Defender Kendall Butze (17) gets ready to break out of the defensive zone during a Penn State women’s hockey game against Lindenwood at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions defeated the Lady Lions 7-1.
Forward Tessa Janecke (15) dodges the defender during the Penn State women’s hockey game inside Pegula Ice Arena on Feb, 23, 2024 in University Park, Pa. The NIttany Lions beat the Tigers 2-1.
Defender Kendall Butze (17) gets ready to break out of the defensive zone during a Penn State women’s hockey game against Lindenwood at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions defeated the Lady Lions 7-1.
No. 12 Penn State will host Robert Morris for its third conference series of the year this weekend.
The two-part special takes place at 2 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday in Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State kicked off AHA play with a 3-2 overtime win against Syracuse on Halloween night in University Park. The Nittany Lions completed the sweep over the Orange the following day, before sweeping Lindenwood two weeks later.
In those two games against Lindenwood, Penn State outshot the Lions by a massive margin of 96-28.
This week, the Nittany Lions welcome a Colonials team that’s lost its last three games. Robert Morris fell apart in its second game against RIT, conceding four goals in the third period, and was shutout 7-0 across two contests against Mercyhurst.
Captain Allyson Hebert and assistant captain Jersey Phillips are RMU’s team leaders, but Morgan Giannone and Veronica Bac have been at the forefront of the attack.
Giannone leads the team with 10 points, scoring four goals and tallying six assists through the Colonials’ first 14 games.
Bac, a graduate forward, has six goals this season and is shooting .207, meaning she scores roughly one in every five shots she takes.
Penn State started its season lacking on the power play, scoring just one goal through its first 11 attempts, but coach Jeff Kampersal’s team has found its stride. In their last 20 power-play opportunities, the Nittany Lions have scored six goals, showcasing that improvement.
Captain Tessa Janecke and Maddy Christian have led the odd-woman advantage. Of the six goals Penn State scored in its latest three-game stretch, Christian had three and Janecke recorded two.
Forward Tessa Janecke (15) dodges the defender during the Penn State women’s hockey game inside Pegula Ice Arena on Feb, 23, 2024 in University Park, Pa. The NIttany Lions beat the Tigers 2-1.
Nittany Lions defender Kendall Butze has also been an influential piece to Penn State’s threatening offense. In Saturday’s game, she put up six points, assisting on five goals and scoring one of her own. The Cleveland native’s weekend point total was seven, enough to rank her at No. 1 in the nation.
Janecke joined Butze on the leaderboard with six points – three goals and three assists – giving her the No. 2 spot.
Their performances earned both players recognition as the AHA’s Players of the Week.
As Penn State’s power play is taking off, the same can’t be said for Robert Morris.
So far, the Colonials have converted on only six of their 51 power plays, putting their success rate at .118, which is roughly one goal netted for every 10 opportunities.
Not only is their power play struggling, but their penalty kill is too.
RMU is tied with Lindenwood for the most power-play goals allowed in the AHA with 16. The Colonials’ opponents score on nearly one of every three chances, a 31.4% rate that Penn State could exploit.
In December of the 2023-24 season, Penn State allowed only one goal in its home sweep against RMU. However, the February road trip to the Pittsburgh suburb resulted in one draw and one loss for the Nittany Lions.
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