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2020-21 Penn State Nittany Lions

A couple of points after watching 4 games. The fabulous freshmen are for real. Once they learn to trust each other and develop team chemistry and not try to do to much individually they will score a lot of goals.
The power play is good example of this as they stay to much on the perimeter. Carrie Byrnes is a clutch player she always seems to be in the right place. Olivia Wallin has the look of a goal scorer, not the best skater but finds dead areas and has a big shot female version of Brett Hull. Ciarocchi provides instant energy and Conolly is very reliable in the middle. Gough Proesberger and Gangarosa along with Dobson fill any role that needs to be filled . On the back end Adolphsson is great example of what all of them should try to become. She has a hockey IQ that is off the charts. She knows when to move the puck and when to keep it. ( I hope she uses all of her eligibility.) Uhlien is an unbelievable skater and Lobdell has the potential to be even better than Adolphsson. Heminger is very fast and plays with her head up. I would put Zanon in the same class as Murphy for Minnesota and Webster of Wisconsin. This weekend should be interesting as both teams will make adjustments. If Penn State can stay out of the box and play 5 on 5 I think they can sweep. One interesting thing I saw during the OT was Penn State had 3 D on the Ice for a shift and they kept it in the o zone. Look at whatever season this is a an exhibition season the Freshman are gaining valuable experience for the future whether they play 10 game or 20 it is a free season as they are not burning any eligibility. Every game they play is a building block to a very strong program
 
zambonidriver said:
A couple of points after watching 4 games. The fabulous freshmen are for real. Once they learn to trust each other and develop team chemistry and not try to do too much individually they will score a lot of goals. The power play is good example of this as they stay too much on the perimeter.
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I think chemistry is about all that's lacking with this freshman group. They all work hard for the full 60 minutes and just need the time to get familiar with their linemates. As good as they are at individual effort, there have been many times where a pass wasn't made that could've turned a good individual effort into an even better play. Lots of talent to work with, though!

On the back end Jessica Adolfsson is a great example of what all of them should try to become. She has a hockey IQ that is off the charts. She knows when to move the puck and when to keep it. (I hope she uses all of her eligibility.)
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It was really surprising to see Adolfsson carry the puck all the way to the net against Syracuse. She's known for her shot from the blue line and her solid defense, but I guess when nobody else is moving in and she sees room, she has the green light to lead the charge. Pairing her with freshman Lyndie Lobdell is good news for Lyndie Lobdell - she's learning D-1 defense from a good one here. I already like pretty much everything about Lobdell's play - she's going to be a good one, too.

I would put Zanon in the same class as Murphy for Minnesota and Webster of Wisconsin.
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Kiara Zanon is showing why she was so hyped coming to Penn State. She's on a line with Natalie Heising this season, but Heising graduates this year and Zanon is going to need somebody on a line with her that can help capitalize on her skill. Putting her and Heising together this season was a no brainer, but I don't think their individual games match up too well. They're both playmakers on their own, so it's not the usual game of just trying to set Heising up for shots. Still, they're a good combo to have on a line this year.

...this is a an exhibition season - the freshmen are gaining valuable experience for the future whether they play 10 games or 20, it is a free season as they are not burning any eligibility. Every game they play is a building block to a very strong program
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Which is exactly why I wish the CHA would stop with the weekly/monthly awards. Penn State players got some of the latest weekly and monthly awards, but for what? Being lucky enough to play at all? And a monthly award in a month that saw a grand total of four conference games? I hope the players who win these aren't taking them too seriously. It's like being "ranked" this season. Some teams have been lucky enough to get a decent amount of games in, some have only played a couple, and some teams haven't even played yet. Polls and awards don't make a whole lot of sense.
 
Penn State is 3-26-7 all-time against Syracuse.

Under Kampersal: PSU is 2-8-4.

Newest to oldest game scores:

2-2
2-1
1-1
1-3
1-0
1-3
0-1
2-5
1-2
1-1
0-3
2-2
2-3ot
1-2ot

I'll take 1-0-1, but the overall scoring even with the new frosh is not much different...yet.

Heising will get another year. She should have converted that silver platter pass from Gangarosa in ot. Lobdell hit a post. Gough was fed the puck by Heminger down low, but was denied. However, Bothun had a big save on a breakaway in ot. That was a good tie considering the score was 2 zip and Syracuse had a goal called off.

Scorers are streaky and Heising is no exception.

Aldoffson - she has one goal and one assist in 15 games dating back to last year. Glad she is healthy again. She might score more if she was put in front of the net like Eastwood was by Syracuse.

Don't sleep on Amy Dobson who I just read has three goals in her last five games.
 
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Checking to see if Mercyhurst got to finally start its season today against RIT (and they did it with a 2-1 win), I saw former Penn State women's hockey player Jordin Pardoski is now an assistant coach at RIT. Wasn't she the head coach at Brown? When did she leave there?
 
Penn State is up 1-0 at Syracuse on freshman Maeve Connolly's first collegiate goal. The stats aren't working, but there were no penalties and I think Penn State leads the shots on goal by 10-6. Just like last weekend, it's back and forth hustle from both teams for that whole period.

EDIT: Now it's Syracuse up on Penn State shots on goal 11-10, according to the on-screen graphic.
 
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Well, that period was all Syracuse, who now leads Penn State 3-1. Penn State is playing their "offense first" game, but getting caught too far out of their defensive zone, and Syracuse is getting in behind the defense in a hurry.
 
Eastwood on the play by play. She is a natural. Not the game I expected and what a roller coaster. First goal to get you back in is always the toughest Gough tonight, Byrnes the game before that. Nice goal by Zanon.
 
Reddington said:
Eastwood on the play by play. She is a natural. Not the game I expected and what a roller coaster. First goal to get you back in is always the toughest Gough tonight, Byrnes the game before that. Nice goal by Zanon.
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I knew you'd like Eastwood calling the game :) Pretty cool that she was doing it from home in Toronto - way to go, Syracuse techie people.
 
Eastwood is right up there with the guy from Boston Univ. She was prepared and knew all the girls and Kampersal's coaching record at PSU and Princeton and it was obvious that she liked providing color commentary and I'm convinced she had read this column by some of her comments. PSU should sign her up for home games.
 
Thanks for sharing the link. Received various error messages when attempting to stream the game. Went directly to cuse.com also in an attempt to watch. Odd that it worked just fine for Friday's game.
 
The video feed is working now - took them a while.

Penn State and Syracuse are tied 1-1 after the first period. No real surprises here...it's like watching every other game against Syracuse, full of energy both ways. Should be another good one.
 
Penn State and Syracuse are tied 2-2 after two periods. Syracuse had the better chances in that period, but both teams are playing full speed. Syracuse has four penalties to Penn State's one. Syracuse leads the shots on goal 31-23.
 
Syracuse takes the win 4-2 with a final empty netter to ice the game. Syracuse led the shots on goal 46-36, and just seemed quicker getting the puck onto the Penn State net. Penn State did have a lot of chances of their own, too...but on defense they just didn't do a very good job of boxing Syracuse out and instead let them crowd the net too much. Kiara Zanon had two shorthanded breakaways, but couldn't get one past the Syracuse goalie, who had a great game. All in all, the entire four-game series was a good one, and Penn State is bringing a whole new (and better) look to this program.
 
Good News: The scoring is up.
Bad News: The scoring is up for other teams.
Good News: The team can win a game 4-3 this year.
Bad News: The team will struggle to win games 1-0.
The PP is atrocious. The 5-3 non conversion highlights just how bad the PP is.
The Penalties seem to be at a level that is manageable. That is a positive.
Penn State has its first series win ever against one of the big three:. Syracuse, Mercyhurst and Robert Morris. That's a big step for the program.
With the lack of games it is really hard to judge how good Syracuse is and the same for Penn State. Considering any hockey was a question this year, the real win may be just getting in games in this trying environment.
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Reddington said:
Good News: The scoring is up.
Bad News: The scoring is up for other teams.
Good News: The team can win a game 4-3 this year.
Bad News: The team will struggle to win games 1-0.
The PP is atrocious. The 5-3 non conversion highlights just how bad the PP is.
The Penalties seem to be at a level that is manageable. That is a positive.
Penn State has its first series win ever against one of the big three:. Syracuse, Mercyhurst and Robert Morris. That's a big step for the program.
With the lack of games it is really hard to judge how good Syracuse is and the same for Penn State. Considering any hockey was a question this year, the real win may be just getting in games in this trying environment.
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A couple of points from this weekend.
1. Team defense as whole was a whole lot looser this weekend then the first two. Heminger and Adolphsson were not noticable like they were the first four games.
2. Freshmen are legit. I think that as they learn that you just can't shoot on goalies at this level you need to make moves. Zanon's shorthanded break away is a great example.
3. The back end needs to be more physical in front of their own net. Syracuse had too many second chances in tight.
4. Josie needs to have better rebound control. She is going to learn that unlike high school teams are going to try to execute a specific game plan. It was obvious yesterday shoot low and crash the net. On the third goal she stopped two shots before the third one went in. There was no boxing out.
5. Young teams need more practice. Two days of practice is not enough time with young teams to fully embed a game plan you could tell this weekend everyone was cheating toward offense, (To many odd man rushes.)
6. Time to go home recharge and get away from campus these kids have been under an unbelievable amount of stress some family time will be good.
7. A great start to the year considering the roster has been totally overhauled.
8. More Positives than negatives. Very bright future. (which could becoming to fruition sooner than expected.:)
 
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