2022-23 Penn State Nittany Lions

[ZedLeppelin]

Penn State travels to Syracuse for a weekend series tonight and tomorrow. Both games are streaming (free) on CuseTV, so woohoo for that! Penn State is currently in first place in the CHA with 21 points, and Syracuse is tied with Mercyhurst for second place with 13 points each. Last time out, Penn State swept Syracuse by scores of 4-0 and 11-3, the first week of December, but things have gone better for Syracuse this season when they play at home (they are 6-6-0 at home, and 3-11-1 playing away). It's crunch time for anyone who wants home ice for the CHA tournament at the end of the month.

Link for free video tonight (6:00 Eastern): https://cuse.com/watch/?Live=5875&type=Live

Link for free video tomorrow (3:00 Eastern): https://cuse.com/watch/?Live=5876&type=Live

[ZedLeppelin]

Literally just walked in the door from taking two granddaughters to birthday dinner, so it's catch-up time with the game.

[ZedLeppelin]

Okay, after one it's Penn State up 2-0 on goals from Maeve Connolly and Olivia Wallin, one penalty to each team, and shots on goal are 10-4 for Penn State.

[ZedLeppelin]

After two, it's Penn State up 3-0 on a goal from Courtney Correia. Syracuse took the only penalty, and shots on goal are 15-14 for Penn State. I missed the first period, so I can't say anything about it, but Syracuse did a really good job of pinning Penn State in their defensive zone in the second period.

[ZedLeppelin]

And that's a wrap - Penn State takes game one by a score of 7-0 on third period goals from Mya Vaslet, Alyssa Machado, Kiara Zanon, and Olivia Wallin. Shots on goal were 25-19 for Penn State. Penn State stayed on the gas and looked like they decided that 3-0 wasn't good enough for them.

[ZedLeppelin]

Mercyhurst tied RIT 1-1 tonight, so the best they can finish with in the CHA is 25 points. Penn State has 23 with tonight's win, with a possibility of finishing with 29 at season's end. The best Syracuse can finish with is 21 points if they win out.

A win for Penn State tomorrow and a win or tie at RIT wins the CHA regular season.

[Reddington]

It turns out Flanagan was a pretty good coach would be my takeaway. Bothun gets a shutout against Syracuse.

[ZedLeppelin]

After one at Syracuse it's scoreless. Both teams took one penalty and Penn State leads the shots on goal by 9-6. Syracuse looks better than yesterday, but they're not getting any chances to set up a play. It looked like a typical first period.

[ZedLeppelin]

After two it's still scoreless at Syracuse. No penalties in that period, and Penn State leads the shots on goal by 22-13. Syracuse really started to gel in the second half of that period, and Penn State was back to taking too long to clear their defensive zone. Too much waiting to react instead of going after it. I hate heading into a third period scoreless, when it's looking like a single goal could win the game.

[ZedLeppelin]

Penn State sweeps Syracuse by a score of 4-1 on goals from Kiara Zanon, Tessa Janecke, Elleri MacKay, and Mallory Uihlein. Both teams took two penalties in the third, and shots on goal were 35-19 for Penn State. Penn State really turned it on in the third period and made Ariel Desmet play her best in net for Syracuse, which she did today.

[ZedLeppelin]

Penn State clinched the CHA regular season title with the win today. https://twitter.com/CHAWomensHockey/...93003115061250

[Reddington]

Questions: How many Syracuse players are in the portal if any? Is the Lindenwood coach on the hotseat if they don't make the playoffs? With PSU off next weekend, the Lindenwood and RIT games may be worth tuning into. Zed is absolutely right on Syracuse having free streaming being fantastic. Zanon should be in the running for the Kazmaier. Mercyhurst won today 3-0 against RIT.

[ZedLeppelin]

With PSU off next weekend, the Lindenwood and RIT games may be worth tuning into.

Penn State, Mercyhurst, and Syracuse have all secured playoff berths, so it's down to Lindenwood and RIT battling for the final spot in the CHA tournament. They each have 8 more possible points, with Lindenwood ahead of RIT by only 2 points right now. In November at RIT, Lindenwood swept by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 in OT, so they're more closely matched than I would've thought. They both do enjoy playing spoiler, too.

I would love to know what was said in the locker room today after the second period at Syracuse, because Penn State really turned it up in the third period, after letting the second kind of get away from them. I noticed that Julie Gough was a scratch today, but she went down hard in last night's game and took some trainer attention before she left the ice, so I hope she's okay. What it meant, though, was that lines for today had to get shuffled, but the team managed it well.

I hope RIT can find a way to finish ahead of Lindenwood - I don't like Lindenwood and how they play (cheap and chippy).

[Lindsay]

Just want to say how much I appreciate your CHA commentary guys! I’ve been busy with my kids hockey but still following along and enjoying reading here.

regarding Zanon, I looked her plus minus a while back and her points were similar to Janecke but her plus minus was much more favorable. What’s the story there? Is Janecke a pp machine or does she give up more goals at five on five?

[ZedLeppelin]

Regarding Zanon, I looked her plus minus a while back and her points were similar to Janecke but her plus minus was much more favorable. What's the story there? Is Janecke a pp machine or does she give up more goals at five on five?

I'm going out on a limb because I haven't really focused on it, but I think Tessa Janecke gets moved around and not always matched with Kiara Zanon. I suppose that would be Kampersal's way of kind of "spreading the wealth", if that makes sense. I did notice in the later part of the game today Janecke and Zanon were back on the same line. Like I said, though, I haven't been paying a lot of attention to lines this season, so take this with a grain of salt.

Have you gotten your hockey star a Penn State jersey yet?