2021-22 Penn State Nittany Lions

[ZedLeppelin]

Well, that was a quick OT. BC takes it 2-1, but Penn State really took it to them for the second and third periods. Penn State had a wide open net in OT with the puck just sitting in the crease, but Kiara Zanon couldn't tap it in (someone needs to tie some weights to her stick this season).

Penn State finally, finally, finally started playing like the team they were last season. I'll take an OT loss any day if it means they will keep up like they did tonight. Trying not to be totally biased, I really think they outplayed BC in the second and third periods. On the powerplay, it was interesting to see Heising and Zanon playing back deep to start the rush, instead of letting the defense do it. Maybe Kampersal is finally seeing how not very good the defense is at moving a puck.

Penn State's goal came on a "sort of" shot from Mallory Uihlein that ended up hitting a BC skate, but whatever...it went in. The top line of Heising, Zanon, and Wallin played like beasts, finally. Well, except for Zanon, whose game so far this season is floating around somewhere in LaLaLand. Heising looked great tonight. Rachel Weiss hustled all night. It was just good to see players racing to pucks rather than waiting for them, and battling on the boards, fighting for the puck. The one missing piece is teaching the defense how to move a puck...man, please get on that in a hurry.

OT loss? No problem, as long as this team is back to their ways.

[Reddington]

Good game - undesirable outcome. Zanon is still a good player.

[BackyardIce]

But, on any given day, just like Colgate beat Wisconsin x number of years ago.

Yeah, well that was Clarkson (not Colgate) and the Golden Knights happened to win a couple other big games on the last day of the season other than one too. LOL

[ZedLeppelin]

Takeaways from last night's game, after sleeping on it:

BC has a relentless forecheck that gave Penn State headaches to start the game, but Penn State worked through it and got better as the game went on. The 6' 1" BC goalie, Abigail Levy, doesn't leave much room in net for shots, and she's good when they come. She didn't face a lot of tricky shots, but she did face a lot of shots, and was good with them. She only got beat on a shot/deflection she didn't see. Penn State did ring the pipes a few times, so hopefully those start going in. BC is good at getting into the offensive zone and staying there, but defensively Penn State is good at making it hard for an opposing team to set up decent scoring chances, they're good at blocking shots, and Josie Bothun is very good in net when an opponent does get shots off.

Penn State really started to click for the first time this season. The top line of Heising, Zanon, and Wallin was non-stop and got extended ice time. One thing to keep working on is getting players in front of the net - so many times, someone would race in over the blue line and then have nowhere to go with the puck because nobody was with her on the play. Penn State did get better with this, and did have a lot of chances with a crowd at the net, but last year that was the norm. They looked like they were starting to really stretch the passes out longer as the game was winding down, too, so that looks a lot more like the fast team from last season.

It looked like Penn State is working the bugs out, and they looked so much better than they did against St. Lawrence last week, so it was fun to watch. It was BC's first game of the season, though, so you really can't get an honest feel for their game yet. It was the first-ever game for Penn State against BC, but Jeff Kampersal and Katie King-Crowley do have plenty of head-to-head experience coaching against each other when Kampersal was at Princeton.

It was a great hockey game to watch last night and should be another good one tonight.

[Reddington]

Colgate beat Wisconsin lost to Clarkson in the championship. You must be talking another year.

[ARM]

Colgate beat Wisconsin ...

Did you see that one as a big upset? (and yeah, I'm quoting the wrong post) It was an Olympic year, and the Badgers didn't have Clarke and Pankowski, and S. Shirley's entrance had been delayed a year, so UW wasn't as loaded as it usually is. Plus, Fargo's strong recruiting classes were peaking that year, and he didn't have anyone plucked off his roster. Had Campbell been playing at the same level as she did in 2019, then yes, I would say it would have been more of a surprise. I just remember a very even Frozen Four with all three games being tight, OT affairs. To be fair to Colgate, if you play the Raiders/Badgers game 10 times, I don't think UW wins more than six of them.

[Timothy A]

To be fair to Colgate, if you play the Raiders/Badgers game 10 times, I don't think UW wins more than six of them.

You are referring to that year, correct? And in that context I agree.

[ARM]

You are referring to that year, correct? And in that context I agree.

Correct. Colgate, even the 2018 edition, would not have fared as well against the 2017 or 2019 Badgers.

[Reddington]

Yes, I did watch and c'mon from a team that Colgate was 5 wins and Wisconsin the powerhouse losing even when you are saying a down year is an upset. Like when Alabama loses in football. But, if I recall the Wisconsin faithful on this site didn't want to give any credibility to Colgate's playing style.

At any rate college hockey is back. Yasss.

[ZedLeppelin]

Tonight's starting lineup: https://twitter.com/PennStateWHKY/st...602371/photo/1

BTN+ Video: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/971344

Live Stats: http://pennstate.sidearmsports.com/s...hockey/summary

[ZedLeppelin]

After one, it's tied up 1-1 at Penn State. Shots on goal are only 6-5 for BC, but it was a lot of back and forth the whole period, so good to see Penn State come out ready to play. Natalie Heising scored the lone goal for Penn State on a beautiful feed from Kiara Zanon, so hopefully Zanon's dry spell is over. So far, so good...not a lot of shots, but a lot of hockey.

[ZedLeppelin]

After two, it's 2-1 BC - no idea how Josie Bothun missed that one. Penn State has 3 penalties to BC's 1. Shots on goal are 19-14 for Penn State. Lots of chances in the second period, and more of the same with the back and forth, so it should be a fun third period. I wish Kampersal could clone the top line a couple times.

[ZedLeppelin]

BC somehow takes that one by a score of 2-1, but Penn State once again controlled the third period in a big way. Penalties were 4-4 for the game. Shots on goal were 34-17 for Penn State, with a ton of scoring chances in the third that just would not bounce their way. Credit to Abigail Levy for her goaltending and the huge saves she made, but Penn State had a ton of chances. A loss at home that nobody is going to worry about because of the way Penn State came out of its shell this weekend...what a series for them. Credit to Kampersal for getting teams like this on the early schedule so Penn State has to work early before CHA play starts.

Once again, Penn State had Heising and Zanon out by the blue line to start powerplays, and that made things happen a lot better than having this defense quarterbacking things. Weird to see Heising so far back, but she was great at working her way in deep from there, with Zanon working the play deeper from farther back than usual, too. Man, it's good to see things finally starting to move for Penn State - this was a great series for them.

[Reddington]

On the bright side the Women's Hockey team had three articles about Friday's game and is receiving coverage and game details like I've never seen before such as 4 pps and only 4 shots in one article. It's almost like someone gives a darn about girls hockey.

Kampersal had some nice quotes like "throwing the kitchen sink and invisible force field". Those are quotes that paint a picture.

It's just mind boggling that PSU limited BC to 15 or 17 shots depending on which article is correct and PSU still loses.

Three goals a game would solve everything!!! Sometimes it's just that simple.

[EMPTYNETTER]

Did anyone else catch these games on BTN+? The video quality was in and out and at times looked as if it came from a 1970's VHS recorder. If that is the quality to expect, I'll be looking for a refund. Key takeaways from the two BC games. PSU's transition game is not good....too many indecisive slow developing plays from some of the D, and it looked like roughly half of the passes were not on target. The PSU wingers had difficulty in both games winning battles on the wall for breakouts against the BC D who constantly pinched. A simple chip off the wall and PSU could have had tons of odd man rush opportunities against BC's aggressive style. The speed of 19 for BC gave PSU's D fits, and the gaps were not good. BC's coach took advantage of line matchups and got their top line out several times against PSU's 3rd and 4th lines. Two of BC's goals were a direct result of poor turnovers inside the PSU blueline, one by 20 and one by 19. On the bright side, it looked like PSU controlled much of the play in both games and the powerplay looked like...a powerplay. When they start putting more pucks in the net, they will be a very difficult team to beat. The 1st line looked good and had many opportunities. 20 needs to look for her line mates and move the puck, and this line will be very strong as 11 and 7 are gelling and creating plays. 19 looks to have the skill, but looked a little overwhelmed by the speed of the game. If she can elevate her game the 2nd line with 14 and 29 looks like they can be effective. If not, 4 looked to play well both games and could be an option at center on that 2nd line. It looked as though PSU had good crowds at the games. For anyone who attended, how was the parking situation as I'm hoping to get to the womens' and mens' games next weekend?