2021-22 Penn State Nittany Lions

[Lurky McLurkface]

What the hell was Zanon thinking? There's Weiss on the ice tangled up with the puck in front of the Penn State bench with a Syracuse player digging at it. Zanon's like six feet away and just standing there watching. The Syracuse player digs out the puck and Zanon just walks away and onto the bench for a change. Instant two-on-one stranding Heminger alone out there and an easy goal for the win for Syracuse. Argggghhh.

/rant

[Reddington]

That's a bad loss. Desmet stole one no doubt. Kudos to Rachel Weiss.

[ZedLeppelin]

Today's attendance was the third largest in program history, and they didn't even have to give away chicken baskets to get people to show up.

[TwigBreaker]

Penn State carried the play both games this weekend but the goal tending was good at one end and very average at the other. This team will not do anything in the CHA tournament if they don’t get better play from their goalies.

[Reddington]

Great on attendance. I have to disagree on Bothun, the last four games she has only given up 1 goal in regulation and one was a shutout. This can't be pinned on her nor the d. The team needs to score. Kampersal had them ready to play. The team had in the fifties for shots.

I'm not sure how Wallin was not on either pp. The announcers have been hammering one player for not passing. The first pp was a big pffttt.

I'm not sure how you end up with 3 d on three on three, maybe 5 on 3 but not 3 on 3.

The refs screwed PSU all weekend, no trip on an obvious trip by 22 in ot after calling PSU for one last night.

And they went to the review booth to review a possible goal and I'm not sure how they didn't call it a goal. The goalie clearly reached into the net and brought the puck back out. Her glove was completely over the line. I don't care if the refs are going to say they couldn't see the puck.

puck. She didn't reach in and then move it back out for the hell of it.

[Reddington]

Cornell is Next. I'm interested in seeing: A) Does PSU make any adjustments after Cornell shellacked PSU the last time and B) How does PSU respond after the tough loss Saturday?

PSU still has a good chance in the CHA tournament. Maybe next time Kampersal will slap two bodies in front of the net on the PP. That's about as elemental as his comment on driving the net for more goals.

The highlights on Syracuse Twitter for Saturday's Syracuse goals were not pretty. Lots to look at there to correct.

PSU is still playing well so there is hope, I like the grit they have developed over the last four games. Maybe, they can't play the way they want, but there is nothing wrong with being a team that puts the other team into a blender.

[ZedLeppelin]

Cornell is Next. I'm interested in seeing: A) Does PSU make any adjustments after Cornell shellacked PSU the last time and B) How does PSU respond after the tough loss Saturday?

I think this team is pretty resilient, but this one-and-done Cornell game tomorrow is away, and on such a short break after the weekend, so it's going to be a tough one. And then they have another away series at LIU this weekend, too, so lots of "short break" travel hockey for them this week before they finish the season at home against RIT the following weekend. All the remaining games will be good opportunities for Kampersal to prep for the CHA tournament, if there's anything left in the bag to try before then.

PSU still has a good chance in the CHA tournament. Maybe next time Kampersal will slap two bodies in front of the net on the PP. That's about as elemental as his comment on driving the net for more goals.

I think that's the biggest thing I notice on the powerplay - not enough traffic at the net, even though they play such a low zone powerplay game. Well, they play a low zone game at even strength, too, but too many times there isn't anybody in front of the net. Natalie Heising will do everything she can to keep the play in the corner, or at least start it from there, but there needs to be someone at the net for deflections and rebounds (I know that's a Captain Obvious thing to say).

PSU is still playing well, so there is hope. I like the grit they have developed over the last four games. Maybe, they can't play they want, but there is nothing wrong with being a team that puts the other team into a blender.

Especially in this Syracuse series this weekend, I thought they looked great and might be starting to figure out how to take some of the crust off of the Syracuse curse. Game two was a blast to watch...it's just hard to believe 55 shots on goal didn't amount to a lot more goals scored. I really think Arielle DeSmet could've been beaten more with high shots to her blocker side rather than giving her so many pretty easy glove saves.

[ZedLeppelin]

Tomorrow night is the one-and-done at Cornell (7:00 Eastern), and if anyone is really interested and wants to watch it, it's on the ESPN+ link here - a subscription is $6.99 a month:

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/...5-d9fab5d6180e

Not even going to bother with previewing this game, because I wish they didn't have to play this non-conference Tuesday game that means nothing for Penn State...maybe it means something for Cornell, who knows? Then three days later it's on the road again for a weekend series, but at least it's at LIU and not a CHA series. If anything, being this busy will keep their hockey legs warmed up for RIT the following weekend, and then the CHA tournament starting on the 24th.

[Reddington]

It really is amazing that Ivies play Tuesday night games with regularity. This is not student friendly at all when you are supposed to be there for the academics.

I see Cornell knocked off Colgate 3-2. Tonight will be a statement for PSU one way or another.

Chances to get to 20 wins are dwindling so I'm not writing off any of the remaining games, PSU is lucky to have them from that perspective.

[ZedLeppelin]

After one at Cornell, Penn State is up 3-0 on two goals from Kiara Zanon and a goal from Mya Vaslet. Penn State leads the shots on goal 8-7, and Cornell took the only penalty.

[ZedLeppelin]

After two at Cornell, it's Penn State up 4-0 on a goal from Alyssa Machado. Penn State leads the shots on goal 16-10, and there were no penalties that period. The announcers made a point of saying "Penn State is like a wet blanket" all over Cornell when Cornell enters the Penn State zone, smothering anything they try to do. This looks like the Penn State of recent games, on the gas, working the corners in the offensive zone, and just not letting up.

[ZedLeppelin]

And Penn State takes the 5-0 win at Cornell on a third period goal from Rachel Weiss. Penn State led the shots on goal by 29-16. Cornell took two penalties for the game, and Penn State took one, so it was good to see Penn State stay out of the box. I only watched the second and third periods, but those were all Penn State. How this Cornell team beat Penn State at home 6-1 is beyond me.

Next up is a road series at LIU this weekend.

[Reddington]

PSU continues to be a box of chocolates, ",you never know what you are going to get.". Or PSU took out their frustrations from Saturday out on Cornell after putting up close to 100 shot attempts on Syracuse and still losing in ot. Either way it is something to build off of for the team. It was like deja vu, but in reverse as Cornell pulled goalies between periods and it was Cornell who looked like they were in quicksand. Can anyone say rubber match?

PSU''S 20 win season hopes remain alive.

I had to go look at last year's stats for Byrnes and Carriochi and they were decent contributors last year. Call me crazy, but Byrnes looked good on the first line. I have no idea why they aren't playing, but they both fly up and down the ice. The contrarian will say everyone looked good tonight, however, the eyes do not deceive and they do play with speed. Carriochi and Connolly are a relentless forechecking combo.

[Reddington]

Things to build on:. Get the band to the second game of the RIT series. It sends a message that girls' sports will not be a second class designation. Once a year is nice, twice a year is better. That picture on twitter of the after game skate was impressive. Why not add another skate and why not 100 baskets of fingers for the students and go for the attendance record. PSU must be flush with Wrestling packing the house these days and can afford to prop up Women's hockey.


Great bounce back game for PSU last night and Bothun continues her streak of 1 or no goals in regulation for the last five games.

[ZedLeppelin]

Things to build on: Get the band to the second game of the RIT series. It sends a message that girls' sports will not be a second class designation. Once a year is nice, twice a year is better. That picture on twitter of the after game skate was impressive. Why not add another skate and why not 100 baskets of fingers for the students and go for the attendance record. PSU must be flush with Wrestling packing the house these days and can afford to prop up Women's hockey.

I'd love to see the band show up to women's hockey games. They're at every men's hockey game, so what's the excuse? It would be nice to see more students packing the Roar Zone, too. If it takes chicken baskets to lure them in, add it to the budget and pack the student section with students and a band.

Great bounce back game for PSU last night and Bothun continues her streak of 1 or no goals in regulation for the last five games.

Josie Bothun has already tied the Penn State goalie shutout record, so all that's left in her time here is to see how big she goes with a new shutout record by the time she's done at Penn State.

Looking ahead to the rest of the regular season, I wasn't crazy about a Tuesday one-and-done on the road, but seeing how well Penn State handled that made me rethink things. They do better without a bye week, and this weekend's series at Long Island keeps them busy, with their final regular season series with RIT the following weekend. No bye week heading into the CHA tournament a week later, and that's a good thing for this team. They look like they're prime for the tournament and in a good place, playing solid and fast and being a little more consistent.

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Here's a Daily Collegian article about Natalie Heising and her impact at Penn State as her career winds down. You can expect more of these articles as she ends her time here soon:

https://www.collegian.psu.edu/sports...e19ae9ae3.html