2021-22 Penn State Nittany Lions

[ZedLeppelin]

And this one ends 5-0 on a third period goal from Anna Promersberger. Shots on goal were 31-19 for Penn State, and Penn State took three penalties to RIT's two. That's about all there is to say...RIT never really got anything going, and played mostly dump and chase with fingers crossed, but Penn State stole a lot of pucks, got a ton of offensive time, and had this one from the start.

Back at it tomorrow at 1:00 (Eastern).

 

[Reddington]

I'm pretty sure RIT only has two srs or 5th years. Glad for Coach Brown that Marchese came back for a Fifth year.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

I'm pretty sure RIT only has two srs or 5th years. Glad for Coach Brown that Marchese came back for a Fifth year.

RIT does have a few good players (I didn't take note of names), but they really stand out without a supporting cast around them. I really like Celeste Brown, and I hope she can turn that program around - it would be good for the CHA.

 

[Reddington]

Can't believe they took Syracuse to ot.But, that is typical Syracuse. I'm just have not been able to figure out how they are able to turn it on for PSU all the time. Syracuse is even choppier than PSU.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

Hockey starting shortly, at 1:00 (Eastern), with video here for $9.99: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ritwhockey/

As expected, Mercyhurst and Penn State both won yesterday, so they sit in a three-way tie for first in the CHA with Syracuse going into today's games. After yesterday's game at RIT, Natalie Heising is now 19th in CHA history for career points, and 13th in CHA history for career goals (four goals away from 10th place)...not bad for a span that covers 20 seasons of hockey.

Here's today's lineup: https://twitter.com/PennStateWHKY/st...960578/photo/1

 

[ZedLeppelin]

After one at RIT it's tied up 1-1, on a goal from Olivia Wallin and an RIT powerplay goal. It was all Penn State again until the end of the period, when Penn State took a penalty, then as soon as that one was over Julie Gough took a really dumb 10-minute misconduct for clearly shooting the puck after the whistle. Shots on goal are 12-10 for Penn State, and they took the three penalties in the period. It's surprisingly physical for an RIT game, but Penn State got a little carried away with it at the end.

 

[EMPTYNETTER]

After one at RIT it's tied up 1-1, on a goal from Olivia Wallin and an RIT powerplay goal. It was all Penn State again until the end of the period, when Penn State took a penalty, then as soon as that one was over Julie Gough took a really dumb 10-minute misconduct for clearly shooting the puck after the whistle. Shots on goal are 12-10 for Penn State, and they took the three penalties in the period. It's surprisingly physical for an RIT game, but Penn State got a little carried away with it at the end.

I'm not sure what tempted me to pay the $10 to watch this game. It is so frustrating to watch the same stuff over and over again. Stupid penalties have been a theme with this team all season, and there is no accountability. I can understand hard working plays that result in a penalty, but not the stuff away from/after the play. I would expect PSU to be crushing RIT by 7-10 goals, but there really isn't one line that creates plays. The lines are juggled what appears to be every game, and most goals are scored from broken plays or individual effort. At this point in the season, you'd like to see a team improving and lines producing, especially since PSU has basically the same roster as last year. On that note, does anyone know if any incoming freshman are solid players? RIT's powerplay looked better than any powerplay PSU has had, and that's not a good thing given the gap in talent.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

At the end of two periods it's 2-1 Penn State, on a goal from Kiara Zanon. Penn State now has four penalties on the game and RIT has none. Shots on goal are 20-11 for Penn State. RIT can't get anything going offensively, and certainly nothing set up, so this game is like watching Penn State regroup and try again...over and over, just more Penn State offensive rushes. I don't know where RIT's 11 shots on goal came from - must have been powerplay shots.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

15 seconds left and RIT ties it 2-2 with their net empty.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

Unbelievable...heading to 3-on-3 OT at RIT. The freshman RIT goalie has played an amazing game and kept this game tight, but Penn State has been all over RIT all game and should have at least a couple more goals on the board. Well...here we go.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

Penn State outshoots RIT 37-17 and the game ends in an OT tie...good lord. The star of this one was RIT freshman goalie Sarah Coe, by a long shot.

 

[Reddington]

Holy Smokes! No other comments necessary.

 

[Puckndeep]

I mean is this that surprising? Players disappear every time there is some resistance. It falls on the coaching and recruiting. Falling in love with kids that can skate around cones well instead of kids with work ethic and competitive spirit shows lack of knowing what it takes to win. It’s not the Ivy League, the teams in the CHA should not be on the same level. Penn state is a Power 5 school with the best facilities in woman’s college hockey. Nadine at Ohio state recruited the right girls. Girls that compete and want to win. Look at the Syracuse game from last years playoffs. Watch how soft and distressed many of the girls look when they get challenged, bumped or have to compete for a loose puck. Major issues with this team. You don’t see players from good teams that play the right way celebrating the 5th or 6th goal in a blowout over lindenwood acting like it’s a cup winner. Time to level up.

 

[Reddington]

Can't argue with that, but OSU having 7 transfers is ridiculous.

​​​​​

 

[ZedLeppelin]

I mean is this that surprising? Players disappear every time there is some resistance. It falls on the coaching and recruiting. Falling in love with kids that can skate around cones well instead of kids with work ethic and competitive spirit shows lack of knowing what it takes to win. It’s not the Ivy League, the teams in the CHA should not be on the same level. Penn state is a Power 5 school with the best facilities in woman’s college hockey. Nadine at Ohio state recruited the right girls. Girls that compete and want to win. Look at the Syracuse game from last years playoffs. Watch how soft and distressed many of the girls look when they get challenged, bumped or have to compete for a loose puck. Major issues with this team. You don’t see players from good teams that play the right way celebrating the 5th or 6th goal in a blowout over lindenwood acting like it’s a cup winner. Time to level up.

This season is surprising to me because of the season Penn State had last year, a team packed with freshmen (nine of eighteen active players). They only lost one active player from last year, defender Jessica Adolfsson...otherwise, it's the exact same team with a few newbies added to the mix, but not getting the same results. That doesn't make any sense to me. I agree about physicality, and I'd love to see bigger players recruited, especially on the defensive side. That's why I miss Jessica Adolfsson so much - she was big, she was strong, a textbook defender, and she was very hockey smart on defense. She didn't lose in front of the Penn State net.

After last season and all the accolades that came from it, this season was really going to be the marker for this team. Consistency was what they needed to show, and they haven't done that this season. I'm sure Jeff Kampersal is a lot more frustrated than any fan is, but he has to figure out what to fix, and get it fixed. There's too much talent on this team not to be doing what they did last year.

 

[Reddington]

You have eyes for Adolffson for sure, but she never led the team in blocked shots or +- so I'm not sure where the defensive prowess argument is coming from. Offensively her stats are weak and the PP percentage this year has been better without her. Now, would you take her the two new d, I'm not making that argument, but maybe that would be reasonable. Uiehlien is having her best year yet, and it is her first year not being paired with Adolffson. And Uiehlien's +- shows she is not a defensive liability this year. I don't think it is any big loss as PSU struggled in their last 5 games last year. Something else is amiss and I can't quite put my finger on it

​​​​​​I'm not happy with a two two tie, I would have liked to see more Byrnes, Carriochi and Lanto. Maybe the first line would have been more rested. This is the second OT where they were schooled on the first possession and I think the question is are they gassed? This time Bothun had a nice save and bailed them out.

I did like Wallin this weekend, a nice assist and a goal after being -4 against Cornell. I think getting her untracked and keeping Gough going is the key to this team down the stretch.

 

[ZedLeppelin]

You have eyes for Adolffson for sure, but she never led the team in blocked shots or +- so I'm not sure where the defensive prowess argument is coming from. Offensively her stats are weak and the PP percentage this year has been better without her. Now, would you take her over the two new d, I'm not making that argument, but maybe that would be reasonable.

Maybe my bit of Swedish ancestry is coloring my judgement with Adolfsson (haha). No, she didn't put up big offensive numbers, but her defensive style was solid. She knew where she was supposed to be on a defensive play, and she did her job there. I bet if you asked Josie Bothun who she would want at the net with her, among all of the current defenders and Adolfsson, she'd choose Adolfsson. Her +/- never led the team, but probably because she was paired with Uihlein, who scares me every time she touches the puck. Uihlein has managed to develop an occasional scoring shot, though, so I'll give that to her, but her defense is nothing like Adolfsson. Would I take Adolfsson over the two new defenders (Garcia and Mitchell)? In a heartbeat.

Something else is amiss and I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm not happy with a two two tie, I would have liked to see more Byrnes, Carriochi, and Lantto.

#28 Mikayla Lantto isn't on the roster anymore, for some reason...I hadn't even noticed that. Jeff Kampersal must be getting serious, or Lantto graduated early (really really early), who knows? Absolutely, something is amiss this season, but it's not a shortage of talent, so it must be the intangibles: work ethic, attitude, effort, drive, etc. I don't get it.

I did like Wallin this weekend, a nice assist and a goal after being -4 against Cornell. I think getting her untracked and keeping Gough going is the key to this team down the stretch.

Olivia Wallin did look more like herself this weekend, so hopefully she's about done shaking off the injury from earlier this season. Anna Promersberger surprised me this weekend, too, with her hustle.

 

[EMPTYNETTER]

This season is surprising to me because of the season Penn State had last year, a team packed with freshmen (nine of eighteen active players). They only lost one active player from last year, defender Jessica Adolfsson...otherwise, it's the exact same team with a few newbies added to the mix, but not getting the same results. That doesn't make any sense to me. I agree about physicality, and I'd love to see bigger players recruited, especially on the defensive side. That's why I miss Jessica Adolfsson so much - she was big, she was strong, a textbook defender, and she was very hockey smart on defense. She didn't lose in front of the Penn State net.

After last season and all the accolades that came from it, this season was really going to be the marker for this team. Consistency was what they needed to show, and they haven't done that this season. I'm sure Jeff Kampersal is a lot more frustrated than any fan is, but he has to figure out what to fix, and get it fixed. There's too much talent on this team not to be doing what they did last year.

I have to agree with Zed here, Adolfson had a presence when on the ice outside of her stats. She was a big body that played tough and won battles in the corners. The other think she was good at was getting her hard shot to the net. This team misses that as so many shots from the blue line go into shin guards or miss the net by six feet.

The other thing that is troublesome is the lack of scoring. Outside of Heising and Zanon, and Gough when she sets up in front on the powerplay the production is not good. Wallin is a natural goal scorer, but would benefit from someone that can get her the puck in scoring situations. It makes it real easy for teams to load up against the top line, with no real threat beyond that.

Very hopeful this team can figure it out for the league games down the stretch.

 

[Reddington]

Not exactly Zed - there was a 5 man rotation last year so Adolffson was also with Lobdell. The funny thing is Lobdell was the highest on +- 23 and half the time she was with Adolffson. Adolffson was at +- 11 and Uihlien was at +-10. Gangarosa played with Lobdell and Heminger and was +19 and Heminger was at +18. Your eyes are deceiving you on Adolffson, but of course you are entitled to your opinions. You just can't ignore the numbers. Adolffson never led the team in blocks.

Again empty netter is entitled to his opinion on the pp, but the pp was terrible percentage wise with her. She was played like a horse and her stats didn't measure up to her playing time.

​​​​​​We can go all day on this and add in that Nelson, Rankin and Burke would really help this team too.

Or we can go in a totally different direction and wonder why PSU did not sign Diffendahl, Hartley and Polanski.

The team is underwhelming. However, I do love the UMD win and BU win. PSU is turning into Syracuse south consistency wise .There is more than enough talent on this team.

​​​​

 

[ZedLeppelin]

...Adolffson was also with Lobdell. The funny thing is Lobdell was the highest on +- 23 and half the time she was with Adolffson. Adolffson was at +- 11

As you said, Lobdell (+/- 23) played with Gangarosa (+/- 19) and Heminger (+/- 18), too, so those were good defensive pairings for Lobdell's individual +/- rating.

I think Adolfsson (+/- 11) being paired with Uihlein (+/- 10) is what kept Adolfsson's rating low. Her individual defensive play wasn't off.

I admit I don't really know how +/- is calculated, but that's what makes sense to me, so I might be way off as far as that goes. In my own opinion, apart from numbers, I thought Adolfsson's defensive style itself was textbook.

PSU is turning into Syracuse South, consistency wise. There is more than enough talent on this team.

Quote of the day.