Nov. 15, 2012

Game Notes | Live Video ($) | Live Stats | Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour | Yearbook

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State women's hockey embarks on its first road trip in College Hockey America when it faces Lindenwood on Friday (8 p.m. ET) and Saturday (3 p.m. ET). The Nittany Lions are in search of their first CHA win, while Lindenwood is looking to win its first game of the season. Both games will have live coverage on AmericaOneSports.com ($).

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (4-7-1, 0-5-1 CHA) vs. LINDENWOOD LIONS (0-10-0, 0-2-0 CHA)
Games 13-14: Nov. 16-17, 2012 // 8 p.m. ET & 3 p.m. ET // Lindenwood Ice Arena // Wenztville, Mo.

GAME DAY
VENUE: Lindenwood Ice Arena (1,000)
STREAMING COVERAGE: AmericaOneSports.com Video ($)
SERIES RECORD: 0-0-0
LAST MEETING: n/a, First Meeting, Nov. 16
NEXT SERIES: Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at No. 4 Mercyhurst

GAME NOTES
• Penn State travels to Lindenwood for two-game set on Friday and Saturday
• The Nittany Lions and Lindenwood meet for the first time in women's hockey
• Penn State fell to Robert Morris, 7-1 and 4-1, at home last weekend
• LU is enduring a 10-game losing streak after 2-0 and 7-1 losses at St. Cloud
• Shannon Yoxheimer had her seven-game scoring streak snapped on Sunday
• Yoxheimer is first in the CHA for shots (78) and tied for first in goals (10)
• Nicole Paniccia has started eight-straight games dating to Oct. 14 vs. Syracuse
• Paniccia is second in the conference in saves (347) and third in save pct. (.925)

SCOUTING LINDENWOOD
Penn State plays its first road CHA games in program history when it takes on Lindenwood (0-10-0, 0-2-0 CHA) on Friday and Saturday. Lindenwood has played one of the tougher schedules in the nation, playing eight games against the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the toughest conference in women's hockey, and CHA favorite Mercyhurst. In those games, Lindenwood has been out-scored by a combined 55-9.

Of Lindenwood's nine goals, five have come on the power play with the Lions going 5-for-46 (10.9 percent). On the other hand, Lindenwood has given up 52 power-play opportunities but has allowed 18 goals. The penalty-kill percentage is .654, the worst in the CHA.

Goaltender Nicole Hensley has been remarkable in net, turning away 365 shots (leads CHA) with a .908 save percentage in nine games. Of the 37 goals allowed (4.87 GAA), Hensley has allowed only 21 even-strength goals to help the Lions. Her backup, Taylor Fairchild, has seen time in three games with an .862 save percentage and a 7.89 GAA.

Alison Wickenheier is Lindenwood's offensive spark, leading the team in shots (38), points (3) and tied for first in assists (2). Lindenwood has a pair of two-goal scorers in Allysson Arcibal and Lyndsay Kirkham. Both of Kirkham's goal has come on the power play, while one of Arcibal's goals is the same.

Lindenwood is in its second year of varsity women's hockey, going 8-21-0 in all games last season. Lindenwood is one of three first-year teams in the CHA with Penn State and RIT. The Nittany Lions went 0-1-1 vs. RIT earlier this season. Both Penn State and Lindenwood are looking for their first CHA wins.

WEEKEND SWEEP BY RMU
Penn State faced the 2012 CHA Tournament champion Robert Morris in a two-game series (Nov. 10-11), falling 7-1 and 4-1. Shannon Yoxheimer scored in the opener off a Taylor Gross faceoff win, but RMU's Rebecca Vint scored five times to pace the Colonials.

In the second game, it was more of the same early as Robert Morris staked out a 3-0 lead through two periods, but Penn State held the Colonials scoreless in the second. That turned the momentum around as Penn State went toe-to-toe with the defending champions in the third. Micayla Catanzariti scored a goal with 6:19 remaining to spark the Lions. Birdie Shaw and Jill Holdcroft were credited with assists. Twenty-three seconds later, Yoxheimer's shot was saved by Delayne Brian and Taylor Gross's attempt was stopped by Brian to keep it a two-goal game. With 2:23 left, RMU took an interference penalty as Penn State had a 6-on-4, but couldn't convert before RMU tallied an empty-net goal with 13 second remaining. Nicole Paniccia made 49 saves in Sunday's loss.

YOXHEIMER FINALLY STOPPED
Penn State's leading scorer, Shannon Yoxheimer, has been on a roll over the past four weeks, scoring eight of her team-high 10 goals. In that stretch, Yoxheimer scored in seven-straight games after a three-game drought. The seven-game streak started at Sacred Heart as she scored PSU's only goal and has continued with a career day vs. SHU on Nov. 3 as she scored a goal and career-high two assists. Yoxheimer also accounted for Penn State's first two game-winning goals, notching two goals at Vermont (Oct. 6) and the go-ahead goal at SHU (Oct. 20). Yoxheimer scored against Robert Morris on Saturday, but we held scoreless for the first time since Oct. 14 in the Sunday matchup.

EIGHT FROM EIGHT IN WIN OVER SHU
Penn State earned its first series sweep in program history, defeating Sacred Heart, 8-2, on Saturday (Nov. 3) afternoon at Greenberg Ice Pavilion. Eight different Nittany Lions tallied a goal with Jess Desorcie, Taylor Gross and Shannon Yoxheimer notching three-point days.

Yoxheimer opened the scoring before SHU tied it up early in the second period before Gross, Kendra Rasmussen and Jill Holdcroft scored successive goals for a 4-1 lead midway through the period.

After another SHU tally, PSU would rally off the last four goals, this time coming from Desorcie, Jenna Welch, Madison Smiddy and Emily Laurenzi. Welch, Smiddy and Laurenzi scored their first goals of the season for Penn State.

Nicole Paniccia made 23 saves in net for the Nittany Lions to improve to 4-3-1 on the season. Penn State dominated the game in the faceoff circle, 54-25, which led to a 64-25 shot advantage.

FIRST HOME WIN, SHUTOUT & HAT TRICK
Friday night, Nov. 2 at Greenberg Ice Pavilion was historic for Penn State as the women's hockey team won its first home game, 6-0, over Sacred Heart. The program's first shutout featured the first hat trick by Hannah Hoenshell. Shannon Yoxheimer scored twice and Jill Holdcroft scored her first ever goal in the rout.

Hoenshell opened the game's scoring seven minutes into the contest, which highlighted a 22-2 Penn State advantage in shots over the Pioneers.

The Nittany Lions would light the lamp three times in the second as Hoenshell, Yoxheimer and Holdcroft stretched the lead to 4-0.

In the third, Penn State would make it 5-0 just 10 seconds into the period on a Yoxheimer laser from the left wing and Hoenshell would cap her hat trick five minutes later for the 6-0 final score.

The Nittany Lions out-shot the Pioneers 66-18 as goaltenders Nicole Paniccia (11 saves) and Brooke Meyer (7 saves) combined for the school's first shutout.

The rest of the game notes can be found in the PDF document.

ON SCHEDULE
Pegula Ice Arena, a $90 million state-of-the-art facility, will serve as the home of the Penn State hockey programs in 2012-13. As of Nov. 14, 2012, all the steel has been put in place for the project and the building held its official topping off ceremony on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Construction is set to conclude in time for the 2012-13 season as the building will open Sept. 5, 2013.

Pegula Ice Arena Video Tour

For more information on Pegula Ice Arena, visit page 8 of the game notes.

NEXT TIME OUT
The Nittany Lions are off during Thanksgiving week and will return to action at Mercyhurst on Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The two-game series against the 10-time defending regular-season CHA champion is set for a pair of 2 p.m. matchups in Erie, Pa. The games will have live streaming through AmericaOneSports.com and updates through Twitter (@PennStateWHKY).