PSUWIHC Fitness Blog

Officers Ashton Schaffer, Mary Kate Tonetti, and Jackie Saideh (not pictured) represented the team at the reception

The Lady Ice Lions received a pair of award nominations at the Penn State Club Sports Program honors reception, held Thursday evening in Beaver Stadium's Mount Nittany Club, but did not take home a prize for the first time in the team's three-year history.

The nominations, given to just three of the club sports program's 80 organizations in each category, still reflected recognition of the squad's ongoing commitment to a superior standard both on and off the ice: Athletic Excellence in an Indoor Non-Martial Arts Activity and Outstanding Women's Club for Organizational Excellence. The awards ultimately went to women's basketball and softball, respectively.

On the athletic side, 2014-15 needs little review: after back to back second place finishes in ACHA Division 2, the Lady Ice Lions moved up to Division 1. The team's ability to compete at that level was initially questioned by many, but the answers were definitive: a 17-8-2 overall record, Penn State's first appearance at the D1 national tournament since 2010 (and just the third since 2004), as well as several signature wins against teams ranked fifth, fourth and first at the time of the contest. The last of those came against then-defending national champion Miami and snapped a 31-game unbeaten streak by the RedHawks that spanned an entire calendar year. Along the way, junior Darby Kern led the nation in scoring and became the second Penn Stater to ever receive ACHA First Team All-American recognition and the first since 2001-02.

Off the ice, the accomplishments were equally impressive, as officers Mary Kate Tonetti, Jackie Saideh and Ashton Schaffer oversaw an organization that was the envy of most across the ACHA. The squad posted a 3.21 team grade point average in the fall semester, led by the perfect 4.0 of junior Devon Fisk and the matching 3.92s of freshman Claire Gauthier and sophomore Lucy Yeatman. In January, the Lady Ice Lions were given the ACHA's Gongshow Stars in the Community award for their work in support of Penn State's famed IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

In previous years, the team has received awards for Most Improved Club (2012-13) and Outstanding Women's Club for Organizational Excellence (2013-14).

Other notable groups among those recognized include the swimming club, which took home Club of the Year. The Lady Ice Lions' men's hockey counterparts, the Ice Lions, saw sophomore Josh Singley recognized with the Supervisor's Choice award.

Here is a complete list of Thursday's winners:

Athletic Excellence Awards
Aquatics Activities	Swimming
Indoor Non-Martial Arts Activities	Women's Basketball
Martial Arts Activites	Taekwondo
Outdoor Field Activities	Men's Lacrosse
Outdoor Non-Field Activities	Cross Country

Organizational Excellence Awards
Outstanding Community Service	Indoor Winter Guard
Outstanding THON Involvement	Field Hockey
When It Rains, It Pours	Sailing
Outstanding Men's Club	Wrestling
Outstanding Women's Club	Softball
Outstanding Co-Ed Club	Cycling
Most Improved Club	Powerlifting

Individual and Officer Awards
Non-Traditional Officer of the Year	Nick DeCarlo - Taekwondo
Secretary of the Year	Timothy Appman - Cross Country
Treasurer of the Year	Casey Norris - English Equestrian
Vice President of the Year	Ashlynn Rice - Western Equestrian
President of the Year	Dan Markosky - Wrestling
Nittany Lion Award	Chris Kutsubos - Paintball
Supervisor's Choice	Josh Singley - Men's Ice Hockey
Male Athlete of the Year	Andrew Smiddy - Swimming
Female Athlete of the Year	Bria Edwards - Triathlon

Club of the Year	Swimming

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Nobody would argue that missing the public address announcement of the ACHA's all-tournament teams generally made following the title game is the worst part about having to leave the championships before that point. But nevertheless, it is a (very) mild downside to elimination following the group stage, a fate the Lady Ice Lions suffered back in March.

The silver lining came in the form of a pleasant surprise on Wednesday, when a plaque arrived in the mail recognizing newly-graduated forward Cara Mendelson as an all-tournament second team selection.

In just three games at the ACHA finals - two fewer than the number played by championship game participants Liberty and Miami, whose players accordingly dominated the scoring charts - Mendelson notched four points. Of the top 14 scorers in York, PA, only she, linemate Darby Kern (six points, tied for third best) and Minnesota's Laura Gengler came from teams other than the national champion Flames and second-place RedHawks.

The Pittsburgh native's biggest tournament moment came on March 5th against ECWHL rival Massachusetts. There, she opened the scoring late in the first period by receiving a pass in transition near the blue line, dangling around a defenseman, then following her own rebound. Mendelson added a second in the second, on a wraparound try during a delayed penalty to the Minutewomen. Devon Fisk made the score 3-1 on the ensuing power play, although Penn State was not able to hold the lead and settled for a 3-3 draw.

Mendelson collected assists in each of her other tournament games, against Liberty and Grand Valley State. After PSU narrowly qualified for the final eight, she was instrumental in the Lady Ice Lions proving they belonged with an overtime loss to the eventual champs and a tie with semifinalist GVSU.

Over the whole season, her 15 goals, 18 assists and 33 points were second on the squad in each instance, The first of those numbers includes three winners, highlighted by an overtime marker against UMass on January 10th.

Like the first team All-American nod for Kern announced two months ago, there's a fair bit of new history in Mendelson's honor. Until now, former Lady Icers Ellen Zajko and Andrea Lavelle were the only Penn Staters to ever make the first or second tournament team at the ACHA Division 1 level. Zajko got a first-team nod at the ACHA's first women's tournament in 2001, while Lavelle was the most valuable player the following season. Four other Lady Icers were named honorable mentions a total of five times, although none more recently than 2004.

In the Lady Ice Lions era, Fisk (first team in both 2013 and 2014), Katie Vaughan (second team in 2013, first team in 2014) and Tara Soukup (first team in 2014) have all been recognized at the ACHA Division 2 level as the team burst on to the scene with D2 runner-up finishes in its first two seasons.

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Madison Smiddy was invited to a camp for the Buffalo Beauts of the newly-formed NWHL

Madison Smiddy and Heather Rossi are looking to take the next step in their hockey careers, and simultaneously take a step into the history books.

Smiddy, a newly-graduated Lady Ice Lions defenseman, and Rossi, who starred in goal for the Lady Icers from 2009 through 2011, were invited to free agent camps hosted by professional teams in the newly-formed National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) this month. Rossi's invite was from the New York Riveters on the 16th and 17th, while Smiddy was tabbed by the Buffalo Beauts for their skate on the 23rd and 24th.

Those camps, as well as ones hosted by the circuit's other two franchises, are a first step towards making it on to a 2015-16 NWHL roster.

Upon its launch this spring, the NWHL and founder/commissioner Dani Rylan made immediate headlines with the promise to pay players a minimum of $10,000 per year, up to a $270,000 salary cap for each team. The presence of salaries is an unprecedented departure from other North American women's hockey leagues, including the competing Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), which recently completed its eighth season and includes five teams (four in Canada, one in Boston).

The inaugural NWHL campaign will feature 18 games per team beginning on October 17th and running through March. At the conclusion of the season, the four squads will compete for the Isobel Cup, which is named for Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy (née Stanley), considered to be among the first women to play hockey. Her love of the game is said to have inspired her father, Lord Frederick Stanley of Preston, to donate the famed Stanley Cup awarded to the National Hockey League's champion.

Smiddy, of course, wrapped up her collegiate career in 2014-15 with a stellar season highlighted by her selection to the U.S. National University Team that competed at the World University Games in Granada, Spain back in February. The product of the Honeybaked program starred overseas - despite sitting out of a stat-padding 9-0 rout of Spain, she finished tied for fourth in defense scoring and tied for 15th in plus-minus among all tournament players. That list included numerous entries from the senior national teams of countries like Russia and Japan, which recently finished fourth and seventh at the 2015 IIHF World Championships, as well as stars from Canadian university teams, a healthy source of the CWHL's talent.

In ACHA play, she fired home three game-winning goals among her ten points, including against defending national champion Miami on January 18th and in overtime at Northeastern on November 22nd, helping the Lady Ice Lions to Penn State's first Division 1 national tournament since 2010.

The Michigander dressed 20 times for PSU's NCAA team as a sophomore and junior, posting eight total points. Her rate of 0.4 points per game rate was 58 percent better than the next best Nittany Lions blueliner during that period.

Heather Rossi

Rossi had a collegiate career that could best be described as "nomadic." The Kunkletown, PA native played for the NCAA team at Robert Morris (PA) as a freshman in 2006-07 and posted a 0.911 save percentage in 11 games before moving on to then-ACHA program Lindenwood in 2008-09. She helped the Lions to their third of four national championships before finishing her career at Penn State.

While a Lady Icer, Rossi put together a spectacular 2009-10 season, collecting second-team All-American recognition while taking nearly 95 percent of the team's crease minutes and helping to power Penn State to its second ACHA National Tournament since 2004. On March 12, 2010, she blanked Liberty 1-0 for what is still PSU's last victory at the Division 1 tourney.

As a senior, she formed arguably the ACHA's finest goaltending tandem with Katie Vaughan, who would go on to star for the Lady Ice Lions from 2012 through 2014. Both were part of the first U.S. World University Games team in 2011, which finished fourth in Erzurum, Turkey. Rossi's 34-for-36 effort against a Finland team that included several players from the bronze medalists at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics like Michelle Karvinen, Saara Tuominen and Venla Hovi was arguably that squad's highlight.

Rylan will be the Riveters' general manager, while Linda Mroz will run the Beauts. Former NHLer Ric Seiling and Shelley Looney coached at the Buffalo camp, with 1998 Olympic gold medalist Looney recently serving as one of Smiddy's assistant coaches at the World University Games.

Smiddy and Rossi are two of a handful of ACHA players taking a shot at the pros. Lady Ice Lions opponents Hayley Williams (Miami) and Kristen Levesque (Rhode Island) - both of whom also joined forces with Smiddy on Team USA at the World University Games - each attended three camps, including those in New York and Buffalo, as well as one hosted by the Connecticut Whale on May 9th and 10th. Katie Keeports, a second-team All-American and a first-team All-Tournament pick at Delaware in 2009-10, was also present in Stamford, CT.

The NWHL's free agent camps are not a direct tryout for the teams, but they are an opportunity to get valuable exposure to management. Players have until August 17th to sign for the 2015-16 season, and signees can include those not in attendance at a free agent camp.

Should Rossi and/or Smiddy make the final cut, they would join a club of Penn Staters who have played professionally in North America that presently has a membership of just one: 1998-2002 Lady Icers superstar Andrea Lavelle. Lavelle signed with the Beatrice Aeros of what was also called the National Women's Hockey League (that NWHL, unrelated to the present NWHL, ran from 1999 through 2007 and is considered a forerunner to the CWHL) during the 2002-03 season. She played with a bevy of legends in her native Ontario, including Hockey Hall of Famer Geraldine Heaney and Olympic gold medalists Gillian Ferrari, Cheryl Pounder and Sami Jo Small. Despite that collection of talent, the Aeros lost to the Calgary Oval X-Treme in the NWHL's 2003 championship game.

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Jackie Saideh, Darby Kern and Nina Elia will wear letters for the Lady Ice Lions in 2015-16

Senior forward Jackie Saideh has been voted by her teammates as the Lady Ice Lions' 2015-16 captain, head coach Patrick Fung announced Thursday. The newly-minted fifth captain in squad history will be helped by alternates Nina Elia and Darby Kern.

For Saideh, the distinction is yet more confirmation of her vital leadership role within the club. In 2014-15, the Massachusetts native served as both its vice president and as an alternate captain. Now, her move to the president's chair for the coming season is matched with a similar escalation in her on-ice status. The most recipient of the team's Billie S. Willits Player's Player award has been a timely goal scorer since moving to forward as a sophomore - her 13 tallies since then trail only Kern, Devon Fisk and Cara Mendelson within the roster. Saideh is also a model defensive forward who always seems to be in the right spot at the right time. Those two qualities make her one of the Penn State's most adaptable players, an asset almost anywhere in the lineup.

Elia, like Saideh, is a founding member of the Lady Ice Lions, entering as a freshman in the 2012-13 inaugural season. At the end of that year, she supplied what will long be regarded as one of the team's most memorable moments: a double-overtime putback goal that boosted Penn State over defending national champion Wisconsin-Stout in the ACHA National Tournament semifinals. With the exception of the fall semester of this past season, during which Elia studied abroad, she has appeared in every game possible during her career. She was seventh on the team in scoring during her last full season, although the Skaneateles, NY native is best known for defense and toughness, along for her net-front presence.

Little remains unsaid about the 2014-15 that Kern put together, her first year as a Lady Ice Lion after two with Penn State's NCAA team. Kern's 61 points - in just 25 games - were the best of anyone in the nation, while her 34 goals trailed leader Carrie Jickling (Liberty) by one. The end result, appropriately, was Penn State's second-ever first team All-American pick at the Division 1 level (and the first since 2001-02), as well as a nomination for the Zoe M. Harris Award as the ACHA's player of the year. The winger's recognition haul also included the ACHA's Harrow Player of the Month award for January, ECWHL first team all-conference honors, and naturally, the team's Maurice H. Stroemel Most Valuable Player award.

Ashton Schaffer, who is set to spend the fall semester with the Lady Ice Lions before her December graduation, will retain the C that she wore during the 2014-15 through her remaining time on campus. Holding the captaincy during a second season places her into a rare category, as only Rachel Rieker (1996-98), Ellen Zajko (1998-2001), Katie King (2002-04), Sara Chroman (2010-12) and Carly Szyszko (2012-14) have held down the position for more than one campaign in the combined history of the Lady Icers and Lady Ice Lions.

Saideh, Elia, Kern, Schaffer, an exciting freshman class and the rest of the team will open a second D1 and ECWHL season just over four months from now, over the weekend of October 9th through 11th. The drive for Penn State's first-ever women's hockey national championship will conclude with the ACHA National Tournament in Kalamazoo, MI from March 2nd through 6th, 2016.

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Penn State Lady Ice Lions coach Patrick Fung has announced that four student-athletes have enrolled at PSU for the summer session and will join the squad in the fall. They are Caitlin Costello (Randolph, NJ), Madison Dwyer (Newtown, PA), Meghan Miller (Barrington, RI) and Liz Tuorinsky (Mt. Arlington, NJ).

CAITLIN COSTELLO
Forward | Shoots Right | Randolph, NJ | New Jersey Rockets U19

Prior to Penn State
Costello is, most recently, a product of the New Jersey Rockets Tier I program, and played for their U19 and U16 teams. She was also with the New Jersey Colonials prior to that, and has made a total of five trips to the USA Hockey national championships. During the most recent of those trips, in 2015 and while teaming with classmate Elizabeth Tuorinsky, she tallied the shootout winner as the Rockets toppled the Anaheim Lady Ducks 1-0. Costello also factored heavily her team's qualification for nationals, scoring the only goal in the opening game of a best-of-three series to determine the Atlantic District title.

Personal
Caitlin Jeanne Costello was born on January 17, 1997 in Randolph, NJ to James and Doreen Costello and has two sisters, Jessica and Brianna. Although she is undecided on a major, she enjoys working with ceramics was an honor roll student in high school while also playing varsity soccer. A cousin, Bridgette DaSilva, was a student manager for the Penn State Ice Lions ACHA Division 2 men's team and for the ACHA Division 3 men's team at Penn State Altoona prior to her 2015 graduation.

Fung on Costello
"Caitlin was a pleasant surprise over winter break when I learned she had applied to Penn State while seeing Liz Tuorinsky play. In Caitlin we get a player with a significant Tier 1 playing resume who has played for some of the best coaches on the most talented teams in the Atlantic District. She played an outstanding supporting role with the Rockets last season, and contributed at seemingly the most opportune times, notably scoring a game winner at districts last season to send her team to nationals.

"Caitlin carries experience, instinct and a very high compete level and will flourish at Penn State with the chance to play a big role on both sides of the puck."

MADISON DWYER
Defense | Shoots Right | Newtown, PA | Princeton Tiger Lilies U19

Prior to Penn State
Dwyer starred for both the Princeton Tiger Lilies and Council Rock North High School in Newtown. She helped the Tiger Lilies win the Atlantic District title and qualify for the USA Hockey Tier II national championships on three consecutive occasions, most recently with the U19 team in 2014-15 but also as a U16 player in both 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Personal
Madison Nicole Dwyer was born on August 26, 1997 in Newtown, PA to Mark and Mary Dwyer and has one brother, Mark, and one sister, Samantha. The consistent honor roll student intends to major in pre-medicine and enjoys playing guitar and singing.

Fung on Dwyer
"Madison is the latest in the line of additions to our team from the Princeton Tiger Lilies program. She brings the experience of multiple Atlantic District championships and corresponding USA Hockey nationals appearances with the Tiger Lilies as well as having played boys high school hockey.

"A stay-at-home defenseman, Madison offers versatility and a desire to compete to our team. We anticipate that her role will grow as she gains experience and develops at the college level, and that she will be a steady part of our defensive corps for the next four years."

MEGHAN MILLER
Forward | Shoots Left | Barrington, RI | Barrington HS/Rhode Island Sting U19

Prior to Penn State
Miller played for the Rhode Island Sting Tier II U19 team in addition to Barrington High School. With BHS, she won state championships in each of her first three years, including tournament co-MVP honors as a sophomore after scoring twice in the championship-clinching victory. Miller grabbed a litany of other awards as well, including being named to the all-division team in every season as an Eagle and a nomination for a Rhode Island Cox Sports Award (given to the outstanding player in each high school sport) as a freshman. She was a frequent player in major showcases, including three years at Hockey Night in Boston and one at America's Hockey Showcase.

Personal
Meghan Elizabeth Miller was born on July 19, 1997 in Providence, RI to Gordon and Lisa Miller and has one brother, Stephen. She intends to major in education with aspirations of becoming a teacher. In high school, Miller was an academic and athletic dynamo, including membership in the Rhode Island Honor Society and qualification for honor roll every semester. She was a four-year starter on Barrington High School's field hockey team, helping the Eagles to a state championship as a freshman and earning all-division honors two times.

Fung on Miller
"Meghan comes to us from the competitive girls high school hockey circuit in Rhode Island and continues our trend of attracting New Englanders to Penn State. A three-time state champion with Barrington High School, Meghan brings a winning pedigree with her, having played a major role on each team, as well as with her amateur club, the Rhode Island Sting. Meghan has also participated in many competitive exposure events around the country including America's Showcase, and the storied Hockey Night in Boston.

"Meghan is a solid two-way forward who has a nose for the net and ability to finish in close - with skating ability to get there without the puck and attack in transition. I anticipate she'll frequent the scoresheet for us the next few seasons."

LIZ TUORINSKY
Defense | Shoots Right | Mt. Arlington, NJ | New Jersey Rockets U19

Prior to Penn State
Tuorinsky largely came up through boys hockey, playing for the New Jersey Freeze Tier II program and for Roxbury High School in Succasunna, NJ. With the latter, she earned the female Heart of the Gael Award for her class year of 2015 and helped the squad to a 23-19-4 two-year record along with a pair of state playoff bids in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The sturdy defender also played girls hockey for the New Jersey Rockets Tier I U19 team in 2014-15, along with Costello, helping the Atlantic District power qualify for the USA Hockey national championships.

Personal
Elizabeth Victoria Tuorinsky was born on February 25, 1997 in Hackettstown, NJ to Al and Linda Tuorinsky and has one brother, Alex. The intended Animal Science major and aspiring veterinarian was a National Honor Society member in high school.

Fung on Tuorinsky
"Liz was among the earliest of of our incoming class to contact last year. Her family is originally from the Centre region and studying Animal Science at Penn State has been her college goal for quite some time. On the ice, Liz played for the celebrated New Jersey Rockets Tier 1 program last year against some of the best competition in girls amateur hockey and helped them to yet another nationals appearance.

"Primarily, she is a very tough, strong and physical stay-at-home defenseman whose style has undoubtedly been influenced by playing boys AA and high school hockey all the way through U16. It's an underappreciated role that will be more critical this season after we graduated two veteran defensemen. She will fit well into our defensive group immediately, and we expect her to develop nicely as a puck mover to compliment her defensive game as we go."

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Darby Kern (left) and UMass' Meredith Gallagher will collide to open 2015-16

The Penn State Lady Ice Lions will begin the 2015-16 season, the team's second in ACHA Division 1 and the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League, in a familiar location: Massachusetts, to take on hosting UMass and Northeastern.

Two games against the Minutewomen are scheduled for Friday, October 9th and Saturday, October 10th. Following the second tilt, the team will head east to historic Matthews Arena in Boston to battle the NU Huskies on Sunday, October 11th.

All three game times are still to be determined.

Against the 2013-14 ACHA runners-up and 2014-15 ECWHL regular season and playoff champions, Penn State went 1-3-1 last year. The advantage enjoyed by coach Bill Wright's squad in the season series came from an October, 2014 sweep at the Mullins Center by 3-0 and 1-0 counts. The teams then traded overtime decisions at Pegula Ice Arena to open the spring semester, with a Cara Mendelson strike on January 10th answered by UMass' Amy Morin the next day. Given the latter results, the 3-3 draw from the teams' meeting at the ACHA National Tournament on March 5th (featuring two more Mendelson goals) was less than surprising.

Things were a little smoother against Northeastern, to the tune of 4-0-0 - although the Huskies held the Lady Ice Lions to a pair of one-goal decisions in Boston last November, including one requiring a Madison Smiddy overtime bomb. Two regular-season-closing home games, however, ended in routs by a combined 17-2 count. Darby Kern and Devon Fisk led the way in that series, with Kern scoring an incredible seven times among her nine points, and Fisk adding four tallies of her own.

The Minutewomen finished 2014-15 with a 24-8-1 overall mark and the aforementioned conference titles and visit to nationals. Northeastern was 5-18-0, with their season ending in a victory over Navy in the fifth-place game of the ECWHL playoffs.

Stay tuned to psuwihc.com, as well as the Lady Ice Lions'Twitter and Instagram accounts, for the upcoming release of the full season schedule, as well as other exciting news, as the offseason winds down.

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Former Lady Icer Paige Harrington, who spent her freshman 2011-12 season at Penn State before transferring to complete her collegiate career at Massachusetts, has signed with the Buffalo Beauts of the newly-formed National Women's Hockey League, the NWHL announced on Tuesday.

In her time with the Lady Icers, Harrington - along with ten players who would go on to skate for the Lady Ice Lions following the 2012 shakeup of the Penn State hockey landscape - helped the team to the ECWHL regular season title with a 7-2-1 conference mark. In 22 recorded games, she posted a goal and two assists, with the tally one of the end-to-end rushes that would become her trademark and the game-winning goal in the ECWHL clincher against Vermont on February 19, 2012.

The 5'11" communications major from Mansfield, MA then spent three years with the Minutewomen finishing with an incredible haul of team and individual honors. She ended up with five total ECWHL crowns after pulling off regular season and playoff doubles with UMass in 2012-13 and 2014-15, while also helping that team to three consecutive ACHA Division 1 national tournaments including a runner-up finish in 2013-14. This past season, she was a first-team All-American and first-time All-ECWHL while posting 10 goals and 16 assists in 28 games.

Harrington was a star internationally as well, featuring on the U.S. National University Team at both the 2013 and 2015 World University Games tournaments. In competitions including senior national team players from several different countries, she was a two-time alternate captain who managed four assists in 12 games, as well as helping Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2013 Trentino Games. The medal was just the second ever by an American team (men or women) at the World University Games and the first since USA Hockey re-entered the biennial event using ACHA players in 2001.

"I was not ready to hang up my skates after college, and I feel blessed to be given the opportunity to play at the professional level," Harrington told NWHL.co, "This is a huge step for women's hockey and to be a part of history in the making is incredible."

The NWHL, of course, made headlines upon its spring launch as the first North American women's hockey league that will pay its players, with salaries ranging between $10,000 and $25,000 per year. It will begin a 36-game regular-season schedule on October 11th with four founding teams: the Buffalo Beauts, the Connecticut Whale, the New York Riveters and the Boston Pride. The Beauts' home rink will be downtown Buffalo's HarborCenter, a rink complex constructed by Penn State hockey benefactor Terry Pegula that opened last year.

The Western New Yorkers didn't limit their ACHA scouting to Harrington, as they also signed two-time Zoe M. Harris Award winner Hayley Williams, who ripped off 59 points in 30 games for Miami last season, second only to the Lady Ice Lions'Darby Kern among ACHA Division 1 players. Williams also skated for Robert Morris (IL) in 2013-14. Penn State went 2-3-1 against the two newly-professional players last season, beating each once.

Significantly, one of the Beauts' co-head coaches will be Shelley Looney, the gold-medal-winning goal scorer from the 1998 Nagano Olympics, who was an assistant coach for both Harrington and Williams at the 2015 World University Games. Former Buffalo Sabres forward Ric Seiling is the other co-head coach. Other notables who have signed with the team ahead of this weekend's free agency deadline include frequent U.S. national team goalie Brianne McLaughlin, mobile blueliner Kelly McDonald from the University of Maine and scrappy former RIT forward Erin Zach.

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2015-16 schedule

A second turn through an Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League slate, at least three meetings with reigning ACHA national champion Liberty and four tilts with 2014-15 semifinalist Adrian highlight the Lady Ice Lions' 2015-16 schedule.

Much like the beginning of last season, which saw Penn State play ten times away from home (compared to four times at Pegula Ice Arena) during the fall semester, head coach Patrick Fung's squad will begin the campaign as road warriors. This time around, the task will be an opening weekend at Massachusetts (October 9th and 10th) and Northeastern (October 11th), followed by a trip to Adrian (October 24th and 25th).

The Minutewomen and Huskies, of course, are very familiar teams as ECWHL opponents that the Lady Ice Lions faced a combined nine times a year ago. Adrian, however, has never met any Penn State team, including the previous Lady Icers program. The Bulldogs were 19-8-6 last season, then advanced to the final four at the ACHA National Tournament before falling to Liberty. While the version of Adrian PSU faces will be without graduated star goalie Emily Michelin, the Bulldogs will return up to 27 players, including leading scorer Nichole LaFlamme, who potted 17 times in 2014-15.

From there, the script changes, as the team will close out the fall semester with six consecutive home games. Northeastern (November 7th and 8th) and a return trip from Adrian (December 5th and 6th) bookend that stretch, with a visit from ECWHL rival Rhode Island (November 14th and 15th in the middle).

The Lady Ice Lions and Rams, a long-time roadblock for all other league contenders with nine of the 12 playoff titles in ECWHL history, split a series at URI's Boss Ice Arena last November. Rhode Island, however, took the rubber match of the season series by handing PSU a 4-1 setback in the conference semifinals back in February.

Defending ECWHL regular season and playoff champion UMass will open the spring semester at Pegula Ice Arena on January 9th and 10th, followed by a unique road trip. From January 15th through 18th, the team will visit Lynchburg, VA over the long Martin Luther King Day weekend. While there, Penn State will take on 2014-15 national champ Liberty in a newly-renovated LaHaye Ice Center. The University of Colorado will also be on hand to battle both the Flames and Lady Ice Lions over the course of the weekend.

Specific dates, times and opponents for that three-way meeting have yet to be determined.

Liberty faced off with Penn State three times last year. LU took all three, including one at nationals, although all three were one-goal results and two were decided in overtime after PSU held third-period leads. The Flames will also come to central Pennsylvania on February 13th and 14th.

Davenport, another first-time opponent, is set to visit for a rare Thursday game on January 28th followed by a resumption of ECWHL play on January 30th and 31st with Vermont. PSU swept all three matchups with the Catamounts in 2014-15, while DU finished 12th in the ACHA rankings (three spots ahead of UVM) after posting a 13-9-1 mark and flirting with nationals contention late into the season.

A fourth two-opponent weekend, this time a trip to Northeastern (February 5th) and Rhode Island (February 6th and 7th) precedes the home games with Liberty to round out the regular season schedule.

The ECWHL playoffs, as is customary, will be played at the home rink of the defending champs - in this case, Massachusetts' Mullins Center over the February 19th-21st weekend. The ACHA National Tournament, where Penn State hopes to win its first women's hockey national championship, will be contested from March 9th through 13th in Kalamazoo, MI.

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The Lady Ice Lions will begin 2015-16 exactly where they left the 2015 ACHA National Tournament: 7th, according to the preseason ranking issued by the ACHA Division 1 competition committee on Wednesday.

The competition committee, which is made up of eight members - including Penn State head coach Patrick Fung - exclusively determines the preseason ranking. For the four regular-season rankings, the committee's decision will count as one-third of the final result, along with a computer ranking and a vote of all Division 1 coaches.

Similarity in PSU's ranking between the end of last season and now is hardly a shock, as the team returns a robust group of 18 players including, of course, D1 leading scorer and first-team All-American Darby Kern. Program all-time leading scorer Devon Fisk, Claire Gauthier and Riley O'Connor are also back from last year's top six point getters. Cassie Dunne and Kelly Watson are expected to anchor the Lady Ice Lions' always-strong defense, while freshmen Liz Tuorinsky and Madison Dwyer will see significant time on the blueline as well.

While few would consider a seventh-place spot the ultimate goal, it does represent a high water mark of sorts, as it equals Penn State's highest ranking in a national D1 poll since the ACHA first introduced one in 2003-04. The Lady Icers hit the mark eight times: November 19, 2004; November 17 and December 15, 2006; November 6, 2009; February 17, November 5 and December 17, 2010; and January 28, 2011. The Lady Ice Lions, of course, have added two to the list with last year's nationals finish and the present year's preseason poll.

Miami University, 2013-14's national champion and 2014-15's runners-up took seven of the eight first-place votes to top the poll. The RedHawks lost two-time Zoe M. Harris Award winner Hayley Williams to the professional ranks of the National Women's Hockey League, but still have a stellar group of returners including Kaley Mooney and Rachael Booth, as well as a typically-loaded recruiting class.

Penn State's Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League fared well in the ranking, with the top three teams taking three consecutive tournament-worthy spots: Rhode Island leads the pack in fifth, defending league champ Massachusetts clocks into sixth place, followed by the Lady Ice Lions in seventh. The ECWHL's other two teams are also represented, as Vermont rated 15th and Northeastern received votes.

Several of PSU's non-conference opponents are also in the top 15. Defending national champion Liberty, which hits the schedule in both January and February, is second. Adrian, a semifinalist last season and the foe for series in both October and December, placed third. Davenport, which visits Pegula Ice Arena for a rare Thursday game on January 28, 2015, grabbed the 13th spot. Colorado joins Northeastern in the "others receiving votes" category, and PSU will play the Buffaloes in January in Lynchburg, VA.

The cutoff date for the next poll is October 25th, with others following on November 22nd, January 17th and February 21st. The top eight teams in that final ranking will qualify for the ACHA National Tournament, held March 9th through 13th in Kalamazoo, MI.

Penn State begins its quest to qualify for the tournament on October 9th and 10th with a pair of games at Massachusetts, followed by a single game at Northeastern on October 11th. This season's Pegula Ice Arena opening series is set for November 7th and 8th against the Huskies.

Here is the complete ranking (first place votes in parentheses):

		Pts.			Pts.
1	Miami (7)	9	9	Michigan State	69
2	Liberty (1)	23	10	Minnesota	81
3	Adrian	34	11	Colorado State	86
4	Grand Valley State	36	12	Robert Morris	97
5	Rhode Island	45	13	Davenport	99
6	Massachusetts	49	14	LU-Belleville	110
7	Penn State	55	15	Vermont	119
8	Michigan	58
Others receiving votes: Northeastern, Colorado

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Rachel Cole is a product of the strong Steel City Selects program

Penn State Lady Ice Lions coach Patrick Fung has announced that four student-athletes have joined the squad for the fall semester and the 2015-16 season. They are Jordan Chiavacci (Wyoming, PA), Rachel Cole (Wexford, PA), Rachel Lee (Binghamton, NY) and Sophie Paolizzi (West Chester, PA).

JORDAN CHIAVACCI
Forward | Shoots Right | Wyoming, PA

Prior to Penn State
Chiavacci has a rather unconventional playing background as she is largely a self-made player: she took up the game in high school and developed very quickly through a combination of skills camps, private coaches, house leagues and unwavering passion. Chiavacci does have plenty of sports background though, as she was a setter on the volleyball team at Penn State Wilkes-Barre as a freshman and sophomore. In her first year at that campus, she was named academic all-league by the Penn State University Athletic Conference before helping the team improve its winning percentage by 0.312 last season. At Wyoming Area High School, she was a star soccer goalkeeper, winning Wyoming Valley Conference MVP honors as a senior.

Personal
Jordan Marie Chiavacci was born on October 23, 1994 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Her parents are Maria and Michael Alba, and she has a brother who is also named Michael Alba. She is majoring in kinesiology with the goal of entering the fields of physical therapy and sports medicine.

Fung on Chiavacci
"Jordan is a junior transfer from Penn State Wilkes-Barre who picked up hockey recently. She skated with several boys and men's teams prior to arriving at University Park, and has developed remarkably. Tough and hard working, we expect great things with a full season in a team system here."

RACHEL COLE
Forward | Shoots Right | Wexford, PA | Steel City Selects U19

Prior to Penn State
Cole developed a reputation as an intelligent, responsible and skilled forward in the Steel City Selects organization with both the U19 and U16 squads, as she and her teams made consecutive trips to the USA Hockey Tier 2 national championships in 2013 and 2014. The first came in the U16 age group by upsetting the North Hills Vipers 2-0 for the Mid-Am District championship, with Cole scoring both of the contest's goals. As a U19 player, she joined eventual Lady Ice Lions teammates Tarika and Emma Embar for the 2014 run, which featured a win over the Armstrong Arrows for the district title.

Personal
Rachel Marie Cole was born on August 7, 1996 in Pittsburgh, PA to Edward and Norenne Cole and has two sisters, Hannah and Kathryn. She intends to pursue a science degree and attend medical school following her undergraduate studies. Edward Cole played hockey for Villanova University's former NCAA Division III program, graduating in 1991, while uncle Brian Cole is a 1984 Penn State graduate and cousin Ryan Cole presently attends PSU. In addition to her academic prowess as an award-winning high schooler finishing in the top 10 percent of her class, Cole is an expert in Irish dance, having participated in it for a decade.

Fung on Cole
"Rachel is an athletic forward with great academics who was accepted very early last year, and is a hard-working, gritty player with USA Hockey Nationals experience as a member of the Steel City Selects. She has a great combination of size, skill and hockey smarts that will contribute more and more as the season goes on."

RACHEL LEE
Defense | Shoots Right | Binghamton, NY | Binghamton Blizzard U19

Prior to Penn State
Lee played in the Binghamton Blizzard organization on both the U16 and U19 teams, along with fellow Lady Ice Lion Kelly Watson. The Blizzard U16s qualified for the New York State Amateur Hockey Association tournament in 2011-12, a final step before qualifying for the USA Hockey national championships.

Personal
Rachel Elisabeth Lee was born on April 19, 1997 in Binghamton, NY to Robert and Lisa Lee. She has a brother, Jason, and a sister, Jennifer, and intends to major in biomedical engineering - eventually with the goal of designing prosthetic devices for a living. Lee was a great student at Union-Endicott High School, as she spent two years in National Honor Society before graduating summa cum laude. She also played on the tennis team for four years in addition to her hockey exploits.

Fung on Lee
"Rachel was a former teammate of sophomore Kelly Watson with the Binghamton Blizzard. Although she took some time off to concentrate on other sports last year, she has returned to ice hockey. With some time to get back into skating shape, we expect her to continue to develop quickly as a versatile player who can play both forward and defense."

SOPHIE PAOLIZZI
Forward | Shoots Left | West Chester, PA | West Chester East HS

Prior to Penn State
Paolizzi skated for West Chester East High School where, as a senior, she was named an All-Area Honorable Mention by the (Chester County) Daily Local News. She was also an Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League all-star selection while putting up 10 points to rank third on the eventual Flyers Cup runners-up, with all but two coming in an eight-game stretch between December 6, 2014 and February 5, 2015. Over her high school career, she averaged better than half a point per game (35 points, 64 games) while serving as a captain for three years.

Personal
Sophie Germaine Paolizzi was born on February 28, 1997 in West Chester, PA to Vince and Celeste Paolizzi (the latter a 1983 Penn State graduate) and has an older brother Vinnie, as well as a younger sister Katie. She intends to major in psychology and is an outstanding student - she was a National Merit Commended Scholar in high school and will be participating in PSU's Paterno Fellows Program, a well-rounded and rigorous joint venture of the College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College.

Fung on Paolizzi
"Sophie is another standout academic who was admitted early last year. She grew up a neighbor of former Lady Ice Lions alternate captain Allie Rothman, who also coached her at West Chester East High School last season. A very coachable, talented multi sport athlete and the daughter of a Penn Stater, we expect to see great development out of Sophie as the year progresses."

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Tarika Embar is one of the Lady Ice Lions' best students

A great 2014-15 spring semester for the Lady Ice Lions was highlighted on the ice by an upset of top-ranked Miami and a trip to the ACHA National Tournament, as Penn State finished its first Division 1 season with a 17-8-2 record. However, the squad also shined academically, posting an outstanding 3.49 team grade point average over the spring semester and summer sessions.

The 3.49 number is a full 0.28 higher than the fall semester team number, and edged out Fall 2013's 3.45 as a new unofficial team record.

Leading the way were four players with perfect 4.0s during the spring/summer period. One, of course, was senior Devon Fisk (a biobehavioral health major), who has held the mark through her entire college career. Senior goalie Allyssa Long (public relations) was also perfect, as was classmate Nina Elia (health policy administration), while freshman Meghan Miller (education) got off to a great academic start over the summer. Several other academic stars who posted a 3.80 or better included Riley O'Connor (3.93, biobehavioral health), Tarika Embar (3.93, health and human development), Lucy Yeatman (3.88, mathematics) and freshman Madison Dwyer (science), who joined Miller in a summer jumpstart with a 3.84.

In all, 11 of the 22 players reported for the set of data qualified for Dean's List recognition (a 3.5 GPA or better for full-time students), up from six of 23 during the fall.

Next weekend, the Lady Ice Lions will open the 2015-16 season and a drive to return to the ACHA National Tournament with three games in Massachusetts. The commonwealth's flagship school in Amherst is up first, with contests set for Friday, October 9th at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 10th at 11:00 a.m. On Sunday, October 11th, Penn State will travel across the Bay State to Boston and a noon matchup with Northeastern.

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No. 7 Penn State (0-0-0/0-0-0 ECWHL) vs. No. 6 Massachusetts (3-0-1/1-0-1 ECWHL)
When	Friday, October 9th at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, October 10th at 11:00 a.m.
Where	Mullins Center Amherst, MA
The Lead	Penn State opens a new season with big aspirations and a two important games with the rival Minutewomen
Live Video	None

No. 7 Penn State (0-0-0/0-0-0 ECWHL) vs. Northeastern (0-2-0/0-2-0 ECWHL)
When	Sunday, October 11th at 12:30 p.m.
Where	Matthews Arena Boston, MA
The Lead	After playing a series at UMass, the Lady Ice Lions conclude opening weekend with a third ECWHL game, at Northeastern
Live Video	None

Game Notes

Running the Cycle: One of the first priorities for the team as it enters 2015-16 will be the establishment of roles for a whopping eight new players that, it is hoped, will replace a sizable gap in production: 30 goals and 32 assists by three graduated forwards, vital top-four roles from two graduated defensemen and roughly 87 percent of the goaltending minutes provided by graduated Mary Kate Tonetti. Up front, the new Lady Ice Lions include Caitlin Costello, Meghan Miller, Jordan Chiavacci, Rachel Cole and Sophie Paolizzi, a group that includes two players from USA Hockey national championship tournament teams and two stars on their high school teams. Liz Tuorinsky, Madison Dwyer and Rachel Lee will greatly bolster the defense, with two of that group also bringing USAH nationals experience. Goaltenders Sumire Clevenger, Aimee Little and Allyssa Long (who is out due to injury to start the year) are not new players - each debuted for the team during 2014-15 - but the candidates to replace Tonetti's heavy crease duties have just 213:39 of combined game time so far.

By the Numbers: Obviously, the aforementioned new players will experience career firsts for just about every hockey event imaginable as they come up. But for some of the more experienced players, some larger numbers are in play. That group is headlined by senior Devon Fisk, who begins the year with 47 career goals, just three shy of half a century, and her 77 points could easily become 100 by the end of the year, given her season averages. Senior Darby Kern seems destined to hit both milestones as well with 34 goals and 61 points so far in a single season of work.

Super senior Ashton Schaffer, who will play a final semester for the team over the opening half of the year, has 78 career games banked, including 64 of the 66 in Lady Ice Lions history. The other remaining founding members have 65 (Fisk), 61 (Jackie Saideh) and 52 (Nina Elia) games played, with Elia's count including every game outside of a semester abroad last season. Kelly Watson and Darian Dempsey are the only returning players still seeking a first career goal, while Dempsey, Emma Embar and Hannah Dier need a first assist.

Rank and File: The ACHA competition committee released a preseason ranking on September 16th, placing the Lady Ice Lions seventh. The position makes sense, as it's precisely where the team finished at the ACHA National Tournament back in March. It also equals the highest mark by a Penn State team in any ACHA national ranking, accomplished a total of 11 times by the Lady Icers and Lady Ice Lions (the national women's poll dates to the 2003-04 season). The top eight teams in the fourth ranking of the season, issued after the games of February 21, 2016, will be invited to the 2016 national tournament in Kalamazoo, MI - although automatic bids given to the playoff champions of the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association and the Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League could cut that number by one or two if the team(s) in question are not already in the top eight.

A Look Ahead: Penn State's schedule, like last year, is front-loaded with road games, starting this weekend and continuing on October 24th and 25th at 2015 ACHA semifinalist Adrian. After that, however, the team returns to Pegula Ice Arena for eight consecutive tilts, beginning with Northeastern on November 7th and concluding with Massacusetts on January 10, 2016.

The (First) Opponent

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

Series History: Massachusetts leads, 3-1-1. Most recently, PSU and UMass skated to a 3-3 tie at the ACHA National Tournament back on March 5th, with the Minutewomen rallying from a 3-1 Lady Ice Lions lead (supplied by Fisk and Cara Mendelson) at the second intermission. The teams split overtime decisions at Pegula Ice Arena in January, with Mendelson's winner in game one answered by Amy Morin the next day. The UMass series advantage comes from a sweep in Amherst in October, 2014 by 3-0 and 1-0 counts.

About Massachusetts: Unlike the Lady Ice Lions, UMass is well established in their season after running to the ECWHL regular season and playoff titles, as well as an ACHA National Tournament bid, in 2014-15. The Minutewomen started off with routs of non-ACHA team Boston University (6-0) and ACHA Division 2's Connecticut (7-1) before opening ECWHL play with Vermont at home last weekend. While the first game of the series was more of the same - UMass pulled away from a 3-3 second-period tie to win 7-3 - the rematch resulted in an "upset tie" against the 15th-ranked Catamounts, 3-3. Brittani Lanzilli has been a force of nature, scoring seven goals and nine points in three ACHA games, while linemates Ally Perdios and Michaela Tosone each have seven points to tie for second on the squad. Freshman Meghan Lawler is also off to a promising start, while Bethany Welch and Sam Baturin have taken on the unenviable task of replacing graduated first-team All-ECWHLer Kasey Zegel between the pipes.

Trivia: Penn State and Massachusetts have a common player thread in the form of Paige Harrington, a 2015 UMass grad who played for the Lady Icers in 2011-12 before transferring to play the remainder of her college career in Amherst. On August 11th, Harrington became one of 72 players to sign with the National Women's Hockey League for the pro circuit's historic inaugural season. She and her teammates with the Buffalo Beauts (a group also including fellow ACHA alumna Hayley Williams) are set to open their campaign on Sunday against the Boston Pride.

Head Coaches: Bill Wright
Goals Scored Per Game: 5.75
Goals Allowed Per Game: 1.75

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

The (Second) Opponent

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

Series History: Penn State leads, 4-0-0. In November 2014, 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 Madison Smiddy drive 40 seconds in settled things, while the second saw a pair of Claire Gauthier assists and another winner from a defenseman - this time Tara Soukup in regulation. On January 31st and February 1st in Pegula Ice Arena, Kern was much of the story, as she beasted her way to seven goals and two assists in the series, helping PSU win 11-1 and 6-1 blowouts.

About Northeastern: The Huskies got off to a discouraging start last weekend, dropping a pair of meetings with always-strong Rhode Island (currently ranked 5th) by 8-1 and 6-0 scores. However, Anne-Marie Dion has more than proven herself as one of the ACHA's better goalies, as she stopped 85 of 90 in last November's series at Matthews Arena and forced the Lady Ice Lions to eke out two tight wins. Although the Huskies are looking to replace lots of production from program legends Michelle Macchione and Kelsey Hickey, Estelle Ip has Northeastern's tally so far this year, and recorded points on both goals her team scored against Penn State in last season's series at Pegula Ice Arena. Kim Pfeifle, who played goal in that series with Dion unavailable, is the team's leading returning scorer as she gathered six goals and nine points as an out player in 2014-15.

Before facing Penn State on Sunday, Northeastern has two other games scheduled: Thursday against defending national champion Liberty and Saturday against Connecticut.

Trivia: Although the ECWHL boasts two of the ACHA's perennial best in Rhode Island and Massachusetts (with Penn State occasionally part of the group as well), it's Northeastern that claims the league's only national championship. In 2011-12, the Huskies defeated Minnesota in Wooster, OH to take the crown behind tournament MVP goalie Chelsea Dietz, who saved 128 of the 131 shots she faced at nationals. NU also won a Division 2 national title in 2009-10 before moving to D1 the following season and subsequently losing the 2010-11 title game to Michigan State.

Head Coach: Jeff Postera
Goals Scored Per Game: 0.50
Goals Allowed Per Game: 7.00

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

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Caitlin Costello was one of two Lady Ice Lions to score her first career goal on Friday

"It's a long season" is not a refrain often heard from teams that win their opening game, but that doesn't make it any less true. Which certainly is fantastic news for the Lady Ice Lions following what will likely end up as a blip in the big picture of how 2015-16 ultimately plays out.

Massachusetts' Brittani Lanzilli scored four times and added two assists as her Minutewomen topped Penn State 10-5 in the Lady Ice Lions' season opener. UMass, which had two weekends of game action under its belt coming in, climbed to 4-0-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League.

Optics aside, however, PSU acquitted themselves quite well for long stretches of the contest. After UMass jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first nine minutes of the first period, and with Vicki Bortolussi off on a tripping call with 8:53 to go, freshman forward Meghan Miller jammed home her first career goal from a scrum in front to pull the squad back within two. Exactly four minutes later, Claire Gauthier found a streaking Darby Kern, and 2014-15's national scoring leader fired past Bethany Welch to trim things to 4-3. The left wing from Venetia, PA finished with that goal, a rebound bury that made the score 2-1 early on, and assists on each of the team's other three markers.

Courtney Sullivan answered quickly for the home side to widen the deficit back to two at the first intermission, but five minutes into the second period, Caitlin Costello joined Miller in opening her collegiate goal scoring account (she actually notched her first point by assisting the Miller goal). On the play, Riley O'Connor found her fellow redhead on the right side, and the former New Jersey Rocket picked the top corner on Welch.

At that moment, with the score 5-4 midway through regulation and despite the contest's early struggles (not to mention the struggles of getting to the rink through Connecticut's notorious traffic), it seemed as if the whole ball of wax was back in play.

It didn't last, however. O'Connor added her own tally in the waning moments of the game, but not until after UMass grabbed five unanswered to balloon the score out to 10-4. In the run that effectively ended the game, Ally Perdios, Lanzilli, Katy Turner, Sullivan and Michaela Tosone all scored. Tosone added a pair of assists to the effort, while Ally Perdios (the third member of UMass' top line with Lanzilli and Tosone) also had a 1-2-3 line.

The two teams will meet again to close out the series on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. before Penn State heads east to Boston to face Northeastern on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Massachusetts, Jessica Greenwood (Michaela Tosone), 19:10; 2. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (unassisted), 17:15; 3. Penn State, Darby Kern (Riley O'Connor), 16:38; 4. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (unassisted), 13:49; 5. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (Michaela Tosone, Ally Perdios), 11:10; 6. Penn State, Meghan Miller (Caitlin Costello, Darby Kern), 8:53 (power play); 7. Penn State, Darby Kern (Claire Gauthier), 4:53; 8. Massachusetts, Courtney Sullivan (Katy Turner), 3:17.
Penalties
1. Massachusetts, Vicki Bortolussi (2:00 tripping), 9:13; 2. Penn State, Liz Tuorinsky (2:00 tripping), 8:39.
Second Period
Scoring
9. Penn State, Caitlin Costello (Riley O'Connor, Darby Kern), 15:16; 10. Massachusetts, Ally Perdios (Brittani Lanzilli), 7:03; 11. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (Jessica Greenwood), 1:48.
Penalties
3. Massachusetts, Meredith Gallagher (2:00 slashing), 10:05; 4. Penn State, Liz Tuorinsky (2:00 boarding), 4:22.
Third Period
Scoring
12. Massachusetts, Katy Turner (Tatum Schulz), 18:58; 13. Massachusetts, Courtney Sullivan (Erika Von Den Benken), 13:10; 14. Massachusetts, Michaela Tosone (Ally Perdios, Brittani Lanzilli), 3:30 (power play); 15. Penn State, Riley O'Connor (Darby Kern), 2:32.
Penalties
5. Penn State, Darian Dempsey (2:00 tripping), 5:26.
Goaltending
Penn State: Sumire Clevenger: L, 43 saves/53 shots. Massachusetts: Bethany Welch: W, 24 saves/29 shots.

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Ashton Schaffer's power play goal got the Lady Ice Lions on the board

The first period wasn't worth talking about, so let's skip ahead.

In the second period of Saturday afternoon's contest with Massachusetts, the Penn State Lady Ice Lions unleashed a power play with plenty of new-found beastliness. Five minutes in, senior co-captain Ashton Schaffer snuck low on the weak side (the right, in this case), took a D-to-D pass from Kelly Watson, and fired in.

Just over two minutes later, after Vicki Bortolussi committed the sin of putting PSU back on the advantage, Meghan Miller scored her second career goal, following her first Friday night. In contrast to that dirty tally, this was a pretty passing play, with Caitlin Costello locating her with a slick cross-slot feed.

In the waning moments of the period and just one minute apart from each other, Costello and Devon Fisk added even-strength shelf jobs to round a superb four-goal frame, versus just one from the hosts.

Riley O'Connor rounded out a perfect 3-for-3 effort while up a player with her second goal of the young season 1:27 away from the end of the contest, giving PSU five in total. Beyond the goal scorers, Watson, Jackie Saideh, and Darby Kern each had a pair of assists along the way.

So all in all, not a bad outing. Well... that's not entirely true.

The first period, unfortunately, does count, and suffice it to say, the 5-0 UMass hung on the Lady Ice Lions during that opening 20 minutes went a long way towards their completing a sweep of PSU by a 9-5 count.

With the result, the sixth-ranked Minutewomen are now a tied-for-first-place 3-0-1 in the ECWHL and 5-0-1 overall. Number seven Penn State is 0-2-0 both overall and within the league.

For UMass, Brittani Lanzilli had another superb match, following up her six-point effort on Friday with two goals and two assists, all in the first half of the game. When PSU used the aforementioned second period burst to close to 6-4 at the second intermission, the Minutewomen freshmen took over. The most notable of that group was Katy Turner, who scored twice in the third period to complete a hat trick, including a shorthanded effort on the power play that later produced the O'Connor goal.

Penn State goalie Sumire Clevenger, making her third career start, stopped 38 of the 47 shots she faced. On the other end, UMass' Sam Baturin made 20 saves.

The Lady Ice Lions will now head east to Boston to complete the season's first weekend with a Sunday afternoon tilt at ECWHL rival Northeastern. Puck drop is set for 12:30 p.m. from historic Matthews Arena.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Massachusetts, Meredith Gallagher (Brittani Lanzilli), 15:12; 2. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (Ally Perdios), 8:57; 3. Massachusetts, Joanna Olson (Katy Turner, Meghan Lawler), 3:25; 4. Massachusetts, Brittani Lanzilli (Ally Perdios, Michaela Tosone), 2:38; 5. Massachusetts, Katy Turner (unassisted), 0:55.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Cassie Dunne (2:00 boarding), 14:46.
Second Period
Scoring
6. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (Kelly Watson, Riley O'Connor), 14:57 (power play); 7. Massachusetts, Michaela Tosone (Brittani Lanzilli), 14:03; 8. Penn State, Meghan Miller (Caitlin Costello, Darby Kern), 12:41 (power play); 9. Penn State, Caitlin Costello (Darby Kern, Jackie Saideh), 1:43; 10. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Claire Gauthier, Jackie Saideh), 0:47.
Penalties
2. Massachusetts, Michaela Tosone (2:00 tripping), 16:29; 3. Massachusetts, Vicki Bortolussi (2:00 interference), 13:28; 4. Penn State, Liz Tuorinsky (2:00 body checking), 10:38.
Third Period
Scoring
11. Massachusetts, Vicki Bortolussi (unassisted), 16:46; 12. Massachusetts, Katy Turner (Meghan Lawler), 12:38; 13. Massachusetts, Katy Turner (unassisted), 1:35 (shorthanded); 14. Penn State, Riley O'Connor (Kelly Watson, Devon Fisk), 1:27 (power play).
Penalties
5. Penn State, Liz Tuorinsky (2:00 body checking), 14:09; 6. Massachusetts, Ally Perdios (2:00 tripping), 2:01.
Goaltending
Penn State: Sumire Clevenger: L, 38 saves/47 shots. Massachusetts: Sam Baturin: W, 20 saves/25 shots.

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Darby Kern had five points on Sunday and 12 over the weekend

The Lady Ice Lions completed 2015-16's opening weekend on Sunday afternoon short on wins, but long on learning experience, with a 6-6 tie at Northeastern.

Much like in Saturday's 5-0 deficit to Massachusetts, PSU (now 0-2-1 both overall and in the ECWHL) got off to an abysmal start and spotted the Huskies a 3-0 lead in the first 11 minutes of the game. Cory Leblanc, Kat So and Sarah Wilczynski were responsible for that opening volley, while Sarah Deslandes assisted on the latter two, as part of a three-apple outing.

Life finally met the visitors late in the opening frame, thanks partly to an outstanding power play that is now 5-for-7 on the young season. The fifth conversion came thanks to Darby Kern, who potted a Caitlin Costello rebound just eight seconds into a Clara Karastury penalty and six seconds from the end of the period to trim things from 3-0 to 3-2.

Just under two minutes prior to Kern's first tally of an eventual three, she grabbed her first of two assists by circling behind the net and finding Costello in the slot, where the New Jersey freshman fired home.

Those two goals, in some alternate universe, could have spurred PSU to a decisive victory over the final 40 minutes. Momentum in this one, however, was not quite that easy - for either side.

Kern tied things up 3:54 into the second period from the doorstep after a quick feed from Riley O'Connor got NU goalie Anne-Marie Dion moving laterally. But the Huskies answered through Karastury three minutes later and went back ahead by two five minutes after that when Estelle Ip popped a Karastury rebound past Sumire Clevenger.

The Lady Ice Lions had another rally in the tank though.

First up was Devon Fisk, who found herself in a 2-on-1 with defenseman Darian Dempsey, who jumped into the play. Puck carrier Dempsey, who gathered her first collegiate point on the sequence, calmly found the team's all time leading scorer as if she had done it 49 times before for the bury. Kern completed her hat trick with five minutes remaining in the middle period by beasting down the ice from a Kelly Watson feed to get back to 5-5 after two periods.

Not surprisingly, the third period was marked by another goal trade.

Northeastern, as usual, went first on a bizarre play: while Liz Tuorinsky was in the penalty box , a Karastury shot was muted by a defensive stick and fluttered high in the air, drifting over Clevenger's shoulder and into the net with 7:44 remaining. PSU's timely answer was Meghan Miller, who deposited a 2-on-1 with 4:01 to go.

Overtime saw its fair share of activity, notably another Miller-Kern transitional play and a Fisk close call on an O'Connor rebound, but the diminishing returns of the back-and-forth nature of the game held and the contest ended where it started.

Penn State will have next weekend off before returning to action on October 24th and 25th with a trip to third-ranked Adrian.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Northeastern, Cory Leblanc (Katie Walsh, Estelle Ip), 14:43; 2. Northeastern, Kat So (Sarah Deslandes, Cory Leblanc), 13:19; 3. Northeastern, Sarah Wilczynski (Sarah Deslandes, Kat So), 9:47; 4. Penn State, Caitlin Costello (Riley O'Connor, Darby Kern), 1:51; 5. Penn State, Darby Kern (Caitlin Costello, Cassie Dunne), 0:06 (power play).
Penalties
1. Northeastern, Clara Karastury (2:00 penalty), 0:14.
Second Period
Scoring
6. Penn State, Darby Kern (Riley O'Connor, Caitlin Costello), 16:06; 7. Northeastern, Clara Karastury (Sarah Deslandes, Kat So), 12:59; 8. Northeastern, Estelle Ip (Clara Karastury, Cory Leblanc), 7:36; 9. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Darian Dempsey), 6:25; 10. Darby Kern (Kelly Watson), 5:17.
Penalties
None.
Third Period
Scoring
11. Northeastern, Clara Karastury (unassisted), 7:44 (power play); 12. Penn State, Meghan Miller (Darby Kern, Devon Fisk), 4:01.
Penalties
2. Penn State, Liz Tuorinsky (2:00 penalty), 8:54; 3. Northeastern, Sarah Wilczynski (2:00 penalty), 7:27; 4. Penn State, Liz Tuorinsky (2:00 penalty), 3:23.
Overtime
Scoring
None.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Sumire Clevenger: T. Northeastern: Anne-Marie Dion: T.

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Kelly Watson has a trio of assists so far this season

No. 7 Penn State (0-2-1/0-2-1 ECWHL) vs. No. 3 Adrian (4-2-0/4-2-0 CCWHA)
When	Saturday, October 24th at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, October 25th at 2:00 p.m.
Where	Arrington Ice Arena Adrian, MI
The Lead	Following a disappointing opening weekend, the Lady Ice Lions will try to get back on track against a brutally-tough Adrian squad.
Live Video	Adrian College TV (via YouTube)

Game Notes

No One Team Should Have All That Power: During an otherwise tough opening weekend from October 9th through 11th, one bright spot for the Lady Ice Lions was the team's power play, which converted on a superb five of its eight opportunities against Massachusetts and Northeastern. That number is particularly impressive in the context of PSU's performance on the advantage each of the last two seasons: in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, eight power play goals were scored over the entire season, in 52 and 64 attempts (respectively). Freshman Meghan Miller leads the way with two scores on the advantage, while Darby Kern, Riley O'Connor and Ashton Schaffer have one each.

Rated Rookies: Miller, along with her three total goals, wasn't the only freshman who provided tremendous impact two weeks ago, as a whopping five others (plus new-to-the-team junior Jordan Chiavacci) have now dressed for their first Penn State games. Caitlin Costello headlined the group by seamlessly stepping into 2015 graduate Cara Mendelson's old right wing spot alongside Kern and O'Connor and posting seven points, good for second on the squad so far. Liz Tuorinsky and Madison Dwyer are holding down key defense roles, and Rachel Cole and Sophie Paolizzi have both impressed as smart and coachable players with plenty of upside. Darian Dempsey, not quite a rookie but still a player with only six more Lady Ice Lions games in than most of the freshmen, collected her first career point two Sundays ago against Northeastern, an assist of a Devon Fisk goal.

Feel the Kern: On the other end of her collegiate career, senior Kern picked up right where she left off a year ago. The 2014-15 national scoring leader, All-American and Zoe M. Harris Award finalist has tallied five goals and 12 points in the three games so far. That dozen has her tied for fifth in ACHA Division 1 scoring, although every player tied with or ahead of the Venetia, PA native has played at least two additional games. UMass' Brittani Lanzilli is the current leader with 13 goals and 19 points in five games.

No Fear of the Unknown: This weekend's series will be the first-ever meeting between Adrian and any Penn State team, as the Bulldogs have never faced the 2012-present Lady Ice Lions team or the 1996-2012 Lady Icers team. In the current team's lifespan, that situation - a completely new opponent - has come up eight times, with the blue and white side managing a 6-1-1 record.

PSU 1 at Michigan State (D2) 0 (October 13, 2012): Fisk supplied the game's only goal in the Lady Ice Lions' third-ever game, which was enough support for Katie Vaughan's 13-save shutout
PSU 9 at Navy 1 (January 13, 2013): Taylor Nyman connected for a goal and two assists in her debut with the team, while Mandy Mortach had four goals and two assists
PSU 2 vs. Alaska 1 (March 7, 2013): Fisk and Allie Rothman scored as the Lady Ice Lions stunned the West Region's top seed at the ACHA National Tournament in Ashburn, VA after barely sneaking into the field as the East Region's final seed
PSU 3 vs. Wisconsin-Stout 1 (March 8, 2013): The next day, an arguably bigger upset was the order as two Mortach goals and 34 Vaughan saves felled the defending ACHA Division 2 national champs
PSU 3 vs. North Dakota State 3 (March 8, 2013): With the previous two results already clinching a spot in 2013's semifinals, the expected back-and-forth, nothing-to-lose game followed with a potent Bison team
PSU 6 vs. Liberty (D2) 0 (September 27, 2013): In the first intercollegiate hockey game in Pegula Ice Arena history, the Lady Ice Lions shredded LU's D2 squad behind two Geneva Wagoner goals and one from Kim Badorrek
PSU 0 vs. Iowa State 1 (March 16, 2014): The sole defeat on the list came at the worst possible time - the ACHA championship game in Newark, DE - as ISU's Millie Luedtke scored on the power play with 7:21 remaining to take the crown
PSU 4 at Miami 3 (January 18, 2015): Two Madison Smiddy goals - including the winner on a 5-on-3 with 3:16 left - topped the defending ACHA Division 1 national champs, who entered the game with a 31-game unbeaten streak spanning 359 days

After this weekend, the Lady Ice Lions will face at least two more first-timers in the forms of Colorado, an opponent during the January 15th-18th trip to Lynchburg, VA, and Davenport, which visits Pegula Ice Arena on January 28th.

The Opponent

Name: Adrian College
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Adrian, MI

Series History: Tied, 0-0-0.

About Adrian: The Bulldogs, despite only being established in 2012, have already developed into one of the nation's best programs. AC made its ACHA National Tournament debut in 2014, and followed that up last season with an even deeper run, to the semifinals, as part of a 16-8-3 overall record. This year Adrian has its sights set on a title with the inaugural team freshmen now the senior leadership, and so far they haven't disappointed in building a 4-2-0 record entirely against teams ranked in the ACHA's top 12. An opening sweep of No. 12 Robert Morris gave way to a split with No. 8 Michigan and, most recently and most impressively, a split with No. 1 Miami last weekend. The 1-0 AC victory on Sunday, thanks to Jesse Rushing's third period power play goal, was the first shutout of the mighty RedHawks in a 73-game stretch. Goalie Alison Dungey and her 32 saves also had a lot to do with the result, while dynamic freshman Nicole Paradis has led a balanced attack with five goals and seven points.

Trivia: Adrian, possibly more than any school in the country, is defined by hockey despite an enrollment of only about 1,650 students. Literally 10 percentof that number - 165 - is rostered with one of the school's six hockey teams. In addition to nationally-contending ACHA Division 1 women's and men's teams, AC has women's and men's NCAA Division III teams and a pair of ACHA Division 3 men's teams. One of those D3 men's teams, the gold squad, won national titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Head Coach: Brett Berger
Goals Scored Per Game: 2.83
Goals Allowed Per Game: 1.67

Team Website:
http://adrianbulldogs.com/sports/c-hockey-w/index

Penn State Lady Ice Lions:Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Aimee Little was spectacular with 35 saves on Saturday night

Hockey is a complex sport, a fast, fluid game of violent motion, crucial decisions that need to be made instantaneously, and two teams full of players that need to know and execute their responsibilities with skill and tenacity in all situations to have any chance of success.

Sometimes though, a single game can be boiled down to seven words: Adrian was good, Penn State was not. As a result, the third-ranked Bulldogs are now 5-2-0 while the number seven Lady Ice Lions are 0-3-1 following AC's 4-0 win in their home Arrington Ice Arena Saturday night.

"Not good" was held from "utter disaster" largely through the efforts of Aimee Little. The sophomore goaltender made a stellar 35 saves in her season debut, giving the Lady Ice Lions the opportunity to enter the third period in a one-goal contest despite heavy Adrian advantages in just about every other category.

Things remained scoreless until 2:23 into the second period when Nichole Laflamme dangled through two Penn Staters to create a low 2-on-0 opportunity. She then saucered across the crease for Jessie Rushing, who easily deposited what would become the game-winning goal.

Nicole Paradis went next, midway through the third period. The Bulldogs' leading scorer was fed low by Jessica Fabbro before another artistic finish. Goal three came just two minutes later on a similar-looking play, this time with Kaillie Hardy scoring from Micayla Salyn. Salyn had secondary assists on the first two tallies before the primary to Hardy rounded out a three-point night for the freshman.

Sam Fortune closed the scoring in the final minute of the contest, on Adrian's 38th of 39 shots. The Lady Ice Lions managed just 10 towards Alison Dungey on the other end for her fifth career shutout.

There is, fortunately, one other simple reality to hockey, this a bit more universal than the specifics of any one game: tomorrow offers a clean 200 feet of ice, 60 minutes of game time and a 0-0 scoreline. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
None.
Penalties
None.
Second Period
Scoring
1. Adrian, Jessie Rushing (Nichole Laflamme, Micayla Salyn), 17:37.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Nina Elia (2:00 hooking), 13:28.
Third Period
Scoring
2. Adrian, Nicole Paradis (Jessica Fabbro, Micayla Salyn), 10:44; 3. Adrian, Kaillie Hardy (Micayla Salyn), 8:21; 4. Adrian, Sam Fortune (unassisted), 0:56.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Aimee Little: L, 35 saves/39 shots. Adrian: Alison Dungey: W, 10 saves, 10 shots.

Penn State Lady Ice Lions:Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Riley O'Connor set up the PSU goal

Aimee Little made 41 saves - totaling an impressive 76 for the weekend - and Caitlin Costello scored a third period goal, but the Lady Ice Lions were unable to avoid a weekend sweep with a 5-1 defeat to number three Adrian on Sunday afternoon in Michigan.

With the loss, Penn State dropped to 0-4-1 this season and is in danger of losing a hold on the seventh spot in the next ACHA ranking, which is expected to be released in the coming week.

Despite significant improvement in most areas of the game from PSU compared to Saturday's 4-0 loss, Adrian once again started on the front foot, striking first with 13:26 remaining in the opening period through Morgan Praska, who threw the puck to the middle and got a fortunate bounce off of the sticks of the Lady Ice Lions' defense.

Saturday's third-period Bulldog explosion produced much of that contest's result, but on Sunday, the undoing came one frame earlier. 2-0 was early in the second period, with Valerie Twigg sniping from the high slot. 3-0 was from Kirstin LaBelle, who similarly beat Little after Paige Fuoco fed the Chicago freshman following a loose puck in the neutral zone. 4-0 was Sabrena Camp, cleaning up a Nicole Paradis rebound after Adrian's leading scorer - who finished with a trio of assists - did most of the work by dangling down the middle and shooting from in tight.

The game, realistically, was buried by that point, but the Lady Ice Lions certainly had plenty to prove before the series concluded, coming out strong once again for the final 20 minutes.

The effort paid off quickly when, 1:33 in, Costello scored her fourth goal of the season. Riley O'Connor won a defensive faceoff and pushed the puck up ice. Fellow redhead forward Costello eventually chased it down near the Adrian line, but Bulldogs goalie Ellyn Stanton (who was new in the game, replacing Alison Dungey at the intermission) drastically misplayed the situation by coming far out of the net thinking she could get the biscuit first. PSU's number 12 had an easy deposit from the middle of the zone once that happened.

Penn State finished empty in a pair of power play opportunities, but also managed to hold Adrian to an 0-for-2 line on the advantage. AC, however, had a decisive advantage on shots, winning that stat 46-15.

The Lady Ice Lions will be back in action on November 7th and 8th against Northeastern for 2015-16's home-opening series. Puck drops are set for 5:15 p.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively, from Pegula Ice Arena.

Box Score

First Period
Scoring
1. Adrian, Morgan Praska (Nichole Laflamme, Jessie Rushing), 13:26.
Penalties
None.
Second Period
Scoring
2. Adrian, Valerie Twigg (Nicole Paradis), 17:24; 3. Adrian, Kirstin LaBelle (Paige Fuoco, Jessie Rushing), 7:58; 4. Adrian, Sabrena Camp (Nicole Paradis), 6:40.
Penalties
1. Adrian, Micayla Salyn (2:00 tripping), 13:28.
Third Period
Scoring
5. Penn State, Caitlin Costello (Riley O'Connor), 18:27; 6. Adrian, Kaillie Hardy (Alicia Tait, Nicole Paradis), 2:48.
Penalties
2. Penn State, Claire Gauthier (2:00 body checking), 16:56; 3. Penn State, Ashton Schaffer (2:00 interference), 12:57; 4. Adrian, Kayla Vanston (2:00 body checking), 1:01.
Goaltending
Penn State: Aimee Little: L, 41 saves/46 shots. Adrian: Alison Dungey: W, 12 saves, 12 shots; Ellyn Stanton (20:00 3rd): 2 saves/3 shots.

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It certainly wasn't expected given Penn State's 0-4-1 start to 2015-16, but the Lady Ice Lions have officially tumbled in the ACHA Division 1 rankings, from 7th in the preseason poll to 15th in Ranking 1.

The good news? It's early. For proof, look no further than last weekend's opponent, Adrian. The Bulldogs were 14th in last year's first in-season ranking before closing things out in the ACHA semifinals. And with 14 games remaining against now-higher-ranked squads (plus any that might come up during the ECWHL playoffs in February), PSU will certainly have plenty of opportunity to move back up.

Elsewhere, defending national champion Liberty - which represents three of those 14 games - catapulted Miami to take over the top spot. Adrian held in 3rd following their weekend wins and ahead of their visit to Pegula Ice Arena in December. Davenport (12th) and Colorado (14th) round out the non-conference opposition in the rankings.

The ECWHL, thanks mostly to the Lady Ice Lions' drop, took a bit of a hit, as Vermont also fell from 15th to the "others receiving votes" category, joining Northeastern there. On the other end of things, Rhode Island stuck at 5th, while Massachusetts hopped the Rams from 6th to 4th.

These rankings were developed through the votes of every Division 1 coach (50 percent) as well as a separate list released with the collective opinion of the D1 competition committee (50 percent). Future rankings will reduce the weight of those elements to one-third each while introducing a computer ranking (omitted this time due to lack of data) to fill the remaining third. The eight-member competition committee includes Penn State head coach Patrick Fung.

The cutoff date for the next poll is November 22nd, January 17th and February 21st. The top eight teams - minus the automatic bids awarded to the playoff champions of the CCWHA and WWCHL, should those teams come from outside of the top eight - in that final ranking will qualify for the ACHA National Tournament, held March 9th through 13th in Kalamazoo, MI.

Penn State is off this weekend, but returns to action with its Pegula Ice Arena-opening series against Northeastern on November 7th and 8th. Game times are set for 5:15 p.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively.

Here is the complete ranking:


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

Penn State Lady Ice Lions:Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Jackie Saideh is ready for her sixth and seventh meetings with her hometown opponents

No. 15 Penn State (0-4-1/0-2-1 ECWHL) vs. Northeastern (1-6-2/0-5-2 ECWHL)
When	Saturday, November 7th at 5:15 p.m. Sunday, November 8th at 8:30 a.m.
Where	Pegula Ice Arena University Park, PA
The Lead	Penn State sees a repeat opponent for the first time this season in Northeastern, seeking 2015-16's first and second wins after tying NU in Boston last month.
Live Video	Ustream.tv (subject to change)

Game Notes

A-Okay at PIA: This weekend marks the Lady Ice Lions' home opening series for 2015-16 and the first two of eight consecutive games at Pegula Ice Arena, a stretch that runs all the way through January 10th of next year. Penn State has excelled at the $90 million facility since hosting its first intercollegiate hockey game on September 27, 2013, posting 8-1-0 marks in it over each of its first two seasons - with two of the wins last year coming over Northeastern. PSU has also played - and won - three home games at Altoona's Galactic Ice Rink giving the squad an impressive 19-2-0 home record in three seasons of existence.

Hannarama: Newness for the Lady Ice Lions isn't limited to the rink hosting this weekend's games, as a new player, goaltender Hanna Scanlon, has been added to the lineup. Scanlon, who will wear number 31 and had already been practicing with the team, is a New Cumberland, PA native and a 2013 graduate of Cedar Cliff High School. She has a solid background in the game in playing not only for her school team, the Colts, but also for the Hershey Jr. Bears program prior to enrolling at Penn State.

Early to Rise: Sunday's game, which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., would seem to have a less than ideal start time for many, particularly college students. However, since 2012-13, Penn State has fared quite well with early-morning tilts, going 7-0-0 in games that start at 10:00 a.m. or earlier and 12-1-0 in contests beginning before noon. The list is hardly filled with layups either: five of the 13 morning starts were at the ACHA or ECWHL tournaments, and the remaining eight include powers like Michigan State's Division 2 team (twice), Rhode Island and then-defending D2 champion West Chester. Early starts occurred against Northeastern twice last season: a 3-2 win in Boston on November 23, 2014 starting at 7:30 a.m. (the earliest puck drop in team history, hopefully forever) and a 6-1 victory at Pegula Ice Arena on February 1st at 10:00 a.m.

Rankings Review: Following Penn State's pair of losses at Adrian two weekends ago, the Lady Ice Lions tumbled in the ACHA rankings, from seventh in the preseason poll (and in final placement at last year's national championship tournament) all the way down to 15th in Ranking 1. There's no way around things: it was quite a hit. The post-2012 iteration of ACHA women's hockey at PSU has never been ranked lower than fourth in the East Region of Division 2 (the D2 rankings split teams into East and West Regions) or 12th in Division 1. The last time the 1996-2012 Lady Icers were ranked 15th was February 13, 2008, one period following the last time that team was unranked. The good news? It's still very early. For proof, one needs to look no further than last season's Ranking 1, which included four eventual national tournament teams - including PSU in 12th - ranked outside of the top eight. Adrian, notably, was 14th in that poll and ended the season in the ACHA semifinals.

The Opponent

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

Series History: Penn State leads, 4-0-1. Most recently, the teams tied 6-6 on October 11th in Boston, a wild affair that saw the Lady Ice Lions rally from a 3-0 hole to tie things up, only to subsequently fall behind 5-3 and 6-5 before clawing out a share of the points. PSU's Red Line (Darby Kern, Riley O'Connor and Caitlin Costello) combined for ten points. Last season, a Penn State season sweep saw a pair of close games (2-1 in overtime and 3-2) at NU's Matthews Arena in November, 2014 followed by a pair of blowouts at Pegula Ice Arena (11-1 and 6-1) to close the regular season.

Since Last Time: Although the Lady Ice Lions have only played one series since last seeing Northeastern, the Huskies have gone the other direction with games every weekend in between the two meetings. On October 17th and 18th, NU hosted Vermont, coming away with a 4-4 tie in the back half of the series after UVM took the first game 3-1. Last weekend, powerhouse Rhode Island rolled through town to the tune of 8-1 and 7-1 routs, while in between the two ACHA sets, Northeastern took a 6-2 decision over non-ACHA team Boston University for its only win of the season. All in all, little has changed with NU: Clara Karastury (four goals and eight points in just five games, two and three against Penn State) and Estelle Ip (five goals and seven points, one and two against Penn State) still lead the Huskies' offensive charge, while heavily-used Anne-Marie Dion (playing all but 20 of the team's goaltending minutes so far) is one of the division's best.

Trivia: Ip is a rarity: an ACHA player who is also a member of a senior national team, as she has skated for Hong Kong's squad in the IIHF World Championships, Division IIB Qualification Level, in both 2014 (when the team entered the world championship system) and 2015. At least one other player, goalie Firth Bidois of Lindenwood-Belleville and New Zealand, also holds that distinction.

Head Coach: Jeff Postera
Goals Scored Per Game: 1.75
Goals Allowed Per Game: 5.88

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

Penn State Lady Ice Lions:Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Penn State Club Sports Honors Reception Caps 2014-15 School Year

The Late Show: Mendelson Named Second Team All-ACHA Tournament

Alumni Smiddy and Rossi Invited to Historic NWHL Free Agent Camps

Captain Jack Joined by Elia, Kern as 2015-16's On-Ice Leadship Group

Four Freshmen Set to Join Lady Ice Lions Roster for 2015-16 Season

Lady Ice Lions to Initiate 2015-16 Against Massachusetts, Northeastern

Former Lady Icer Harrington Signs with NWHL's Buffalo Beauts

Lady Ice Lions Announce 2015-16 Slate Laced With National Contenders

Back to the Start: PSU Rolls Seven in the ACHA Preseason Ranking

Penn State Adds Four More to Roster, Team Now Stands at 26

Lady Ice Lions Dominate Spring and Summer Classes, Post 3.49 GPA

Finally! PSU Set to Open 2015-16 Against Massachusetts, Northeastern

UMass Doubles Up Lady Ice Lions in Season Opener, 10-5

Seconds please? PSU Recovers From Bad Start, But Still Short of UMass

Penn State, Northeastern Draw Six Shooters, Trade Goals in Tie

Lady Ice Lions Prepare for Dogfight with Visit to No. 3 Adrian

Simply Enough: Lady Ice Lions Dominated by No. 3 Adrian, Drop to 0-3-1

Penn State Better on Sunday, But Still Four Shy of No. 3 Adrian

Penn State Yard Saled in ACHA Ranking 1, Now Sits in 15th Place

PSU, Still Seeking 2015-16's First Wins, Set to Host Northeastern