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| Caitlin Costello is second on the Lady Ice Lions in scoring so far this season |
ACHA release
The Lady Ice Lions don't play Northeastern until Saturday and Sunday, but the team has already won something this weekend as freshman forward Caitlin Costello was named the ACHA's Sher-Wood Freshman Spotlight winner for October on Friday evening.
Her case as the nation's best freshman during the month is an easy one to make. The former New Jersey Rocket stepped on to the team's top line, in the right wing hole vacated by graduated All-ECWHL and All-ACHA Tournament pick Cara Mendelson, and ensured that it didn't miss a beat.
In all, she put up four goals and eight points in five games during her first collegiate month (four and seven according to the ACHA's recordkeeping). That total is especially impressive given Penn State's early schedule: all but one contest was against the teams currently ranked third (Adrian) and fourth (Massachusetts) in Division 1. Costello didn't seem to mind though, scoring the squad's only goal of the weekend in the two losses to the Bulldogs and picking up two points in each game against UMass.
Her great month also impacted a rejuvenated Penn State power play, where her two assists on the advantage helped the unit click at a 5-for-10 rate. PSU scored eight power play goals over all of 2014-15.
Costello's win is the seventh ACHA monthly award for the Lady Ice Lions in all over the three seasons they have been issued, and the second time PSU has won the rookie honor. Now-sophomore Riley O'Connor took it last November, in part because of her game-winning goal at Rhode Island.
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