2021-22 Penn State Nittany Lions

[ZedLeppelin]

Here's Natalie Heising's overtime breakaway winner: https://twitter.com/PennStateWHKY/st...85059766575109

Heising had just had a near-breakaway, and DeSmet had come way out of the net to clear the puck, but Kiara Zanon grabbed the clear in the neutral zone and flipped it right back to Heising for a second try, and she scored on that one.

[Reddington]

Love the free streaming from Syracuse. The Queen, I mean the Captain, delivers again. Nice to see PSU be able to win a game 1-0. Round two this afternoon should be a doozy. And I think by dumb luck getting Syracuse before the Thanksgiving games is a perfect Segway.

[ZedLeppelin]

Game two at Syracuse today is at 3:00 (Eastern), with another free video stream (thanks, CuseTV): https://cuse.com/watch/?Live=5656&type=Live

[ZedLeppelin]

And here's the lineup for today, at least to start the game: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEpjxAeX...g&name=900x900

[ZedLeppelin]

After one at Syracuse it's tied 1-1. Penn State's goal came on a nice shot from Carrie Byrnes. Shots on goal are 21-18 for Syracuse. Penn State has taken two penalties and Syracuse has taken one...speaking of which, this zebra crew is bad. Jeff Kampersal has been furious most of the game, and his displeasure with the refs can be heard on the livestream. Syracuse has dumped a few Penn State players now and no whistles, but I guess that's something for Penn State to have to adjust to. Fast pace so far, so we'll see who gasses out first.

[ZedLeppelin]

6:00 to go in the second and it's 4-1 Syracuse over Penn State. Penn State looks like the Keystone Kops this period, Josie Bothun is off her game, and Syracuse is taking advantage of it.

[ZedLeppelin]

And that's how the second period ends, with Syracuse up 4-1. Shots on goal are 41-21 for Penn State, but they don't have an answer for Syracuse goalie Arielle DeSmet (obviously). Penalties are 5 for Syracuse and 3 for Penn State, and these refs still haven't decided how they're going to call this game. Now they're calling body checking on a player who bumps into another, but they're blowing it for both teams, so at least they're balanced in whatever it is they're doing. One period of anything goes, and one period of nothing goes.

Take nothing away from Syracuse - they've stuck to their game and just made Penn State pay for how they're playing.

[ZedLeppelin]

14:00 to play and Syracuse scores again to make it 5-1, so Josie Bothun has been pulled, and Cam Leonard is in net for Penn State.

[ZedLeppelin]

And this one ends 6-3 for Syracuse on a final empty-netter. Shots on goal were 53-28 for Penn State, and that should tell you what kind of game Syracuse goalie Arielle DeSmet had...she was highlight reel all game. Penalties were 5-5. It's hard to tell what went wrong for Penn State overall, other than Syracuse keeping the pressure on, DeSmet having an amazing game in net, and Josie Bothun not having her best game. As bad as this referee crew was, they didn't decide the game - it was Syracuse playing hard and having the right game plan for Penn State today, and playing 60 minutes as opposed to yesterday.

[Reddington]

A clunker all the way around . 26-64 on Faceoffs. 8 blocked shots total. .80 save percentage. 0-5 on the pp. Nice for Byrnes and Leonard.

[ZedLeppelin]

Game recap from Penn State: https://gopsusports.com/news/2021/11...-syracuse.aspx

Game recap from the Daily Collegian: https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports...3e2d292b7.html

[ZedLeppelin]

The "D1 in DC" exhibition is this weekend, Friday (vs #6 UMD at 4:00 Eastern) and Saturday (vs #2 Ohio State at 5:30 Eastern), and here's the Penn State preview: https://gopsusports.com/news/2021/11...d1-in-d-c.aspx

The games will be streamed, but really cheap - $7.99 gets you the entire weekend of games, not just the Penn State games (scroll down to the "live events" list): https://sportlivestreams.net/members...ership-levels/

It's just an exhibition weekend, but a good test for Penn State against two ranked teams. I hope my being a Duluth native doesn't cloud my judgement in who I cheer for ~ It's going to be an interesting weekend of hockey, and I wonder if Jeff Kampersal is going to try anything different with lines or plays since it's exhibition hockey. Being almost halfway through the season, there shouldn't be a lot of adjusting needed, but he may want to try things. I'm waiting to see how Penn State matches up with the speedy style of hockey coming at them from the WCHA, versus the more blue collar style of CHA hockey.

[ZedLeppelin]

Penn State vs UMD in one hour (4:00 Eastern)...here's the lineup for today: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFIOk0hW...g&name=900x900

[ZedLeppelin]

After one in DC, it's 2-1 UMD over Penn State. The only stat available is shots on goal, and Penn State leads that 7-5. A UMD player drew a 5-minute major and game misconduct, but the Penn State powerplay was non-existent for those five minutes. Both of UMD's goals were due to leaving at least one player untouched in front of the Penn State net...something Penn State is going to have to fix to keep this game close. Natalie Heising got the goal for Penn State.

As expected, it's a fast-paced game, but both teams are playing a smothering defense, so not a lot of chances to shoot. UMD's powerplay looks like a powerplay, but at even strength both teams look pretty similar - no real setting up of plays, so instead they're looking for anything quick to develop around the net.

[ZedLeppelin]

After two, it's still UMD up 2-1. That period was loaded with penalties for both teams, and Penn State leads the shots on goal 12-11. Much of the same play in the second, with no real set plays working, and chances really only coming from anything either team can work in towards the net. I was kind of expecting an Elizabeth Giguere offensive clinic in this game, but that hasn't happened. Usually, Penn State's shots on goal would be around 30 at this point in a game, so UMD is really shutting down the chances for Penn State, but it's gone that way for both teams. It's been a solid defensive game so far with a few really good chances both ways.