After a 1-1 win over No. 13 Northeastern University last weekend, No. 12 Penn State traveled to Storrs, Conn., on Friday to begin a back-to-back series against the No. 9 University Huskies.
The Nittany Lions trailed by two points and lost 3-2.
For the first time all season, the first 10 minutes passed without a penalty for either Blue or White.
A penalty on which Huskies forward Sadie Hottles stumbled sent the Nittany Lions into a power play with 7:50 remaining, but they were 0-7 in Friday’s matchup.
The Blue and White’s advantage was cut short by an interference penalty on Abby Stonehouse, negating the power play and forming a 4-on-4. Neither team scored a power play goal and they were back to even strength.
Maddie Christian became the second Nittany Lion guilty of a penalty. The Elk River, Minn., native committed a hold with two minutes left in the first period, but University was unable to capitalize on its advantage and score.
Penn State came close to scoring a short-handed goal on Tessa Jannecke’s backhand shot off a turnover on the Huskies’ end. Huskies goaltender Tia Chung grabbed the puck and held it, preserving the scoreless game.
The first period ended without either team scoring, and UConn carried over six seconds of power play time into the second stanza.
A fast-paced second period saw Chan and Nittany Lions goaltender Katie Desa be the stars of the afternoon as both teams battled for the first goal of the game.
With 4:45 left in the period, Caitlin Roberts slipped into the offensive zone and crossed the puck to the stick of Stella Lettrum, who tapped it in to give Penn State a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after Ritrum scored her first goal of the season, a tripping penalty by Leah Stecker sent the Huskies back to the power play with just under three minutes remaining.
The Blue and White penalty kill was solid and they slipped into the locker room with a 1-0 advantage.
Just 56 seconds into the third and final period, Taya McDonald made a pass to Christian, who slipped the puck to Mia Vaslet. Vaslet made it, doubling Penn State’s lead.
Minutes after Baslett’s goal, Ashley Allard was awarded a behind-the-back penalty, giving the Blue and White their third power play of the tournament. UW’s penalty kill failed, and Penn State’s power play was a tough 0-10 all season.
Desa finally solved it with Brianna Ware’s power-play goal that cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to one point with 13:41 left in the period.
A hook penalty on Megan Duchesne-Sharif with 8 minutes, 51 seconds left gave Penn State a third 5-on-4 advantage, and it looked set for its first power-play goal of the season.
Once again Penn State came up short on the power play, and once again the college cons made them pay. Claire Murdoch’s breakaway goal tied the game at 2-2 with less than seven minutes remaining.
Brooke Campbell slipped the puck behind Desa with 3:50 remaining for University’s third goal, giving them a 3-2 lead.
A short comeback attempt by Penn State ran out the clock, giving the Huskies a narrow victory.
Next
Penn State will play University on Saturday to close out the series. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
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