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TKO From Tokyo: Japan Eliminates Team USA at World University Games

February 7, 2015, 1:45 pm
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Kendra Myers (right) and Team USA are out of medal contention



The U.S. National University Team's run for a repeat podium finish at the World University Games in Granada, Spain came to a screeching halt on Saturday, thanks to a 4-1 loss to Japan.

With the defeat, Team USA dropped to 0-2-0 in Group A while Japan improved to 2-0-0. China, which opened with a defeat of the U.S. on Thursday, throttled host Spain in Saturday's late game to join Japan at 2-0-0. With only one round robin game left for each team, therefore, the two Asian nations have clinched the pool's two semifinal bids. Canada and Russia, both 1-0-0, have locked up advancement out of Group B, with specific seeding and matchups to be determined by the final set of group games.

As for the American side, their remaining pool game will take place at 2:30 Monday afternoon against Spain. After that, Team USA will have two more games abroad for placement purposes, versus both Spain and Kazakhstan. Those contests will take place between Tuesday and Friday of next week.

In the Japan match on Saturday, things could not have started much worse for the U.S., as the opponents ran out to a 37-7 shooting advantage through two periods. Still, the deficit remained just 1-0, on a Moeko Fujimoto 5-on-3 goal with 6:18 left in the first, and with Massachusetts teammates Paige Harrington and Caleigh LaBossiere boxed for checking and delay of game, respectively. Caitlin Nosanov (Davenport) played a crucial role in keeping things close with 36 saves in the opening 40 minutes, finishing with 43 in total.

Team USA came alive in the third period, where special teams would prove, briefly, their salvation, then once again their undoing. With 11:01 remaining, Vermont's Emily Ford won a power play draw back to Harrington. The former Lady Icer then found Colorado State's Molly O'Neil on the right-side wall, and O'Neil walked to the middle and sniped to tie things up.

A draw would have kept the team's hopes alive, and although the score remained 1-1 into the final four minutes of the game, it was not to be. Sena Suzuki put Japan ahead to stay on the advantage with 3:21 left, on a shot from center point that appeared to be helped through with a deflection in front. O'Neil went off for hooking shortly after, allowing Fujimoto her second score, this time with 1:52 left and by pushing the puck past Nosanov's pad during a net-front scramble. Runa Moritake added a fourth power play goal for her team (in eight total attempts) 14 seconds from the finish for the final margin.

The victory was a measure of revenge for Japan, which was stymied by 37 saves from the Lady Ice Lions' Katie Vaughan in the bronze medal match of the 2013 World University Games tournament in Pergine, Italy.

Penn State's Madison Smiddy once again logged big minutes on the U.S. blueline Saturday, this time partnering with ECWHL rival LaBossiere. She fired one of the team's 16 shots on goal during the third period and had a second-period power play wrister blocked down in front. The Grand Rapids, MI native was playing on the penalty kill for a couple of Japan goals but remains a +1 for the tournament.

Group A
GPWDL+/-GF:GAPts.
1
x - Japan
2
2
0
0
+14
15:1
6
2
x - China
2
2
0
0
+13
14:1
6
3
United States
2
0
0
2
-4
2:6
0
4
Spain
2
0
0
2
-23
0:23
0
X
Group B
GPWDL+/-GF:GAPts.
1
x - Russia
1
1
0
0
+11
12:1
4.5
2
x - Canada
1
1
0
0
+6
7:1
4.5
3
Kazakhstan
2
0
0
2
-17
2:19
0
x - clinched semifinal berth

Date 
Opponent
Time (ET)Coverage/Result
Thu. Feb. 5
China
11:00 a.m.
L 1-2
Sat. Feb. 7
Japan
11:00 a.m.
L 1-4
Mon. Feb. 9
Spain
2:30 p.m.
Streaming TBD
Twitter
Live Scoring
Tue. Feb. 10 or
Thu. Feb. 12
Classification Game
TBD
Thu. Feb. 12 or
Fri. Feb. 13
Classification Game
TBD

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Smiddy Picks Up Two Points, United States Rips Spain 9-1

February 9, 2015, 2:37 pm
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Miami's Kaley Mooney posted a hat trick while Colorado State's Molly O'Neil added a pair of goals with an assist as the U.S. National University Select Team dominated Spain 9-1 on Monday afternoon. The contest between the previously-eliminated sides closed Group A play at the World University Games in Granada, Spain.

Team USA finishes 1-2-0 in the pool after dropping its first two games to China and Japan, while Spain closes at 0-3-0.

Emily Ford (Vermont) cranked up the American offense just 1:58 in with a nifty dangle to the middle and bury from O'Neil's feed. That was followed by UMass's Caleigh LaBossiere, Mooney's first and both of O'Neil's tallies, the second of those with 0:06 remaining in the period for a 5-0 lead headed back to the locker room. Goal scoring wasn't the only U.S.-dominated statistic in the frame, as Michigan State goalie Maria Barlow did not face a single shot (and would only see two over the entire match).

Penn State senior defenseman Madison Smiddy was a key part of an early second period sequence that helped swing momentum back in Team USA's favor after Spain's best stretch of the game. The hosts' Vanesa Abrisqueta hammered home a shot from the high slot to trim the margin to 5-1 within the first minute, and Morgan McGrath (Miami) compounded things by taking a tripping call shortly after. Just 22 seconds into the penalty kill however, Smiddy drew a trip to Alba Calero while carrying out of the defensive zone to bring the teams back to even strength. Then, during four-on-four action, she collected a secondary assist on a goal by Miami's Hayley Williams to make the score 6-1.

Reigning Zoe M. Harris Award winner Williams would close with that goal and two assists, while UMass' Paige Harrington collected a trio of helpers.

Later in the second period, Smiddy did the honors herself on a drive from the top of the left circle that appeared to take a deflection in front, with assists going to both Williams and Harrington. That marker ultimately closed the day's scoring at 9-1 after a low-key third period involving both teams playing for the final horn. The left-handed blueliner was credited with four shots and a plus-three rating for the game, as well as being a key part of the squad's power play units that went three-for-five over the first two periods and three-for-eight overall. She now joins former Lady Icers forward Denise Rohlik as the only Penn State women to score a World University Games goal. Coincidentally, Rohlik also accomplished the feat against the host country, Turkey, on January 28, 2011. Smiddy's two points are bested by only four other defensemen in this year's tournament.

Team USA will wrap up its time abroad with classification games against both Kazakhstan (tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.) and Spain (Friday at 7:30 a.m.) to determine the fifth, sixth and seventh-place finishers in Granada. Meanwhile, Japan and China have advanced to semifinals from Group A, where they will battle Canada and Russia, respectively, on Wednesday.

Group A
GPWDL+/-GF:GAPts.
1
x - Japan
3
3
0
0
+15
16:1
9
2
x - China
3
2
0
1
+12
14:2
6
3
United States
3
1
0
2
+4
11:7
3
4
Spain
3
0
0
3
-31
1:32
0
X
Group B
GPWDL+/-GF:GAPts.
1
x - Russia
2
2
0
0
+13
15:2
9
2
x - Canada
2
1
0
1
+4
8:4
4.5
3
Kazakhstan
2
0
0
2
-17
2:19
0
x - clinched semifinal berth

Date 
Opponent
Time (ET)Coverage/Result
Thu. Feb. 5
China
11:00 a.m.
L 1-2
Sat. Feb. 7
Japan
11:00 a.m.
L 1-4
Mon. Feb. 9
Spain
2:30 p.m.
W 9-1
Tue. Feb. 10
Kazakhstan
2:30 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 13
Spain
7:30 a.m.

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Great Success! Ford's Winner Propels Team USA Past Kazakhstan

February 10, 2015, 3:23 pm
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Madison Smiddy (left) and defense partner Corey Robison (Grand Valley State) helped keep Kazakhstan at bay



It may have come too late for medal contention, but at the very least, the U.S. National University Select Team has found its stride before leaving Granada, Spain.

Emily Ford (Vermont) scored a power play goal halfway through overtime to complete a stirring comeback from a 2-0 hole, as Team USA bested Kazakhstan 3-2 in the World University Games classification round on Tuesday. The win was the second straight for the U.S. after dropping its opening two games, then routing Spain on Monday.

The Lady Ice Lions'Madison Smiddy enjoyed another stellar game as an international. She found Ford for the primary assist on the winner and earned a plus-one rating while ripping three shots on goal. In four total games, Smiddy has a goal, two assists (her three points are tied for the high number among Team USA defensemen, and tied for third Games-wide), ten shots, and a plus-five (another team best and tied for sixth in the tournament).

Still, had Team USA lost the game, the squad's power play that generated the decider would have enjoyed something other than hero status.

It misfired on its first ten looks with a numerical advantage, even while helping rack up an impressive 36 shots during regulation time. The units suffered the further ignominy of allowing a shorthanded goal, an unassisted marker by Zarina Tukhtiyeva with 1:07 left in the first period. Six minutes of game time later, Meruyert Ryspek added another - this time at even strength - to make it 2-0 Kazakhstan.

Miami's Katie Augustine got to work from there, nabbing a crucial goal assisted by RedHawks teammate Kaley Mooney to cut the deficit in half late in the second period. Then after roughly 15 more shots and three unconverted power plays, and with 2:37 separating the team from defeat, a third MU player, Hayley Williams, brought things level to force overtime.

Until finally cracking late, Kazakhstan's Aizhan Raushanova was outstanding in goal, ending with 41 saves on 44 shots. Caitlin Nosanov (Davenport) turned aside 23 shots for Team USA, including all 11 she faced during the third period. In addition to accounting for nine and eight shots repectively, Williams and Ford starred in the faceoff circle with 73.08 and 83.33 win percentages. The American penalty kill wasn't tested nearly as often as its special teams counterpart, but smothered both Kazakh power plays.

Team USA is scheduled to play one more classification game before heading home for the stretch drive of the ACHA season, on Friday at 7:30 a.m. against Spain, with a win there locking down fifth place at the World University Games. Prior to that, semifinalists Japan, Canada, China and Russia will have played each other on Wednesday and Thursday to settle the awarding of gold, silver and bronze medals.

Classification Group
GPWOTWOTLL+/-GF:GAPts.
1
United States
1
0
1
0
0
+1
3:2
2
2
Kazakhstan
1
0
0
1
0
-1
2:3
1
3
Spain
0
0
0
0
0
0
0:0
0

Date 
Opponent
Time (ET)Coverage/Result
Thu. Feb. 5
China
11:00 a.m.
L 1-2
Sat. Feb. 7
Japan
11:00 a.m.
L 1-4
Mon. Feb. 9
Spain
2:30 p.m.
W 9-1
Tue. Feb. 10
Kazakhstan
2:30 p.m.
W 3-2 (OT)
Fri. Feb. 13
Spain
7:30 a.m.

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Lady Ice Lions Capture Trio of ACHA Awards for January Excellence

February 11, 2015, 12:28 pm
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Jackie Saideh, Lucy Yeatman and Cassie Dunne are integral to the Lady Ice Lions' THON efforts



ACHA release

The Lady Ice Lions picked up three more ACHA monthly awards in January to bring the team's season total to six, the association announced on Wednesday.

Junior Darby Kern headlined the group by winning Harrow Player of the Month. The electric Venetia, PA-native winger posted 10 goals and 16 points in six games during the month, helping her season totals to 26 (second in Division 1) and 45 (third). Just as impressively, she's accumulated those totals in just 19 games, fewer than any player less than 20 points or 12 goals behind her. January highlights for Kern included two-point outing in PSU's takedown of current number three Massachusetts on the 10th, another multi-point effort in the upset of defending national champion Miami eight days later, and ten goals in three games against Navy and Northeastern to close things out (the last of those contests occurring on February 1st).

Mary Kate Tonetti was named the Warrior Goaltender of the Month for the second time this season, after previously being recognized in September. The senior club president's line more or less speaks for itself: a 4-0-0 record with a 1.24 goals against average and a 0.956 save percentage despite two of her four appearances coming against very strong opposition in Miami and UMass. Tonetti stopped 82 pucks in both of those wins, and added a shutout of Ohio State on January 17th for good measure. Over the entirety of 2014-15, she is among the division's top five in save percentage (0.946, fourth), saves (547, fifth), shutouts (four, tied for second), minutes (1091:30, third), and wins (13, tied for second).

The squad as a whole was rewarded with Gongshow Stars in the Community recognition for its work to support PSU's famed, annual IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (commonly known as THON), which is set for the February 20th through 22nd weekend at the Bryce Jordan Center. Efforts led by overall team THON chair Tonetti, fundraising chairs Lucy Yeatman and Cassie Dunne and family relations chair Hannah Dier include:
  • A January 19th THON skate held in conjunction with Penn State's ACHA men's team, the Ice Lions, that raised approximately $1000 in $5 admission charges
  • Participation in additional fundraising activities including canning weekends, in which students travel to locations away from campus and seek donations, and mail solicitations in what are called THONvelopes
  • Interaction with the Lady Ice Lions' THON family, the Strayers, which includes 12-year-old cancer survivor Jared Strayer. The family stays in regular contact with the team, and attended PSU's win over Slippery Rock on November 14th
THON is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, both in terms of volunteer count and money raised - including $13,343,517.33 at the 2014 event alone, which supports the fight against pediatric cancer though the Four Diamonds Fund at the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

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Team USA Closes WUG in 5th Place, Sinks Spanish Armada Again

February 13, 2015, 6:47 am
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Kristen Levesque scored a pair of first-period goals as the U.S. National University Team closed out the 2015 World University Games in Granada, Spain with a comfortable 9-0 victory over Spain on Friday morning.

Team USA clinched fifth place and a 3-2-0 overall record with the win, a third consecutive top-five finish since entering the competition for the first time in 2011. The 0.600 win percentage is the group's best ever, edging 2013's 0.571.

It was decidedly a slower-building affair than the 9-1 triumph over the hosts on Monday to close out the preliminary round, as Rhode Island star Levesque countered an quick Spanish flurry (three shots, more than they managed in that entire first game) with her goals four minutes apart midway through the opening 20.

Levesque's linemates, Vermont's Emily Ford and Michigan's Monica Korzon, were just as dominant in the early stages. Ford made it 3-0 just 1:35 into the second period while team captain Korzon assisted on each of the first three American goals.

Miami's delegation to the squad went next, as Kaley Mooney and Katie Augustine pushed the score to 5-0 midway through, with Hayley Williams assisting Mooney. Then came the Minutewomen, with help from the Wolverines and Lakers: Caleigh LaBossiere (Massachusetts) added a sixth, from Kendra Myers (Grand Valley State) and Amanda Abromson (Massachusetts) just before the horn, while Abromson, LaBossiere and Eleanor Chalifoux (Michigan) closed out the scoring in the third period.

Davenport's Caitlin Nosanov and Michigan State's Maria Barlow split the shutout in goal, combining for 16 saves and helping to repel all three of the game's power plays.

Penn State's Madison Smiddy did not play in the contest, but in the four that she did, the senior managed a goal and two assists to go with a plus-five rating and ten shots on goal. One of the assists was a low drive from center point on an overtime power play that set up Ford's jam home to cap the U.S.' 3-2 comeback win over Kazakhstan on Tuesday. Despite missing Friday's obvious stat-padding opportunity, she wound up second among Team USA blueliners in scoring and tied for fourth tournament-wide. The plus-five was tied for 15th across all teams, tied for third on Team USA and tops among American defensemen.

Elsewhere, Russia - featuring eight players who competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics - defeated Canada 3-0 in the gold medal game on Thursday, the first time the Canadians have settled for something other than the top podium spot in the four women's World University Games tournaments held to date. Japan took the bronze medal with decision over China, a nice bit of redemption for the team that lost 2013's third-place game to the United States.

Smiddy, along with Levesque, Ford, LaBossiere, Abromson, Cassie Catlow (Rhode Island), Vicki Bortolussi (UMass) and Paige Harrington (UMass), will now return home and rejoin their respective college teams for the ECWHL playoffs, scheduled for February 20th through 22nd and URI's Brad Boss Ice Arena. The third-seeded Lady Ice Lions open the tournament with Navy on Friday, then face either URI or UMass in the semifinals on Saturday with a win.

Classification Group
GPWOTWOTLL+/-GF:GAPts.
1
United States
2
1
1
0
0
+10
12:2
5
2
Kazakhstan
2
1
0
1
0
+9
12:3
4
3
Spain
2
0
0
0
2
-19
0:19
0

Date 
Opponent
Time (ET)Coverage/Result
Thu. Feb. 5
China
11:00 a.m.
L 1-2
Sat. Feb. 7
Japan
11:00 a.m.
L 1-4
Mon. Feb. 9
Spain
2:30 p.m.
W 9-1
Tue. Feb. 10
Kazakhstan
2:30 p.m.
W 3-2 (OT)
Fri. Feb. 13
Spain
7:30 a.m.
W 9-0

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Lady Ice Lions Look For Nationals Bid, History at ECWHL Playoffs

February 19, 2015, 8:35 am
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2015 ECWHL Playoffs
When
Friday, February 20th at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 21st at 8:30 a.m. or 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feburary 22nd at 10:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m.
Where
Bradford R. Boss Ice Arena
Kingston, RI
The Lead
The Lady Ice Lions look to secure Penn State's first ECWHL playoff championship in ten tries by winning three games against the league's six member teams.
Live Video/
Audio
TBD

Game Notes

The Details: The ECWHL playoffs are an affair involving all six conference teams. Before the third-seeded Lady Ice Lions meet sixth-seeded Navy on Friday at 8:00 p.m., Vermont and Northeastern will battle it out in a 4 vs. 5 matchup at 5:00 p.m. The losers of those two games play for fifth place on Saturday at 8:30 a.m., while the winners advance to the semifinals to face second-place Rhode Island at 2:00 p.m. and regular-season champ Massachusetts at 5:00 p.m. (the highest-seeded winner of Friday's games will be paired with URI, meaning that Penn State is locked into a battle with the Rams should the team defeat Navy). The semifinal winners will collide for the crown on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., preceded by a third-place game at 10:00 a.m.

The News: It's been three weeks since the Lady Ice Lions have been seen in game action, but there has still been some significant news around the team during the layoff. Senior defenseman Madison Smiddy was a part of the 2015 U.S. National University Team that grabbed a fifth-place finish at the World University Games in Granada, Spain this month, with Smiddy finishing among Team USA and tournament leaders in defense scoring and plus-minus rating. Meanwhile, back at home, the team announced a very strong academic performance in the fall semester headlined by Devon Fisk's perfect 4.0 grade point average and matching 3.92s from Claire Gauthier and Lucy Yeatman. Finally, Penn State received three of the ACHA's monthly awards for January including Harrow Player of the Month recognition for Darby Kern, a second Warrior Goaltender of the Month nod for Mary Kate Tonetti and Gongshow Stars in the Community honors for the team's efforts in support of PSU's famed IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

The Big Picture: Other than a first-ever ECWHL championship, which stands as a worthy goal in and of itself (especially as the former Lady Icers program came up empty there over nine seasons), the major prize on the table for this weekend is the playoff winner's automatic bid to the ACHA National Tournament, set for March 4th through 8th in York, PA. Should that route fail, the top eight teams in the final ACHA ranking (minus any spots given to teams from outside of the top eight winning autobids from the ACHA's three Division 1 conferences) issued next week will also be invited. The Lady Ice Lions sit squarely on the bubble as the eighth-ranked team in late January's previous poll and will look for a strong performance this weekend to help close out a spot at nationals. With a 3-0-0 record by a combined 27-3 count and elevation from 12th to seventh in the computer ranking - which counts for one third of the overall standing - since that last ranking, it's so far, so good in that department.

The Opponents

First Place

Name: University of Massachusetts
Nickname: Minutewomen
Location: Amherst, MA

2014-15 Record: 22-6-0 (15-3-0 ECWHL)
ACHA Ranking: 3
ECWHL Playoff Championships: 2013

Series History: Massachusetts leads, 3-1-0 (3-1-0 this season). Most recently, Penn State and UMass exchanged 2-1 and 4-3 overtime wins at Pegula Ice Arena on January 10th and 11th, with Cara Mendelson grabbing the decider in game one and the visitors' Amy Morin striking back the next day 19 seconds away from a tie after PSU had rallied from 2-1 and 3-2 holes to force OT. The Minutewomen swept the Lady Ice Lions back in October in Amherst, with former Lady Icer Paige Harrington grabbing the opening goal each time to help 3-0 and 1-0 scores. Kasey Zegel made 76 saves in her dual shutouts that weekend.

About Massachusetts: For the most part, the beat has rolled on for the Minutewomen since their overtime split at Pegula Ice Arena to open the spring semester. UMass has gone 7-1-0 down the stretch, impressively surviving the loss of top players Harrington, Caleigh LaBossiere, Amanda Abromson and Vicki Bortolussi to the World University Games for four of those contests. The seven wins have included No. 7 Rhode Island, No. 10 Colorado State and No. 12 Robert Morris (twice), while the only defeat was in the back half of the series with the Rams. Beyond the WUG contingent, Zegel (20 wins, 0.923 save percentage), Brittani Lanzilli (21 goals, 39 points) and Michaela Tosone (28 assists, 37 points) lead the way for last season's ACHA runners-up.

Head Coach: Bill Wright
Goals Scored Per ECWHL Game: 3.89
Goals Allowed Per ECWHL Game: 1.50

Team Website:
http://www.umasswomenshockey.com/

Second Place

Name: University of Rhode Island
Nickname: Rams
Location: Kingston, RI

2014-15 Record: 18-10-1 (12-3-1 ECWHL)
ACHA Ranking: 7
ECWHL Playoff Championships: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014

Series History: Tied, 1-1-0 (1-1-0 this season). On November 9th, Penn State earned what was then its biggest win of the season by jumping out to a 3-0 lead through Mendelson, Anna Marcus and Riley O'Connor, then hanging on through a tense third period for a 3-2 victory. URI took the matchup of the previous day 3-1 by similarly getting up 3-0 then surviving a late rally that included an O'Connor goal.

About Rhode Island: The tournament hosts have an illustrious history in the ECWHL playoffs, including nine of the 11 championships in league history (including last season, which allowed them the opportunity to host this edition). Behind players like 2012-13 Zoe M. Harris Award winner Cassie Catlow - a two-time World University Games selection as well - leading scorer Kristy Kennedy (23 goals, 44 points) and Alisha DiFilippo (16 goals) the Rams have a great opportunity to make it an even 10 titles under first-year coach Ashley Pagliarini. URI has already proven able to compete with many of the ACHA's best, including season splits with PSU, UMass and second-ranked Liberty.

Head Coach: Ashley Pagliarini
Goals Scored Per ECWHL Game: 4.94
Goals Allowed Per ECWHL Game: 2.19

Team Website:
http://web.uri.edu/clubsports/wih/
http://uriwomensicehockey.weebly.com/

Fourth Place

Name: University of Vermont
Nickname: Catamounts
Location: Burlington, VT

2014-15 Record: 4-11-3 (4-7-1 ECWHL)
ACHA Ranking: 15
ECWHL Playoff Championships: None

Series History: Penn State leads, 2-0-0 (2-0-0 this season). The Lady Ice Lions opened the 2014-15 campaign at Vermont and came away with 3-0 and 5-4 wins, the latter coming through Kern's winner 1:05 into overtime, following a regulation hat trick by Fisk. The day before, Tonetti's shutout was supported by goals from both Kern (twice) and Cassie Dunne.

About Vermont: It's been a long time since the Lady Ice Lions have seen UVM, and the Catamounts have shown a lot of improvement since that late-September season-opening series. Their spring semester exploits have included an 8-3 loss to UMass where UVM led 3-2 headed into the third period, a one-goal loss to the Minutewomen the next day, and a series at Rhode Island that resulted in a tie and a late-overtime loss. The latter two games were played without star forward Emily Ford, a World University Games selection who leads Vermont with 13 goals (including a four-goal game against PSU back on September 28th). Other standouts include Ford's typical linemates - Carly Tashman and Erin McDonald - as well as former NCAA Division III Chatham player Nicole Beaudoin and MIT graduate Monique Squiers on defense. Rosie Gluck and Audrey Currier form one of the league's more reliable goaltending tandems.

Head Coach: Keith Nagle
Goals Scored Per ECWHL Game: 2.92
Goals Allowed Per ECWHL Game: 3.00

Team Website:
http://uvmwomenshockey.pointstreaksites.com/

Fifth Place

Name: Northeastern University
Nickname: Huskies
Location: Boston, MA

2014-15 Record: 4-17-0 (2-13-0 ECWHL)
ACHA Ranking: Unranked
ECWHL Playoff Championships: 2011

Series History: Penn State leads, 4-0-0 (4-0-0 this season). In November, the Lady Ice Lions took a pair of one-goal decisions in Boston, by 2-1 and 3-2 counts. The first required overtime, where a Smiddy drive 40 seconds in settled things, while the second saw a pair of Gauthier assists and another winner from a defenseman - this time Tara Soukup in regulation. The season's final regular season games saw much more decisive results in University Park on January 31st and February 1st, 11-1 and 6-1. Kern exploded for seven goals in the pair of routs, while Fisk chipped in four.

About Northeastern: It's been a difficult season for the 2012 ACHA National Champions, as the Huskies have not won since November 16th at Navy. The ten-game losing streak has included some close calls against good teams - 1-0 against UMass last weekend most recently and also the two one-goal games against PSU in November - but also clunkers like a pair of defeats to non-ACHA team Boston University. Still, Michelle Macchione (18 points) and Kelsey Hickey (15 points) are two of the ECWHL's most dangerous players, with Macchione scoring in two of NU's four games against PSU.

Head Coach: Jeff Postera
Goals Scored Per ECWHL Game: 2.07
Goals Allowed Per ECWHL Game: 4.80

Team Website:
http://nuwomensicehockey.weebly.com/

Sixth Place

Name: United States Naval Academy
Nickname: Midshipmen
Location: Annapolis, MD

2014-15 Record: 9-19-0 (0-13-0 ECWHL)
ACHA Ranking: Unranked
ECWHL Playoff Championships: None

Series History: Penn State leads, 3-0-0 (2-0-0 this season). The Lady Ice Lions have had little issue with the Middies, winning 9-1 in Annapolis on January 13, 2013 behind four goals and two assists from Mandy Mortach and one and two from Taylor Nyman, then 9-0 and 10-1 this season at Pegula Ice Arena. The line of Fisk, Kern and Katie Murphy combined for six goals and seven assists in the first 2014-15 meeting back in November, while Kern and Mendelson each offered hat tricks in the most recent collision on January 30th.

About Navy: Last weekend, the Midshipmen traveled to nearby Harrington, DE for the playoffs of their other conference, the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference. However, the co-favorites fell to Towson in the championship game by a 3-2 count after defeating Liberty's ACHA Division 2 team and Maryland. Cara Pastrana - who also plays lacrosse at the academy and is a cousin of action sports legend Travis Pastrana - is one of the league's best defensemen and fronts heavily-worked but sturdy goaltender Sarah Hutchinson. Allyson Strachan had a tremendous DVCHC playoff run with seven goals in three games, and has 26 overall this season, while Emily Buzzard's 19 goals and 18 assists also position her as a top offensive threat.

Head Coaches: Kimberly Himmer and Keith Himmer
Goals Scored Per ECWHL Game: 1.23
Goals Allowed Per ECWHL Game: 7.31

Team Website:
http://www.usna.edu/NWHOCKEY/

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One and On: Lady Ice Lions Throttle Navy to Open ECWHL Playoffs

February 20, 2015, 8:17 pm
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Darby Kern's 30 goals this season rank second in ACHA Division 1



Darby Kern scored four times - including her first three 47 seconds apart - and linemates Cara Mendelson and Katie Murphy chipped in five and four points respectively, as the Lady Ice Lions opened their ECWHL playoff run Friday night with a 8-0 win over Navy.

Third-seeded Penn State will now face the weekend's hosts, second-seeded Rhode Island, in the league semifinals on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. The other semifinal pits ECWHL regular season champion Massachusetts against Vermont, which defeated Northeastern just before PSU took the ice against the Midshipmen.

Unlike the Lady Ice Lions' two regular-season matchups with Navy, this one was anything but a slow build. Penn State won the shot battle in the first period by a staggering 27-1 count (en route to 63-12 for the game), and collected goals by Madison Smiddy and Riley O'Connor - the latter sequence started by a Smiddy stretch pass for Devon Fisk, which then produced a Claire Gauthier try and a juicy rebound for O'Connor.

That was prelude to the Kern show, as the big junior from Venetia, PA fed Murphy in the slot to put PSU up 3-0 4:02 in the second period, the proceeded with what has to be among the fastest natural hat tricks in ACHA history between the 9:45 and 8:58 marks. Each time, she had one of her classmates running sidecar on transitional efforts, as Murphy assisted on the second and Mendelson grabbed a helper on the third.

Murphy grabbed her second goal early in the third off of Mendelson's rebound, and Kern closed the evening's offense in fitting fashion. Murphy won a defensive zone faceoff to the eventual scorer, who stepped around a Navy defenseman at the PSU line to create an odd-man rush. A slick back-and-forth pass from Mendelson followed to get Middies goalie Sarah Hutchinson out of position for the easy tap-in and a 30th goal this season.

Mary Kate Tonetti and Aimee Little split the stress-free shutout down the middle, gathering seven and five saves, respectively. Both teams' power plays finished 0-for-1 after first-period tripping calls to Navy's Monica Hernandez and PSU's Lauren Chaby went unpunished.

Should the Lady Ice Lions defeat the Rams on Saturday, the team would then advance to Sunday's championship game against the UMass-UVM winner at 1:00 p.m. A loss to URI means a slot in 10:00 a.m.'s third place game.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Madison Smiddy (unassisted), 13:48; 2. Penn State, Riley O'Connor (Claire Gauthier), 6:07.
Penalties
1. Navy, Monica Hernandez (2:00 tripping), 11:24; 2. Penn State, Lauren Chaby (2:00 tripping), 0:33.
Second Period
Scoring
3. Penn State, Katie Murphy (Darby Kern, Cara Mendelson), 15:58; 4. Penn State, Darby Kern (unassisted), 9:45; 5. Penn State, Darby Kern (Katie Murphy, Cara Mendelson), 9:30; 6. Penn State, Darby Kern (Cara Mendelson, Cassie Dunne), 8:58.
Penalties
None.
Third Period
Scoring
7. Penn State, Katie Murphy (Cara Mendelson, Darby Kern), 18:33; 8. Penn State, Darby Kern (Katie Murphy, Cara Mendelson).
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Mary Kate Tonetti: W, 7 saves/7 shots; Aimee Little (8:58 2nd): 5 saves/5 shots. Navy: Sarah Hutchinson: L, 55 saves/63 shots.

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Rhode Island Rams Lady Ice Lions Out of ECWHL Playoffs by 4-1 Count

February 21, 2015, 2:21 pm
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Riley O'Connor scored Penn State's lone goal



Kristy Kennedy scored two late goals, while teammate Kristen Levesque added a goal an assist to boost seventh-ranked Rhode Island over the Lady Ice Lions 4-1 on Saturday afternoon.

The defeat bounces eighth-ranked Penn State, now 16-7-0 from the ECWHL playoffs in the semifinal round, erasing hopes for a first-ever playoff title from the league for a Penn State team and the ACHA National Tournament autobid that would have gone with it.

Things started well enough for PSU, which carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a Riley O'Connor goal with 11:22 left. On the play, Kim Badorrek found the streaking redhead up the middle for a one-on-one opportunity. URI goalie Sarah Ross made the initial save, but the combination of a charging O'Connor and a pinballing biscuit was eventually just enough to clear the goalline. A combo pass between Madison Smiddy, Cara Mendelson and Darby Kern shortly after got Kern in behind everyone - enough to draw an ultimately unsuccessful power play, but a situation that PSU would have preferred to play out without the penalty.

After a couple other missed opportunities, Kristen Levesque tied the game early in the second period with a slot redirection of a Cassie Catlow feed out of the left corner.

From there, the game was largely as advertised between the two powers. Each had a power play opportunity, each had surges where their respective style won out. But it would be the Rams who turned that into goals.

Kennedy, one of the ACHA's top scorers, grabbed what would turn out to be the winning goal midway through the third period. After Levesque won an offensive faceoff leading to a Jackie Keable shot, Kennedy was able to hook the rebound around Mary Kate Tonetti's pad. Her second came with 108 seconds remaining in the contest, another rebound effort, this time on her own 2-on-1 shot.

Tonetti finished with 36 saves, including absolute gems on Levesque and Monica Darby that maintained the Lady Ice Lions' chance to win late.

Janessa Coutney concluded the game's scoring into an empty net.

An ECWHL third-place game against either Vermont or Massachusetts is set for 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, where the Lady Ice Lions will hope to present a convincing final statement. After that comes an uncomfortable wait for, hopefully, a mid-week phone call and an invititation to the ACHA National Tournament March 4th through 8th in York, PA.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Riley O'Connor (unassisted), 11:22.
Penalties
1. Rhode Island, Jillian Holden (2:00 tripping), 6:42.
Second Period
Scoring
2. Rhode Island, Kristen Levesque (Cassie Catlow), 17:06.
Penalties
2. Penn State, Darby Kern (2:00 roughing), 12:59; 3. Rhode Island, Marykate Stimpson (2:00 hooking), 6:09.
Third Period
Scoring
3. Rhode Island, Kristy Kennedy (Jackie Keable, Kristen Levesque), 11:24; 4. Rhode Island, Kristy Kennedy (Brenna Callahan), 1:48; 5. Rhode Island, Janessa Courtney (Sydney Collins, Alisha DiFilippo), 0:45 (empty net).
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Mary Kate Tonetti: L, 36 saves/39 shots. Rhode Island: Sarah Ross: W, 25 saves/26 shots.

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Search

Third Place, Top Seven? PSU Bests Vermont, Prepares to Wait

February 22, 2015, 11:02 am
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Katie Murphy enjoyed a three-point outing in the consolation win



Third-place games are tough.

They generally take place early in the morning in front of intimate crowds, while the teams subsequently playing for a trophy prepare. And they involve two teams on an emotional low and freshly off of the championship track, often with little motivation beyond pride. In the Lady Ice Lions' case, a golden opportunity to all but seal a bid to the ACHA National Tournament had just passed with a 4-1 ECWHL semifinal loss to Rhode Island the night before. When a good team plays its worst match of the year, just as often as not, it's in the third-place game.

Just about the only thing that can overcome all of that is character, resolve, and effort - and Penn State had plenty of those things in a 4-1 consolation victory over Vermont on Sunday morning in Kingston, RI that may have (but hopefully didn't) closed the 2014-15 season.

It was a dominant effort not fully reflected by the score, as the stellar PSU defense limited UVM to just a dozen shots in the 60 minutes with one, a Nicole Beaudoin fluttering wrister from the right circle late in the second period, beating Mary Kate Tonetti. On the other end, the Lady Ice Lions fired 39 on Catamounts goalies Audrey Currier and Rosie Gluck.

The line of Darby Kern, Katie Murphy and Cara Mendelson - a junior and two seniors playing possibly their final high-level hockey game - once again drove the PSU output, with Mendelson sniping clean from the slot 3:18 from puck drop for a 1-0 lead, after Kern threw it to the middle from the left corner.

Roughly ten minutes later, Kern both started and finished the play herself. She made a neutral zone takeaway that led to a pile of offense, including tries from Murphy and senior captain Ashton Schaffer along with a near miss on another centering feed for Mendelson, before the pride of Peters Township High School buried Murphy's rebound.

Kern struck again early in the second period to boost the score to 3-0 with a phenomenal individual effort in taking a loose puck in the neutral zone and dancing around both UVM defensemen for the deposit. Then, 2:14 after Beaudoin's goal, Murphy answered with a similar look to Mendelson's opening goal. On the play, Currier saved Kern's initial shot before the left wing swung behind the net to her home corner, finding a wide-open Michigander with a laser backhand.

A supremely dominant third period (14-2 on shots, three Vermont penalties to none for PSU) closed things out, although without additional scoring. Devon Fisk perhaps came closest on a loose puck in front during the Catamounts' second penalty of the frame. UVM forward Emily Ford took objection and wrestled her to the ice, giving Penn State more time on the advantage. In all, the now 17-7-0 overall team was 0-for-3 on the power play, while staying out of the box during the contest.

The win was the eighth-ranked Lady Ice Lions' final argument for inclusion in the ACHA national championships, which begin March 4th in York, PA, a verdict that will be rendered in the middle of the coming week. Should PSU - which will likely have to move up to seventh - receive good news on that front, this third-place game might not have been in vain after all.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Cara Mendelson (Darby Kern, Katie Murphy), 16:42; 2. Penn State, Darby Kern (Katie Murphy, Ashton Schaffer), 6:05.
Penalties
1. Vermont, Katherine Kreis (2:00 body checking), 4:16.
Second Period
Scoring
3. Penn State, Darby Kern (unassisted), 15:23; 4. Vermont, Nicole Beaudoin (unassisted), 4:31; 5. Penn State, Katie Murphy (Darby Kern, Kelly Watson), 2:17.
Penalties
None.
Third Period
Scoring
None.
Penalties
2. Vermont, Grace Doxsey (2:00 hooking), 17:17; 3. Vermont, Monique Squiers (2:00 tripping), 9:13; 4. Vermont, Emily Ford (2:00 roughing), 7:31.
Goaltending
Penn State: Mary Kate Tonetti: W, 11 saves/12 shots. Vermont: Audrey Currier: L, 21 saves/25 shots; Rosie Gluck (20:00 3rd period): 14 saves/14 shots.

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Six Lady Ice Lions Receive 2014-15 All-ECWHL Recognition

February 23, 2015, 6:34 am
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Devon Fisk (left) and Darby Kern (right) were among PSU's All-ECWHL selections



Six Lady Ice Lions have been named to the 2014-15 All-ECWHL teams, as determined by a vote of the league's head coaches.

Junior forward Darby Kern leads the group as Penn State's sole first-teamer. The January Harrow/ACHA Player of the Month had a staggering 18 goals and 10 assists in 12 conference matches. Her 28 points were second among all ECWHL players, trailing only the 30 of Rhode Island's Kristy Kennedy (who played 16 times). Kern surged in the regular-season closing weekend against Navy and Northeastern from January 30th through February 1st, scoring 10 times over the three games. On November 2nd against the Midshipmen, she posted a season-best six points on three goals and three assists.

Half of the second consists of Penn Staters: junior forward Devon Fisk, senior defenseman Madison Smiddy and senior goaltender Mary Kate Tonetti.

Fisk is among the most decorated players in the Lady Ice Lions' short history, as her all-league nod joins ACHA All-American honors in 2012-13 (honorable mention) and 2013-14 (second team), as well as first-team All-ACHA Tournament nods in each of those seasons. This season, the West Chester, PA native has 20 points against ECWHL competition, including four-point outings on September 28th at Vermont, November 2nd vs. Navy and January 31st vs. Northeastern.

After two years spent playing forward, Tonetti has emerged as one of the nation's best backstops this season. The September 2014 and January 2015 Warrior/ACHA Goaltender of the Month boasts a 0.953 save percentage in ECWHL play this season to go with a pair of shutouts, and is one of just two goalies in the league (first-team pick Kasey Zegel is the other) to defeat each conference rival in 2014-15.

2015 U.S. National University Team member Smiddy has headlined one of the ACHA's best defenses all year, while contributing key offensive production. Within the conference, she has chipped in a pair of assists and a goal - the overtime winner at Northeastern on November 22nd.

Cara Mendelson and Katie Murphy round out the PSU picks as honorable mention nominations. Murphy's strongest attributes are her two-way excellence, skating and ability to play in all situations. Along the way the Michigander has posted 10 points in ECWHL games, including five in her last three. Mendelson selflessly undertook a mid-season position change from defense to forward and has been one of the Lady Ice Lions' most explosive scorers since. Her eight goals in 14 league contests include her first career hat trick against Navy on January 30th, and a key goal in a November 9th win at Rhode Island.

Here is the complete list of All-ECWHL selections:

First Team
All-ECWHL
Second Team
All-ECWHL
Kasey Zegel
Massachusetts
G
Mary Kate Tonetti
Penn State
Darby Kern
Penn State
F
Devon Fisk
Penn State
Kristy Kennedy
Rhode Island
F
Emily Ford
Vermont
Amanda Abromson
Massachusetts
F
Brittani Lanzilli
Massachusetts
Paige Harrington
Massachusetts
D
Madison Smiddy
Penn State
Caleigh LaBossiere
Massachusetts
D
Sydney Collins
Rhode Island

Honorable Mention
All-ECWHL
Pos.
School
Cara Mendelson
F
Penn State
Katie Murphy
F
Penn State
Michaela Tosone
F
Massachusetts
Emily Buzzard
F
Navy
Claire Clark
D
Navy
Sarah Hutchinson
G
Navy
Cara Pastrana
D
Navy
Allyson Strachan
F
Navy
Kelsey Hickey
F
Northeastern
Michelle Macchione
F
Northeastern
Kat So
D
Northeastern
Brenna Callahan
D
Rhode Island
Cassie Catlow
F
Rhode Island
Alisha DiFilippo
F
Rhode Island
Kristen Levesque
F
Rhode Island
Audrey Currier
G
Vermont
Rosie Gluck
G
Vermont
Katherine Kreis
F
Vermont
Erin McDonald
F
Vermont
Greer Vogl
D
Vermont

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NATIONALS BOUND! PSU Secures Historic Trip to ACHA Championships

February 25, 2015, 8:33 am
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The waiting may be the hardest part, but often things are worth the wait.

After three days of nail-biting, hypothetical-running, what if-pondering agony following the close of the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League playoffs and possibly the 2014-15 season, the Lady Ice Lions have been invited to the ACHA National Tournament held at York City Ice Arena in York, PA March 4th through 8th. It will be the team's third consecutive trip to the tourney, following runner-up finishes at the Division 2 level in 2013 and 2014.

The announcement came through the issuance of the season's fourth ACHA ranking, released today and placing Penn State seventh. Joining Penn State in the field are Miami, Liberty, Michigan, Massachusetts, Grand Valley State and Adrian (the top six in the ranking), as well as number ten Minnesota. The Gophers were locked into the field by virtue of winning the Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League tournament last weekend and therefore the WWCHL's automatic bid.

PSU has been assigned into Pool B and will play the following games in the preliminary round:
  • March 4th at 6:15 p.m. vs. No. 2 Liberty
  • March 5th at 1:15 p.m. vs. No. 4 Massachusetts
  • March 6th at 12:45 p.m. vs. No. 5 Grand Valley State
Should the Lady Ice Lions finish in the top half of the four-team pool, they will advance to the March 7th semifinals, with the championship game on March 8th.

A poll of all ACHA Division 1 coaches, the verdict of a seven-coach committee and a computer poll each count for one third of the ranking, and include factors like strength of schedule, head-to-head comparisons, games with common opponents and records against ranked teams. PSU finished eighth in the computer component.

It certainly wasn't a stress-free route to nationals. PSU languished on or near the bubble for the entire season, checking in at 11th, 12th, 11th and 8th in previous polls, the latter frustratingly coming immediately after an upset at top-ranked, defending national champion Miami that snapped the RedHawks' 31-game (overall) and 25-game (at home) unbeaten streaks. Then, while riding a six-game winning streak that spanned the entirety of the fourth ranking period, the Lady Ice Lions dropped an ECWHL semifinal contest to fellow bubble dweller Rhode Island that appeared to severely damage the case for a tournament spot.

No worries, though. Thanks to some combination of a 17-7-0 overall record, big wins over Miami, URI and UMass, and none of the team's losses coming to teams ranked lower than eighth, Penn State will have the opportunity to compete for a first-ever ACHA women's national championship.

The bid represents a continuation of what has been a historic first season in ACHA Division 1 and the ECWHL. PSU's 0.708 win percentage so far in 2014-15 is the third best in school history at the D1 level, trailing only the 1999-2000 Lady Icers' 0.725 that preceded the ACHA's sanctioning of women's hockey and the 0.750 posted by the 2001-02 team that finished a D1-best third at nationals. This is the seventh appearance for a Penn State team at the D1 tourney overall, but just the third since 2004 and the first since 2010. The slotting of seventh equals the highest spot achieved by a PSU team in D1 since the ACHA first introduced a national ranking for the 2003-04 season, a status last attained on January 28, 2011.

Additionally, the nationals appearance is a nice bit of redemption for the five Lady Ice Lions seniors (plus assistant coach Jess Desorcie) who were a part of the 2011-12 Lady Icers as freshmen. That team went 5-4-1 against tournament participants Rhode Island, Northeastern (the eventual national champion), Liberty and Massachusetts during the spring semester but were denied a bid themselves, finishing ninth.

It follows, of course, a pair of Division 2 championship game runs by the Lady Ice Lions, including last season's journey through Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota State and former archrival California (PA) before falling 1-0 to Iowa State in the title game. The Lady Ice Lions were 7-2-1 in their two D2 tourneys, while the Lady Icers were 6-14-1 in their six in D1.

Here is the complete final ranking:

..
1
Miami
9
Michigan State
2
Liberty
10
Minnesota
3
Michigan
11
Colorado State
4
Massachusetts
12
Davenport
5
Grand Valley State
13
Robert Morris
6
Adrian
14
LU-Belleville
7
Penn State
15
Vermont
8
Rhode Island
Others receiving votes: Colorado, Wisconsin

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State Natty's Day: Lady Ice Lions Head to ACHA National Tournament

March 3, 2015, 8:28 am
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2015 ACHA National Tournament
When
Wednesday, March 4th at 6:15 p.m. (vs. Liberty)
Thursday, March 5th at 1:15 p.m. (vs. Massachusetts)
Friday, March 6th at 12:45 p.m. (vs. Grand Valley State)
Saturday, March 7th at 1:30 p.m. or 4:15 p.m. (semifinals)
Sunday, March 8th at 1:00 p.m. (championship game)
Where
York City Ice Arena
York, PA
The Lead
The Lady Ice Lions seek to win Penn State's first ACHA women's national championship Division 1, after finishing second at the Division 2 level in both 2013 and 2014.
Live Video/
Audio
Ustream.tv (Wednesday-Friday, audio only)
YouTube.com (Saturday-Sunday, video)

Game Notes

Natty Light: The ACHA National Tournament, similar to last season, is an eight-team affair with the squads divided into four-team pools:
  • Pool A: 1. Miami, 3. Michigan, 6. Adrian, 8. Minnesota
  • Pool B: 2. Liberty, 4. Massachusetts, 5. Grand Valley State, 7. Penn State
Each team will play the other three in its pool on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with two points awarded for a win and one for a tie. After that, the teams finishing first and second in each pool's standings advance to Saturday's semifinals, with the championship game on Sunday. The primary differences from 2014 include the abolishment of the third-place game as well as the addition of a day to the pool stage to avoid teams playing twice in one day.

Natty Ice: The York City Ice Arena, roughly a two-and-a-half hour drive southeast from Pegula Ice Arena, is hosting the national tournament. The Lady Ice Lions have a bit of history with the facility, as it hosted the 2014 playoffs of Penn State's former conference, College Hockey East. In that tournament, PSU defeated Delaware in the semifinals by a 2-1 count on a Devon Fisk power play goal with 4:14 remaining before falling by the same score to California (PA) in the championship game.

2010 Vision: Oddly enough, each of the four Pool B schools have simultaneously appeared at Division 1 nationals one other time: 2010's championships in Blaine, MN. On that occasion, Liberty and the Lady Icers were pool mates, with PSU topping the Flames 1-0 on a Sam Summers goal on March 12, 2010. Meanwhile, in the opposite pool that same day, Grand Valley State beat UMass 5-0. However, those were the only wins by any of the four teams in the tournament, and none advanced to the semifinals. Lindenwood, now an NCAA Division I program, went on to defeat Michigan State for the title. The Lady Icers finished sixth officially, Penn State's second best finish at the ACHA D1 level behind only 2001-02's third-place run.

Upper East Side: At nationals, the Lady Ice Lions will be led by six All-ECWHL selections, including Darby Kern (first team), Fisk (second team), Mary Kate Tonetti (second team), Madison Smiddy (second team), Cara Mendelson (honorable mention) and Katie Murphy (honorable mention). The four forwards of the group - Kern, Fisk, Murphy and Mendelson - have 69 of the team's 109 goals this season, while Smiddy has another five and anchors one of the ACHA's best defense corps. Tonetti, appropriately, is one of the nation's best goalies and carries 0.945 save percentage behind that group of blueliners.

Fountain of Youth: While four of the Penn State-record six all-league selections are seniors (juniors Kern and Fisk are the exceptions), PSU also boasts a stellar collection of younger players that will be counted on for key contributions at nationals. Sophomore defenseman Cassie Dunne and Kelly Watson, set to be the only returning blueliners next year, both had strong games in the ECWHL playoffs February 20th through 22nd. Speedy wrecking-ball center Riley O'Connor and smooth winger Claire Gauthier have both locked down top-six roles as freshmen and chipped in 14 and 17 points respectively, good for sixth and fifth on the team. Checking line specialists Jackie Saideh, a junior and alternate captain, and Anna Marcus, a sophomore, will also need to play well for the Lady Ice Lions to advance.

Chasing Zoe: The Lady Icers program boasted a Zoe M. Harris Award winner as ACHA player of the year for the 2001-02 season, Andrea Lavelle. And while junior forward Kern may or may not join her this season, she certainly has to be considered a candidate for the prize, which is based on pre-ACHA tournament performance. Kern leads ACHA Division 1 in scoring with 55 points, and her 32 goals trail only the 33 of Liberty's Carrie Jickling. What's more, that output has come in just 22 games, fewer than any player within 20 points of her. The January Harrow/ACHA Player of the Month has certainly had eye-popping stats games - a pair of six-point outings against Navy are tied for a season high in that department - but just as impressively, she has three goals and six assists in PSU's seven games against teams at nationals this season (four against Massachusetts, two against Liberty, one against Miami). Other candidates for the award include Jickling and Miami's Hayley Williams, who won last year while a member of Robert Morris' team.

The 2015 Zoe M. Harris Award winner will be announced during the tournament.

Pool B Opponents

Name: Liberty University
Nickname: Flames
Location: Lynchburg, VA

2014-15 Record: 21-4-1
ACHA Ranking: 2
ACHA National Championships: None
Previous ACHA Tournament Appearances: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014

Series History: Liberty leads, 2-0-0 (2-0-0 this season). On December 5th and 6th, the Flames took a pair of one-goal decisions in Lynchburg, 6-5 and 2-1. The first involved overtime after PSU's late 5-3 lead - built on goals by Mendelson (twice), Fisk, Gauthier and Dunne - evaporated. Kern opened the scoring in the second period the next day, but was answered by LU's Jickling and Autumn Kucharczyk.

About Liberty: While it's not technically accurate to call them a wire-to-wire number two (UMass was second in the preseason poll, the Flames third), LU has solidly been in the rankings line behind only defending national champion Miami for most of the campaign. The always-very-physical, always-very-talented, always-very-Canadian team is led by 33-goal woman Jickling and Sarah Stevenson, who has 33 helpers among her 49 points. Brittany Hymers and Madison Fischer are two standouts on defense, while Chantal Lischynski and Kristina Toppazzini have taken the bulk of the goaltending minutes, both to great effect - the former boasting five shutouts and a sub-1.00 goals against average. Liberty has a 6-2-0 record against tournament teams this season, dropping only a pair of one-goal games to Miami.

Head Coach: Paul Bloomfield
Goals Scored Per Game vs. Tournament Teams: 3.13
Goals Allowed Per Game vs. Tournament Teams: 2.00

Team Website:
http://www.liberty.edu/campusrec/clubsports/?PID=25959&TeamID=3


Name: University of Massachusetts
Nickname: Minutewomen
Location: Amherst, MA

2014-15 Record: 24-6-0
ACHA Ranking: 4
ACHA National Championships: None
Previous ACHA Tournament Appearances: 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Series History: Massachusetts leads, 3-1-0 (3-1-0 this season). Most recently, Penn State and UMass exchanged 2-1 and 4-3 overtime wins at Pegula Ice Arena on January 10th and 11th, with Mendelson grabbing the decider in game one and the visitors' Amy Morin striking back the next day 19 seconds away from a tie after PSU had rallied from 2-1 and 3-2 holes to force OT. The Minutewomen swept the Lady Ice Lions back in October in Amherst, with former Lady Icer Paige Harrington grabbing the opening goal each time to help 3-0 and 1-0 scores. Kasey Zegel made 76 saves in her dual shutouts that weekend.

About Massachusetts: The Minutewomen are Pool B's sole team claiming a conference championship. UMass crushed archrival Rhode Island 7-2 in the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League title game on February 22nd to both claim the ECWHL's automatic bid to nationals and, as it turned out, snap URI's 11-year streak of tournament attendance. UMass is 9-1-0 in 2015, a record including two wins over both the Rams and No. 13 Robert Morris, and one over No. 11 Colorado State. Potent defensemen Harrington and Caleigh LaBossiere are two of the ACHA's best in front of all-ECWHL pick Kasey Zegel (22 wins, 0.923 save percentage, five shutouts), while Amanda Abromson, Brittani Lanzilli and Michaela Tosone are all among the division's top 15 scorers.

Head Coach: Bill Wright
Goals Scored Per Game vs. Tournament Teams: 1.71
Goals Allowed Per Game vs. Tournament Teams: 2.71

Team Website:
http://www.umasswomenshockey.com/


Name: Grand Valley State University
Nickname: Lakers
Location: Grand Rapids, MI

2014-15 Record: 16-8-3
ACHA Ranking: 5
ACHA National Championships: None
Previous ACHA Tournament Appearances: 2009, 2010, 2011

Series History: Tied, 0-0-0 (0-0-0 this season). The Lady Ice Lions and Lakers have never met, although the Lady Icers took 11-6 and 7-0 decisions over GVSU on September 29th and 30th, 2007 at the Great Lakes Women's College Hockey Showcase. Chelsea Sacks and Jess Waldron ran show in Mo Stroemel's third and fourth games as the team's head coach, posting 6-5-11 and 4-4-8 lines, respectively.

About Grand Valley State: A member of the brutally-tough Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association, the Lakers are headlined by World University Games selections Kendra Myers, a center, and Corey Robison, a defenseman. Both were among Team USA's best players in Spain and are among GVSU's stars stateside. It's Katie Danto, however, who leads the squad in scoring with ten goals and 19 points, while Lauren Allen backstops one of the nation's best defensive teams with a 1.92 goals against average and a 0.939 save percentage. The Lakers have gone 2-2-2 against Pool A teams Michigan and Adrian this year, but have lost their other five games to the top eight, all to Miami and Liberty. Perhaps GVSU's most impressive accomplishment, however, is a 4-1-1 mark against Michigan State, a reality largely responsible for keeping the perennially-powerful Spartans away from York.

Head Coaches: Darrell Gregorio and Sean McKernan
Goals Scored Per Game vs. Tournament Teams: 2.18
Goals Allowed Per Game vs. Tournament Teams: 3.00

Team Website:
http://www.gvsustudentlifesports.com/sport/0/27.php

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Natty Iced: Liberty Rally Stuns Lady Ice Lions in ACHA Tourney Opener

March 4, 2015, 8:08 pm
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Taylor Nyman opened the game's scoring on Wednesday



The Road to Nattys pulled into the Frustration Station on Wednesday night.

Sarah Stevenson flipped a net-front backhanded rebound try past Mary Kate Tonetti with just 36 seconds remaining in overtime, as Liberty twice rallied from two-goal deficits to top the Lady Ice Lions 4-3 in the ACHA National Tournament opener for both teams.

Penn State now sits fourth in Pool B with a 0-1-0 record, trailing third-place Massachusetts on the goals against tiebreaker, after the Minutewomen dropped a 2-0 decision to Grand Valley State earlier in the day. The Flames are second, likewise falling behind the Lakers on goals against.

The contest marked the third loss in three games this season for PSU against LU, but also the third time in those three games that the Lady Ice Lions held a lead well into the proceedings, the second time that lead was more than one goal, and the second time Liberty capped their rally in overtime.

Taylor Nyman laid the first brick in building that lead, and also set off a scoring bonanza after a fairly tight first period. Just 18 seconds after PSU successfully killed an interference call to Ashton Schaffer, Darby Kern threw the puck to the front out of the right wing corner, where Nyman redirected past LU goalie Chantal Lischynski.

Kern did the honors herself less than a minute later to make it 2-0, taking a Cara Mendelson pass in the neutral zone and weaving through both Flames defensemen before firing home. However, Liberty cut the lead in half on the next shift, as Courtney Gilmour deflected a low C.J. Tipping drive from center point through.

The next goal, uncharacteristically (all things considered), took four minutes to come. On the play, Katie Murphy won the puck in the defensive zone and moved it ahead to Claire Gauthier for a 3-on-1 also including Devon Fisk. Gauthier elected to rip a shot herself, and got it just through enough for a 3-1 lead.

That would turn out to be Penn State's high point, however.

The Flames rally - which included a 32-9 shot differential after a first period that ended 10-9 PSU in the category - officially began with Stevenson, who foreshadowed her later goal with a rebound try past a sprawled Tonetti near the end of the second period. Then, 5:46 away from the Lady Ice Lions upset, Chelsey Greenwood bullied her way to the front for the third of four LU goals scored within garlic breath proximity of the blue paint.

PSU will be back in action on Thursday afternoon at 1:15 p.m. against familiar ECWHL foe Massachusetts in what is essentially a must-win game for both teams in order to place within the top two of the pool and advance to the semifinals. Following that contest, the team will close the round robin stage on Friday at 12:45 against GVSU.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
None.
Penalties
None. 
Second Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Taylor Nyman (Darby Kern), 13:19; 2. Penn State, Darby Kern (Riley O'Connor, Cara Mendelson), 12:23; 3. Liberty, Courtney Gilmour (C.J. Tipping), 12:07; 4. Penn State, Claire Gauthier (Devon Fisk), 8:17; 5. Liberty, Sarah Stevenson (Catherine Burrell, C.J. Tipping), 1:25.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (2:00 interference), 15:37; 2. Liberty, Chelsey Greenwood (2:00 tripping), 7:14.
Third Period
Scoring
6. Liberty, Chelsey Greenwood (unassisted), 5:46.
Penalties
3. Liberty, Courtney Gilmour (2:00 roughing), 16:07; 4. Penn State, Darby Kern (2:00 elbowing), 12:28.
Overtime
Scoring
7. Liberty, Sarah Stevenson (Carrie Jickling), 0:35.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Mary Kate Tonetti: L, 37 saves/41 shots. Liberty: Chantal Lischynski: W, 16 saves/19 shots.

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Over Overtime: Penn State Loses Late Lead, Settles For Tie with UMass

March 5, 2015, 2:04 pm
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In the last word between ECWHL rivals Penn State and Massachusetts this season, neither team ultimately found an edge as the two skated to a 3-3 tie in the middle game of the ACHA National Tournament's round robin stage Thursday afternoon.

That's not to say that the Lady Ice Lions didn't have one for a substantial portion of the game, though.

Cara Mendelson put Penn State ahead 1-0 into the first intermission with four minutes remaining, following passes from linemates Riley O'Connor and Darby Kern, reception near the blue line, a nifty dangle around UMass defenseman Alyx Rivard, and a nice follow-up to her initial shot. Although the Minutewomen would level things up through an Amanda Abromson power play goal midway through the second period, one of the game's key stretches would soon follow.

An increasingly chippy contest saw Kern and Michaela Tosone sit for roughing and hooking, respectively, with 4:01 left. Penn State's speed won the ensuing 4-on-4 battle, as Mendelson bagged her second on a right-to-left wrap try into a gaping cage. The goal came during a delayed hooking call to Rivard, and it appeared that UMass expected a whistle and slowed a bit to create an opening.

PSU cashed in the ensuing power play as well just 28 seconds later, thanks to a Madison Smiddy drive that was deflected home in front and credited to Devon Fisk.

It's often said, however, that the two-goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey and Penn State knows that better than most teams.

And less than 24 hours after losing a 3-1 lead against Liberty and falling in overtime, the script repeated itself to a large extent.

The Minutewomen made the score 3-2 just 41 seconds into the third period during an early hooking call to Mendelson, as Caleigh LaBossiere found Meghan Crosby on the doorstep. Then, with the Lady Ice Lions just 64 seconds from a huge victory and with UMass goalie Kasey Zegel on the bench, Abromson - who had recently been shaken up during an Ashton Schaffer cross check - fired a seeing-eye shot through heavy traffic from the left side to tie things up.

Penn State finished with the Fisk goal in four power play opportunities, including a hook to Tosone in overtime. Massachusetts was two for five. Mary Kate Tonetti won the battle of the two all-ECWHL goaltenders, making 37 saves on 40 shots, versus 25 on 28 for Zegel.

With the result, both PSU and UMass are 0-1-1 within Pool B. Liberty and Grand Valley State, scheduled to play each other Thursday night, are both 1-0-0. From here, the easiest path to the semifinals for the Lady Ice Lions is to defeat GVSU on Friday - puck drop is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. - and for the Flames to win their remaining games against the Lakers and Minutewomen. Those results would place PSU at 1-1-1, good for second place in the pool ahead of 1-2-0 Grand Valley State and 0-2-1 Massachusetts.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Cara Mendelson (Riley O'Connor, Darby Kern), 4:04.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Katie Murphy (2:00 tripping), 0:16.
Second Period
Scoring
2. Massachusetts, Amanda Abromson (Paige Harrington, Alyx Rivard), 12:26 (power play); 3. Penn State, Cara Mendelson (unassisted), 2:51; 4. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Madison Smiddy), 2:23 (power play).
Penalties
2. Penn State, Madison Smiddy (2:00 tripping), 13:03; 3. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (2:00 body checking), 11:42; 4. Massachusetts, Michaela Tosone (2:00 hooking), 4:01; 5. Penn State, Darby Kern (2:00 roughing), 4:01; 6. Massachusetts, Alyx Rivard (2:00 hooking), 2:51.
Third Period
Scoring
5. Massachusetts, Meghan Crosby (Caleigh LaBossiere), 19:19 (power play); 6. Massachusetts, Amanda Abromson (unassisted), 1:04.
Penalties
7. Penn State, Cara Mendelson (2:00 hooking), 19:26; 8. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (2:00 cross checking), 10:45; 9. Massachusetts, Bench (2:00 too many players, served by Meredith Gallagher), 7:36; 10. Penn State, Devon Fisk (2:00 hooking), 5:30.
Overtime
Scoring
None.
Penalties
11. Massachusetts, Michaela Tosone (2:00 hooking), 2:52.
Goaltending
Penn State: Mary Kate Tonetti: T, 37 saves/40 shots. Massachusetts: Kasey Zegel: T, 25 saves/28 shots.

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Lady Ice Lions Tied Down in a Pool, Season Ends With Draw Against GVSU

March 7, 2015, 5:28 am
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Claire Gauthier scored twice in the season-ending draw



The heartbreak of losing consecutive championship games at the ACHA Division 2 level in 2013 and 2014 has been replaced by a slightly different but equally-strong emotion: frustration.

The reason for it is quite obvious.

After three blown third-period leads against the second, fourth and fifth ranked teams in the ACHA produced three overtime games, a loss and two ties, the Lady Ice Lions have been bounced from the ACHA National Tournament. The final blow came through a 3-3 tie with Grand Valley State on Friday afternoon that PSU needed to win to advance to the semifinals.

Instead, it will be the Lakers joining Liberty in the ACHA's final four on Saturday out of Penn State's Pool B. They'll take on Miami and Adrian, respectively, for the right to advance to Sunday's title game.

By and large, one reason why the Lady Ice Lions were unable to advance was GVSU's ability to trap, jam the neutral zone by any means necessary, and convert mistakes and other opportunities into scoring chances. The first part of that plan worked to perfection in a slogging opening period that saw just 11 total shots between the teams, while the second came about when Kristin Iannuzzi banked in a try from the bottom of the left circle during an early-second period power play.

PSU did manage to build more speed in transition as the second period proceeded, and also flexed its special teams muscles. Midway through the frame, and with Alisha Day serving a checking penalty for taking Taylor Nyman hard to the wall at center, Darby Kern ripped a drive from her power play station at the left point. The shot proceeded through heavy traffic and was ultimately deflected through by Claire Gauthier, the freshman's eighth goal of the year.

Another quick exchange of goals closed the middle 20 minutes. Penn State went first this time, with Kern doing the honors by cleaning up on a Cara Mendelson rebound, after Riley O'Connor created a neutral-zone turnover to set up her Pittsburgh-area native linemates. Kendra Myers pulled the score back even at 2-2 on a soft 2-on-1 opportunity, with Day feeding the World University Games selection.

That latter goal was a bit of payback for Myers, who had been stoned by Mary Kate Tonetti's glove on a shorthanded breakaway chance roughly ten minutes earlier. Tonetti finished with 27 saves including that one. Part of an eventful second half of the game for her included battling through an injury sustained during a pileup early in the third period that left her down on the ice for several minutes.

Just two minutes after that incident, the Lady Ice Lions grabbed a second Gauthier-deflected power play goal on a to forge back ahead. This time, the initial shooter was Katie Murphy from the right circle. GVSU, once again, had a quick answer though, as the Lakers forecheck generated a puck out to Corey Robison, who fired in from center point through traffic.

From there, the obvious happened. Penn State, needing a win to advance, desperately tried to push forward while Grand Valley, needing only a tie, went back to what they do best. The latter proved more effective, as PSU mustered little through the last half of the third period and the five-minute overtime other than a partial breakaway by Kern in the last minute of regulation that couldn't produce a clean shot.

The Lady Ice Lions close 2014-15 at 17-8-2 and ranked seventh in the country, an incredible first season at the ACHA Division 1 level. The 0.667 win percentage is the second best produced by a Penn State team in D1 since the ACHA began sanctioning women's hockey in 2000-01, trailing only 2001-02's third place team that went 22-7-1. The nationals appearance was PSU's seventh overall in D1, but first since 2010 and only the third since 2004. Along the way, the team pulled off big wins like toppling top-ranked defending national champion Miami for the first time in 31 RedHawks games and defeating Rhode Island for just the third time in 40 games between the two schools since both URI and the Lady Icers joined the ECWHL in 2003-04 (several of the graduating seniors were a part of one of the other wins, in 2011-12).

Several individual award winners were also part of the mix headlined by Kern, who became Penn State's second-ever first-team ACHA All-American in D1, following only Andrea Lavelle in 2001-02, and was also January's Harrow/ACHA Player of the Month. Tonetti (Warrior Goaltender of the Month, twice), Ashton Schaffer (Great Skate Sportsmanship Award) and O'Connor (Sher-Wood Freshman Spotlight) also captured ACHA monthly awards. Kern, Tonetti, Mendelson, Murphy, Devon Fisk and Madison Smiddy each received all-ECWHL recognition.

So maybe, as much as it hurts right now, frustration is the wrong emotion. It might take days, or even weeks, to get there, but pride probably works a little better.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
None.
Penalties
1. Grand Valley State, Allison Lowe (2:00 high sticking), 5:05; 2. Penn State, Madison Smiddy (2:00 interference), 0:22.
Second Period
Scoring
1. Grand Valley State, Kristin Iannuzzi (Katie Danto), 18:40 (power play); 2. Penn State, Claire Gauthier (Darby Kern), 12:59 (power play); 3. Penn State, Darby Kern (Riley O'Connor, Cara Mendelson), 2:31; 4. Grand Valley State, Kendra Myers (Alisha Day), 0:31.
Penalties
3. Grand Valley State, Alisha Day (2:00 body checking), 13:42; 4. Grand Valley State, Lauren Iavasile (2:00 roughing), 10:55; 5. Penn State, Devon Fisk (2:00 body checking), 6:59.
Third Period
Scoring
5. Penn State, Claire Gauthier (Katie Murphy, Darby Kern), 14:31 (power play); 6. Grand Valley State, Corey Robison (unassisted), 8:51.
Penalties
6. Grand Valley State, Frankie Wojtylo (2:00 body checking), 15:00; 7. Penn State, Madison Smiddy (2:00 cross checking), 4:45.
Overtime
Scoring
None.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Mary Kate Tonetti: T, 27 saves/30 shots. Grand Valley State: Taylor Watson: T, 14 saves/17 shots.

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Kern Nabs ACHA All-American Honors After Division-Topping Season

March 7, 2015, 1:39 pm
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Forward Darby Kern has been named a first team ACHA All-American, the association announced Friday at the national tournament.

For the junior from Venetia, PA, the honor is just the latest in a recent string of accolades, as Kern was previously named the Harrow/ACHA Player of the Month for January in addition to making the first All-Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League team.

In 22 pre-ACHA Tournament games (the period considered for the honor), Kern posted 32 goals and 55 points. The latter number was tops among all Division 1 players, while the former trailed only Liberty's Carrie Jickling, by one. She added a pair of goals and four assists in three games at nationals, finishing with an outstanding 15 points in PSU's ten contests this season against teams qualifying for the championships.

She becomes the 14th woman in Penn State history to receive ACHA All-American recognition, including past and present Lady Ice Lions Carly Szyszko (2010-11 honorable mention), Devon Fisk (2012-13 honorable mention, 2013-14 second team), Katie Vaughan (2012-13 honorable mention, 2013-14 first team), Mandy Mortach (2012-13 honorable mention) and Geneva Wagoner (2013-14 first team). Kern, however, is just the second PSU player to be tabbed for the first team in the ACHA's top division,

Obviously, given her lofty stature on the ACHA's scoring charts, she was also a candidate for the Zoe M. Harris Award, given to the women's player of the year in each division. However, she lost out to Miami's Hayley Williams, who also won the 2013-14 edition while playing for Robert Morris. Williams was one of a whopping ten first or second team All-Americans coming from Lady Ice Lions opponents (the only exclusions are Kern and Michigan's Kalli Bates), a list that includes 2011-12 Lady Icers player Paige Harrington, who has spent the last three seasons at Massachusetts.

Here are the full ACHA Division 1 All-American teams:

First Team
All-American
Second Team
All-American
Chantal Lischynski
Liberty
G
Emalee Wills
Miami
Darby Kern
Penn State
F
Katie Augustine
Miami
Carrie Jickling
Liberty
F
Sarah Stevenson
Liberty
Hayley Williams
Miami
F
Rachael Booth
Miami
Paige Harrington
Massachusetts
D
Kalli Bates
Michigan
Caleigh LaBossiere
Massachusetts
D
Morgan McGrath
Miami


Zoe M. Harris Award
Player of the Year
Hayley Williams
Miami

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Saideh Assumes Presidency as Lady Ice Lions Elect New Executive Board

March 31, 2015, 12:49 pm
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Left to right: President Jackie Saideh, Vice President Cassie Dunne, Treasurer Lucy Yeatman



The Penn State Lady Ice Lions, following a successful 2014-15 campaign that saw a move up to ACHA Division 1, historic team and individual accomplishments and a trip to the ACHA National Tournament at the end, have elected their 2015-16 executive board.

President:Jackie Saideh
Vice President:Cassie Dunne
Treasurer:Lucy Yeatman
THON Chair:Hannah Dier

Saideh will ascend to the presidency through a team rule dictating that the vice president (her 2014-15 role) be a non-senior and become president during the following school year. On the ice, the alternate captain is well established as a team leader and noted for selflessness (the senior has played both defense and wing during her career), productive goal scoring (seven in 2014-15) and outstanding defensive ability. She succeeds the graduating Mary Kate Tonetti, who was president in 2012-13 in addition to this past season.

Dunne, a speedy, puck mover with an underrated physical edge, will move into Saideh's old spot and therefore will take the helm of the organization in 2016-17. She posted nine points this past season, including a career high-equaling three against Northeastern on January 31st, to rank second among the team's blueliners, and is also noted for an outgoing and enthusiastic personality.

As a high-achieving actuarial science major, Yeatman is well suited to take care of the Lady Ice Lions' dollars and cents in the role of treasurer, an office filled by Ashton Schaffer in 2014-15. She was also a lineup fixture, skating in 24 games and collecting an assist against Delaware on October 4th.

Formally, Dier also succeeds Tonetti as THON Chair, although she's already been integral to the Lady Ice Lions' contributions to the world's largest student-run philanthropy, which raised $13,026,653.23 to combat pediatric cancer this past February. In 2014-15, the New Jersey native was the chief liaison to the squad's THON family and also coordinated with both Yeatman and Dunne on fundraising efforts, work that helped the team take home the ACHA's monthly Gongshow Stars in the Community award in January.

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Lady Ice Lions Become Icy Assassins For Team-Building Competition

April 8, 2015, 1:53 pm
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For the next couple weeks, Penn State and State College will be overrun with 17 assassins.

No need for alarm though - they'll only be armed with squirt guns and water balloons, and participating in the Lady Ice Lions' team-building game of Assassin.

The game itself is brilliant in its simplicity. Each player in the game is assigned another as a target (targets are known only to the person who needs the information), and will then attempt to locate and "kill" that target using their dihydrogen monoxide-based weapon of choice. Following a successful kill, the victorious player acquires the target of their now-eliminated opponent. Things proceed until there are two players left and one kills the other to capture the competition.

The chaos officially gets underway on Friday at 7:00 a.m.

There are additional rules, of course, to ensure the safety of participants and bystanders. Kills are not allowed inside any university or public building (including the target's place of work), nor are they permitted inside moving cars.

Handicapping a contest such as this is nearly impossible without context. Nina Elia has managed a kill shot on the ice in double overtime, but will that translate to dryland? Will Emma Embar's ROTC training help somehow? Goalies are known for their ability to see all corners of the ice in front of them, so will Mary Kate Tonetti, Aimee Little and Allyssa Long have a heightened awareness of their surroundings? What about Elizabeth Denis' combination of genius and veteran savvy?

We'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter - vote for your pick to win in our poll at the top of this page.

Stay tuned to the team's Twitter and Instagram accounts for updates as the game gets underway!

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Lady Ice Lions Issue Awards, Celebrate 2014-15 at Postseason Banquet

April 25, 2015, 12:03 pm
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The Penn State Lady Ice Lions formally closed a historic and memorable 2014-15 campaign with its annual postseason team banquet on Saturday afternoon at The Ramada State College Hotel and Conference Center.

The festivities included a buffet lunch, addresses from head coach Patrick Fung and veteran players Mary Kate Tonetti, Ashton Schaffer and Elizabeth Denis, as well as an off-ice highlight video overflowing with locker room dancing and produced by junior forward Nina Elia. The team's paper plate award tradition continued too, with each player being honored for a wide range of reasons, from awkward dance moves, to looking like characters from the movie Avatar and being the first back on the bus after road trip rest stops.

More formal team awards were also part of the festivities, including junior forward Darby Kern, who was named the Lady Ice Lions' Maurice H. Stroemel Most Valuable Player.

There's little left to say about Kern's 2014-15 season, in which the former NCAA team player became Penn State's second-ever ACHA Division 1 First-Team All-American (with the other honoree, Andrea Lavelle, coming thirteen years ago). Her 32 goals and 55 points during the regular season were second and first, respectively, among all division players. Despite PSU's failure to advance out of the pool stage at the ACHA National Tournament, she ranked third in tournament scoring with six points in three games - notably, Kern and linemate Cara Mendelson were the only players not from eventual national champion Liberty to crack the top seven on that list. The product of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite program and Peters Township High School was also the ACHA's January 2015 Harrow Player of the Month after beasting her way to 10 goals and 16 points in just six games during the 31 days.

The Kyle Rossi Rookie of the Year Award went to forward Riley O'Connor.

Like Kern, O'Connor also won an ACHA monthly award, the Sher-Wood Freshman Spotlight for November 2014. That honor underscored a meteoric rise for the one-time lightly-regarded recruit (who had actually been playing defense for her Princeton Tiger Lilies 19U team) to PSU's top-line center. O'Connor, despite her size, added healthy doses of grit and net-front presence whenever she was on the ice, to go along with her noted speed, with an end result of nine goals. One third of those came against long-time ECWHL power Rhode Island, including the winner on November 9, 2014 as a Penn State team defeated the then-fourth-ranked Rams for just the third time since 2002. Another big goal came from Kern's centering feed to the front of the crease late in the second period on January 18, 2015 to give the Lady Ice Lions a 3-2 lead in an eventual upset of eventual national champion Miami.

Like O'Connor, Billie S. Willits Player's Player Award winner Jackie Saideh potted against Miami (and six other times), but was honored just as heavily based on her leadership, work ethic and unscored on-ice contributions. The junior alternate captain and club vice president - who will assume the presidency next year as a senior - is a highly-adaptable player who plays where needed and effectively. Sometimes that's been as a goal-scoring winger, and sometimes, as in her freshman year, it's been as a defenseman. Primarily, though, it's been as the prototypical checking line player, one who plays outstanding defensively and on the penalty kill, while seemingly always getting a stick in a passing lane or win a key puck battle at a vital moment.

Although a graduating class of six key seniors is no small loss, the Lady Ice Lions will return all three award winners in 2015-16, in addition to up to 16 others with remaining eligibility, while adding a large and talented recruiting class. That collection of players will attempt to Penn State's highly-successful return to ACHA Division 1 (including a 17-8-2 record, a final ranking of seventh, and the school's first D1 tournament appearance since 2010) with PSU's first-ever national championship in women's hockey.

Previous Lady Ice Lions Team Award Winners
Year
Maurice H. Stroemel
Most Valuable Player
Kyle Rossi
Rookie of the Year		Billie S. Willits
Player's Player
2012-13
Katie Vaughan
Devon Fisk
Mandy Mortach
Carly Szyszko
2013-14
Katie Vaughan
Devon Fisk
Geneva Wagoner
Carly Szyszko
2014-15
Darby Kern
Riley O'Connor
Jackie Saideh

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"Last-Day MK" Registers Game-High Four Kills to Win Lady Ice Lions Assassin

April 27, 2015, 10:09 pm
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Mary Kate Tonetti (right) killed Elizabeth Denis in Assassin's final showdown



Mary Kate Tonetti only registered kills on the first day and the last day of the Lady Ice Lions' two-week-long game of Assassin, but that was all she needed to come out on top of 16 other players in inaugural version of the team-building contest.

After Tonetti made waves by taking out Hannah Dier and Tarika Embar on April 10th, things ramped up the following day with party attendees Cassie Dunne, Jackie Saideh and Nina Elia falling at the hands of Saideh, Claire Gauthier and Lucy Yeatman, respectively.

On the first Monday of the game, Elizabeth Denis sniped heavy favorite Devon Fisk outside of class to blow the things wide open. Gauthier followed by matching Tonetti with a second kill, of Kelly Watson, and Allyssa Long eliminated fellow goalie Aimee Little. Another significant event came on April 17th, when Emma Embar, Riley O'Connor, Darian Dempsey and Anna Marcus (one of the few survivors of the Bloody Daylong) were eliminated by rule after failing to register a kill in the first week.

That pared the field to five: Tonetti, Gauthier, Denis, Yeatman and Long. And as the cream rose to the top, strategy seemed to win out, as things were mostly quiet for the next four days.

Finally, Long broke the stalemate by getting Yeatman on April 21st to set up an interesting situation, as Tonetti, Denis and Gauthier suddenly fell under the pressure of the weekly kill rule that would have handed Long the win at 7:00 a.m. on April 24th. However, less than 24 hours before that was set to occur, things ramped back up, ultimately ending the game in short order.

Denis tagged Long last Thursday morning, while Tonetti finally got back on the board around 5:30 that evening by bumping out Gauthier. The subsequent final showdown between the last two players was a bit anticlimactic though, as the outgoing senior club president needed less than an hour after besting Gauthier to push a similar fate on to the geosciences scholar.

Tonetti took the time to answer a few questions about the game and her winning strategy.

Who was the hardest to kill of your four conquests? I would've thought Z (Denis) because she's always doing schoolwork, but you got her pretty quickly after Claire.

Claire was probably my most challenging kill because she was so difficult to find. As a senior, I don’t spend any of my free time near the freshman dorms or dining commons, so that was a major inconvenience. In the end, I had to hang out in her dorm lobby for almost an hour to find her. Thankfully, as a philosophy minor I had plenty of reading to pass the time.

One school of thought said that a lot would come down to friend groups, and that sort of played out especially on the second day when a bunch of players at the same daylong killed each other. So how big was it for you that Taylor (Nyman) didn't play, or would you have gotten her eventually anyway?

Taylor actually accompanied me for my first two kills - Tarika and Hannah. I knew the pathway that T usually walked in between classes, so Taylor came with me to sneak attack her from behind. Taylor then accompanied me to my next class to kill Hannah. Throughout the game she was the perfect sidekick and I am glad we never had to compete against one another. After all, it would’ve been very stressful to fear my own roommate shooting me with water in my sleep.

Other than the four you took out yourself, what was the biggest moment that helped you win? The Bloody Daylong? Z taking out Fisk, who everyone thought would win going in? The cutoff getting four players after the first week? Something else?

Any player that had me as a target was obviously a threat to my success, so I can’t help but thank all of the people who took them out. Lucy in particular scared me the most since she was able to track me down in my own apartment.

Did you have a specific strategy coming in? You came out firing on the first day and were the only player with two kills for quite a while. But then you were quiet after that, and actually came within hours of being cut on the time limit before finishing strong. Was any of that deliberate? As the game went on, did you have eliminated or non-participating players spying on people for you?

I was extremely lucky with my first two kills. It just so happened that I knew exactly where and when to find both T and Hannah on that first Friday. As for strategy, I didn’t have a specific plan, but did ask a few teammates to help me find some of my targets. For example, if Ashton (Schaffer) didn’t tip me off on Z’s whereabouts, I’m not sure I would have ever been able to find her.

Talk a little bit about your choice of weapon, the water bottle. Portable, not as obvious as a gun, good range, is there anything I'm missing?

Believe it or not, I went into the game with two water guns as my weapons. Unfortunately, after a few days of carrying them around in my backpack, almost all of my notebooks and folders were soaked with water from the guns leaking. As a result, I decided to put the guns aside and use my water bottle for the last two kills.

Where does this rank in terms of your career achievements?

Although I’m proud of my ability to water down my teammates, I would not have made it very far in the game without their help - as odd as that may sound. Assassin is an excellent team-building game and I had a lot of fun participating and working with my teammates to kill my targets.

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