PSU Womens Hockey

[pennpapa]

I was impressed with the effort put forth by the team Friday night. It was god to get a win. Going to Minnesota Friday and Saturday. Should be an experience.

Lots of freshmen on the roster and the team looked great. hope they can carry this forward the rest of the season.

Go PSU!

[D2D]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

PSU has definitely upgraded their roster the past two recruiting classes, and one example of that is freshman Bella Sutton who had an excellent opening game against Western:

http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/2014...ate-debut.html

[pennpapa]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

PSU has definitely upgraded their roster the past two recruiting classes, and one example of that is freshman Bella Sutton who had an excellent opening game against Western:

http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/2014...ate-debut.html

I think the coach found a home in MN.

Some good players came to PSU. For some it will take longer but a few have made a difference. Sutton was a pleasant surprise. Very aggressive and a good strong shot.

Hopefully she can score a couple next weekend. Wish I could be there.

[giwan]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

My gosh they played western, put the kool aid down for a second

[D2D]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

My gosh they played western, put the kool aid down for a second

Hear ya, giwan! But I do think it's safe to say that Penn State will continue to get better over the next couple of years.

[ZedLeppelin]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

My gosh they played western, put the kool aid down for a second

So did Ohio State, two days later, and couldn't beat Western in three periods and an overtime, including a penalty shot. Nobody is expecting any miracles against Minnesota, but it's a great way for Penn State to start the season and introduce such a big freshman class to D-1 hockey.

[pennpapa]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

So did Ohio State, two days later, and couldn't beat Western in three periods and an overtime, including a penalty shot. Nobody is expecting any miracles against Minnesota, but it's a great way for Penn State to start the season and introduce such a big freshman class to D-1 hockey.

Thank you. sometimes people with established programs forget what teams go through when they are building a program.

There has been a big change in attitude on this team this year. Whether or no anything happens, I think the attitude has risen and hopefully we will get improved results.

[Eeyore]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

I have to say that I was impressed by the Nittany Lions last night. They clearly aren't on the same level as the Gophers but they played with an approach and an attitude that I liked. Even within the first three minutes of the game they looked like they had a plan and thought that they were going somewhere. The contrast with St. Cloud in the first game was striking. Penn State didn't played scared, of either the Gophers or of losing, both when it was 0-0 and when it was 8-0.

I like that they didn't pack it in to a defensive shell. Josh Brandwene clearly has a style he wants them to play and they were going to play it even if it killed them. If he can keep games like last night from killing their spirit, that's the right call. They're fun to watch and I suspect that they're going to cause some teams some problems with their aggressiveness. I'm looking forward to seeing them against St. Cloud this afternoon and then again next year in State College.

[ZedLeppelin]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

That's the way I saw the game, too. They sure didn't look very intimidated or glassy-eyed, did they? It's definitely not the same Penn State team of the first two years - this group looks a lot more intense and aggressive. I think a part of it is that the juniors had two seasons of being "the new girls" starting a new program, and now a group of freshmen have come in with a lot of drive and intensity, and it's either pick your game up or enjoy watching from the bench.

Should be a good one tonight against St. Cloud State, if they can play 60 minutes like they played the first period against Minnesota.

[Eeyore]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

If any of the PSU crowd wants to stop by and say hi this afternoon, I sit at the far end of the Gopher bench and I'm wearing my maroon Sam Downey (#3) jersey today.

[D2D]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

Another article on Miss Sutton:

Sutton Feels at Home in Happy Valley
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-...100914aaa.html

[ZedLeppelin]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

Penn State skates to a 1-1 OT tie against #8 Quinnipiac: (http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-...101214aac.html).

Freshman goaltender Hannah Ehresmann was an absolute stud between the pipes.

[ZedLeppelin]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

Starting to see things from this Penn State program that we haven't seen the first two years. They completely dominated the neutral zone in both games against Union this weekend, and paired that with a relentless forecheck, and kept it up for both games of the series - things we haven't seen before this season. They also generated a lot of offense and put a lot of shots on goal, which is also something new. They are a much more physical team this year, too, and disciplined about it more times than not.

They are a young team (8 freshmen, 4 sophomores, 13 juniors), but already a big improvement over their first two seasons. My opinion: the junior class has had two seasons of being the new kids in a new program, but now there's a big freshman group that showed up to play, and ice time isn't automatic anymore. Everyone has to earn their place in the lineup, and it's doing a lot of good for this program.

[HockeyEast33]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

Starting to see things from this Penn State program that we haven't seen the first two years. They completely dominated the neutral zone in both games against Union this weekend, and paired that with a relentless forecheck, and kept it up for both games of the series - things we haven't seen before this season. They also generated a lot of offense and put a lot of shots on goal, which is also something new. They are a much more physical team this year, too, and disciplined about it more times than not.

They are a young team (8 freshmen, 4 sophomores, 13 juniors), but already a big improvement over their first two seasons. My opinion: the junior class has had two seasons of being the new kids in a new program, but now there's a big freshman group that showed up to play, and ice time isn't automatic anymore. Everyone has to earn their place in the lineup, and it's doing a lot of good for this program.

I have no doubt that Penn State is improved this year, but I'm not sure a dominating weekend against Union (which BTW included a tie yesterday) is really a meaningful measure. Union simply isn't that good..... still. The performances against SCSU and Quinnipiac are far more indicative of improvement.

[ZedLeppelin]

Re: PSU Womens Hockey

I have no doubt that Penn State is improved this year, but I'm not sure a dominating weekend against Union (which BTW included a tie yesterday) is really a meaningful measure. Union simply isn't that good..... still. The performances against SCSU and Quinnipiac are far more indicative of improvement.

The improvements I pointed out were things they did against Union, yes, but they are things this program hadn't done in the two previous seasons, even against opponents of Union's caliber. Add the win against St. Cloud State, and the OT tie against #8 Quinnipiac, and things look much improved at Penn State.