beginning of the season," said Reihl. "In September, we had seventeen freshmen and now everyone has equal experience. Everyone is working together, we're meshing, and the chemistry is amazing. We have come a long way and I think we are playing some of our best hockey right now. I'm excited to see what we can bring in the playoffs."

With only four games remaining, the Nittany Lions hope to fine tune some areas of play before the team makes its first ever College Hockey America tournament appearance.

The next drop of the puck for Penn State will be this Friday night at 7 p.m. in the first of a two-game series with Rochester Institute of Technology (12-13-5).

--NITTANY LIONS--

By: Sean Flanery, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - This past weekend Penn State (7-20-1) closed out its final home series of the season with a 3-3-tie verses fellow College Hockey America newcomer Lindenwood (4-23-2).

Following a devastating 3-1 loss, which included three unanswered goals by Lindenwood on Friday afternoon, the Nittany Lions rebounded with a brilliant effort in their final home contest of the season.

"That was an unbelievable gutsy 65-minute effort against an unbelievable set of circumstances," said Penn State head coach Josh Brandwene. "I am extremely proud of them and their effort, their courage, their stick-to-itiveness and that's going to be my takeaway from today. Today was a big step for this program and I'm really proud of the adversity we handled."

While this past weekend marked the final home games of the season for the Blue and White, it also marked the last time the women's team will suit up in Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

The Nittany Lions have a lot to look forward to in the future as their new home, Pegula Ice Arena, is currently being constructed and is on schedule to be completed sometime before next season. While the future facility will offer so much for the young program, Greenberg will always be known as the first home of the Penn State women's hockey program.

"I have a ton of great memories from this building as a player," said Brandwene, "I got engaged at center-ice in this building and I even came back here to coach against Penn State. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here with this program right now looking at what we have to look forward to at [Pegula], but also in this historic first season, which was spent right here in this building and I'm proud to have done it with this group of kids."

While the result in the final game at Greenberg wasn't one of which the players were hoping for, junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia, who made 44 saves on the day, believes she couldn't have asked for more out of the team as a whole.

"We played so well today, and I'm so proud of everyone," said Paniccia. "As our last home game, like coach has been saying all year, we want to play our best hockey at the end of the season and I definitely think we have been. I'm really proud of my team and I think it was a good way to end our final home series here."

Now, as Penn State says goodbye to Greenberg, it looks to prepare for a four game road trip to end the season that will begin next Friday in Rochester, N.Y. where they will face Rochester Institute of Technology (12-12-5).

As the days leading to the CHA tournament continue to wind down, the Nittany Lions will use all of the momentum they have earned up to this point to continue to improve before the playoffs begin in early March.

"All of this is helping us going into the playoffs," said Brandwene. "We have been in so many one-goal, two-goal games I've actually lost count to this point, especially this semester. We are a battle-tested underdog and that is a great place to be going into the playoffs and I'm really looking forward to these next couple weekends against some great competition. Our goal continues to be playing our best hockey down the stretch because anything can happen in playoff time."

--NITTANY LIONS--

What To Look For:
- Penn State and Lindenwood hold down the fifth and sixth spots in the College Hockey America standings entering the final three weekends of the regular season. The Nittany Lions can pull within one point of the Lady Lions with a pair of wins this weekend, before closing out the season at third place RIT and fourth place Robert Morris.

- Freshman Shannon Yoxheimer is among the top scorers in the CHA and ranks third on the rookie scoring charts in the conference. Yoxheimer is tied for fifth in goals scored in the CHA with Jenna Dingeldein of Mercyhurst with 12 and her 14 assists are tied for eighth in the conference.  She also has three game winning goals, which ranks fourth, and has accumulated 26 total points which is tied for seventh.

- These two teams split a pair of earlier contests at the Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, Mo. With the Lady Lions grabbing a 5-1 victory on Friday, Nov. 16 and Penn State claiming a 3-2 triumph on Saturday, Nov. 17. Yoxheimer had three assists on the weekend, while Jill Holdcroft tallied one goal in each game vs. Lindenwood.

By: Sean Flanery GoPSUsports.com, Student Writer 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - While Penn State has endured many ups and downs throughout its inaugural season one aspect of head coach Josh Brandwene's philosophy has remained constant, his positive attitude.

Brandwene, a standout defenseman for the men's club team from 1987-91 and a Penn State graduate, described receiving the head coaching position at Penn State as his dream job in every aspect of what the position entails. The Penn State alum's numerous accomplishments at a variety of levels of the game, both as a player and a coach, made him more than qualified to fulfill the role of the program's front man in its inaugural season.  

While his numerous accolades throughout his hockey career are impressive, his positive attitude and his coaching philosophy are the keys behind the Nittany Lions' success this season.

"He is always positive," said sophomore forward Jess Desorcie. "He obviously always has a couple of things to say that we need to improve on, but it always comes back to the positive side. So, it's nice to know what we need to work on, but know that we are improving along the way."

All season long, Brandwene has described the season as a long process working towards improvement, and the Nittany Lions are beginning to display just how far they have come in their inaugural season.  At 7-19-1, Penn State's success on the ice extends beyond the record of the team.

So far this season, the Lions have been involved in 10 games decided by two goals or less and despite being on the losing end of most of them; the teams' strides towards improvement are evident in the way they have kept competing. Brandwene's philosophy as a coach has played a large role in the players' ability to not get discouraged.

"I think it's so effective because he is so positive," said Desorcie, "but he does give constructive feedback and it's feedback that's going to be helpful. So, while it might be something that we need to work on, he finds a positive in it to make it something that we want to work towards and not just yell at us and tell us we're doing bad. Not telling us we can't do it, but telling us that it just needs to get better."

Brandwene's recipe for success and positive attitude has been the same throughout his career developing a winning attitude at numerous programs at many different levels, but it wasn't something that he just picked up.

"[My attitude] comes from a number of different places," said Brandwene. "I had great influences here in both Joe Battista, my former coach, and Ralph Sabock, a professor here at Penn State, and any number of other sources along the way. To me this is the way it should be done and it's something I believe in."

Now, Brandwene has developed a level of competiveness and belief so much that the Nittany Lions stood toe-to-toe with one of the best women's teams in the country in No. 7 Mercyhurst just this past weekend.

Moving forward in their inaugural season, the Lions have just six games remaining before they prepare for their first ever appearance in the College Hockey America Tournament.

This weekend, the Lions will have a chance to move up the CHA standings while finishing off the home part of their schedule by hosting Lindenwood (3-23-2) in a set of two matinee games beginning Friday at 2 p.m.

While it may not be evident at the end of every game on the scoreboard, the Lions are right on track when it comes to Brandwene's process, and when looking at the alum's accolades that's a great start.

--NITTANY LIONS--

By: Sean Flanery, GoPSUsports.com Student Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - All season long the Nittany Lions have showed an improvement at both ends of the ice, but this past weekend freshman forward Micayla Catanzariti (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) exemplified what it means to give 100 percent effort at both ends.

Catanzariti and Penn State (7-19-1) came into the series versus No. 7 Mercyhurst (21-5-1) this past weekend with a belief that they could compete with anyone at the Division I level.

"I like our level of competitiveness," Penn State head coach Josh Brandwene said. "I like the fact that we're willing to take away space and be in battles and show some real togetherness and some real toughness against the best in the nation."

The California native was one player in particular that displayed all of what Brandwene alluded to following the series.

Throughout the weekend, Catanzariti provided a tremendous effort at both ends of the ice. At the defensive end, the freshman blocked four shots, bringing her total to 49 on the season, which leads the team.

"When anybody does it, I always try and make an effort to say thank you," said junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia. "Just because for us [goalies] it means so much especially for point shots when people are in front and you can't really see it, so it means a lot. I am so thankful. It's like the best thing."

While Catanzariti provides a lot for the Lions in their own zone, she also manages to lead Penn State on breakouts and into the offensive zone. So far this season, the forward has amassed 48 shots on goal, which ranks third on the team. When watching the freshman operate in the offensive zone it is evident that her stick skill and speed has made her into the high-energy offensive force she is.

"I don't know if I can give my move away," said Catanzariti. "I have a good one and it only works on one side of the ice. Normally, on the right side of the ice, I have a good one that I normally pull out and I save it for occasions, but I can't really talk about it."

Catanzariti is a very skilled player both offensively and defensively, but it doesn't keep the freshman from assuming the role of the 'tough enforcer' on the team. Prior to the Mercyhurst series, the 5-foot-4 forward had totaled 18 penalty minutes and this past weekend the story remained the same. Catanzariti committed four penalties this past weekend, all of which were of the checking or roughing variety. 

"I think [Mercyhurst] got a little nervous and I think that's where it kind of started," Catanzariti said. "We had them on their heels for a bit and they started throwing their bodies and we aren't going to take it."

Despite falling to the Lakers by scores of 5-2 and 4-1 on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the Lions and Catanzariti showed a sense of fight and toughness against a top-ranked team. The Lions will look back on this past weekend to draw motivation moving forward. Penn State stood toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country and had success in multiple areas of play.

As Catanzariti and the rest of the Nittany Lions move forward they will have a week of practice to prepare for their final home series of their inaugural season with fellow College Hockey America newcomer Lindenwood (3-23-2). That series with the Lions will be a series of matinees beginning next Friday at 2 p.m. at Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

--NITTANY LIONS--

By: Sean Flanery, GoPSUsports.com Student Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following a three-goal loss to Princeton on Tuesday night, the Nittany Lions are now set to prepare for their toughest home-test to date in No. 7 Mercyhurst.

This past Tuesday night, Penn State (7-17-1) fell to Princeton (7-12-2), in what was the first game of a five-game home stand, by a score of 3-0. In the two team's only meeting of the season, the Tigers took the lead late in the first period and never looked back. 

"To be honest, I don't think today [Tuesday] was our day," said junior goaltender Nicole Paniccia regarding the loss to Princeton.  "It wasn't Penn State hockey, but we're ready to go hard this week and get ready for Mercyhurst."

Now, as the team moves forward, what may very well be their hardest home series of the season lies ahead.

Friday night, Penn State will welcome in-state foe No. 7 Mercyhurst University (19-5-1) to Happy Valley in the two teams' second meeting of the season. In early December, when these two teams met for the first time, the Nittany Lions fell by scores of 5-0 and 7-1. However, despite what the box scores might say, this series marked somewhat of a turning point in Penn State's season. 

In the second game of the first series, Penn State showed a lot of fight as they battled with the then-fourth ranked team in the country ending the first period dead-locked at one goal apiece. Despite eventually losing the game by a large margin, Penn State learned how to fight for an entire period even against what may be a more talented opponent. 

Since the first Mercyhurst series, Penn State has played in countless games decided by only a few goals, or less, and has showed signs of a newfound team confidence that is apparent on the scoreboard.

"Today aside, our six Division I games prior [to tonight] have been decided by one or two goals," said Penn State head coach Josh Brandwene after the Princeton loss. "Princeton is the first game at this level that we haven't had a chance to get our goalie pulled since early December, so the progress is there. We want to keep working and getting better. I'm proud of this young team. I like the way we're coming together. We want to continue to improve every day as we head into playoff time."

Currently, the team holds down the six and final seed in College Hockey America, but trails Lindenwood by a mere two points for the fifth spot. The CHA playoffs are a month away and only eight conference games separate the Lions from determining where their final seeding will be. 

"They're big, definitely," said freshman forward Micayla Catanzariti regarding the eight conference games. "The goal is to keep getting better every game and I think our main focus right now is just the end of the season; playoff time. So, I think we are going to take those games and we are just going to keep getting better and when the playoffs come around I think we are going to surprise a lot of people."

When the puck drops this Friday evening at 7 p.m. in Greenberg Ice Pavilion, the Nittany Lions may be facing-off in what is their toughest home-series of the season.

However, this series may prove to be another great learning experience for the young team, just as it was the first time around in early December. It may very well be what the Lions need to help propel them to a higher CHA Tournament seed over the next month.

--NITTANY LIONS--

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Welcome back to in-game coverage of 2012-13 Penn State women's hockey season.  Insight and reaction will be provided by GoPSUsports.com throughout the game, so check back often as the action unfolds.

Take a look back at the Penn State (7-17-1) women's hockey contest with Princeton (7-12-2) from Tuesday, Jan. 29 at Greenberg Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions fell by a score of 3-0, but took some bright spots from the power play and another test vs. a physical Princeton team.

Today's Game in 140 Characters: Offense needs to get clicking...#PennState should continue tough D vs. #Princeton...Yoxheimer, Desorcie, Gross line needs to set tone.

Leading Lines (Starting lineups)
Nittany Lions - RW- Gross, C- Desorcie, LW- Yoxheimer, D- Bateman, D- Jahnke, GK- Paniccia
Tigers- RW- Butler, C- Laing, LW- Butler, D- Alleva, D- Figueroa, GK- Newell

1st Period: 16:09 - Penn State 0, Princeton 0
The Tigers nearly lit the lamp just 24 seconds into the game, but a high sticking call disallowed the goal. It has been a lot of Princeton, so far, in the game and Princeton has had a couple of quality scoring chances that Nicole Paniccia has turned away, including one that hit the post. The defense is really going to have to pick up the pace or Paniccia is going to have to be big in net again for the Nittany Lions.

1st Period: 6:38 - Penn State 0, Princeton 0
Neither team has found their flow on either end, but Princeton has had a couple more nice scoring opportunities. The Tigers own a 3-2 edge in shots, but Paniccia has faced more pucks towards net than that. It is going to be the first team that can sustain possession in the others zone that will have the upper hand in this contest and Princeton has shown more of a knack for that over the first 13 minutes.

1st Period: 4:28 - Penn State 0, Princeton 1
A shot through traffic slipped past Paniccia off of a faceoff in the Nittany Lion zone. Corey Stearns won the faceoff and got the puck and Brianna Leahy found the tape of Karen McDonald, whose shot got through traffic in front of Paniccia and into the back of the net. Prior to that the Nittany Lions had a scoring chance of their own with some traffic in front of the net, when Jordin Pardoski ripped a shot from the blue line that was padded away by the Princeton keeper.

What To Look For:
- The Nittany Lions will look to continue their stellar play on defense on Tuesday vs. Princeton, but will look to the offense to ultimately win this contest. Penn State has allowed just eight goals in their last four matches, but has tallied just two goals in those contests.

- Freshman Shannon Yoxheimer continues to pace the squad in points (24) and goals (12) during her rookie campaign, while sitting second on the team in assists (12). Jill Holdcroft has tallied the second most goals on the team (8), while junior captain Taylor Gross tops the team charts with 14 assists. Freshman Hannah Hoenshell is third on the team with seven goals, playing in just 18 of the team's 24 games.

- The two teams are comparative this season, not only in record but on the stat sheet, as well. Penn State enters with a mark of 7-16-1, while Princeton is 6-12-2 overall. Both teams have allowed more goals than they have scored and both have been sub-par on the power play this year. The Nittany Lions are averaging more goals scored per game, 2.3-2.1, and allow fewer goals a game, 3.0-3.4. With two more games under their belt than the Tigers, Penn State still has a decisive edge in total goals at 56-42.

 - Penn State can really help themselves over the final few weeks of the regular season and head into the College Hockey America Tournament on a high note. The Lions currently sit in sixth in the CHA with three points, but play Lindenwood (5th, 5 pts), Robert Morris (4th, 13 pts) and RIT (3rd, 14 pts) in the closing weeks. They will kick off their final month of the year with a two-game series with Mercyhurst, the top ranked squad in the CHA, next weekend at home.