STATE COLLEGE, PA– The RIT women's hockey team (12-12-3, 7-4-2 CHA) skated to a 2-2 draw against College Hockey America rival Penn State (4-20-3, 1-11-0 CHA) at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday evening. Trailing 2-1 late in the third period,
Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) scored a game-tying goal midway through the third period for RIT to force overtime.
Brown led the Tigers with a goal and an assist.
Erin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) opened the game's scoring with a goal from in close late in the first.
Morgan Scoyne (Drumbo, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) and Brown both assisted on the goal. Later on in the third Brown would add the Tigers second goal with help from Emilee Bullied and
Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets) who earned the assists.
Amy Petersen scored a late first period goal for Penn State goal, which at the time tied the game at 1-1, while the Nittany Lions leading scorer Shannon Yoxheimer added a second goal early in the third period. Whitlinger got the start in net for the Nittany Lions and made 34 saves on 36 total shots faced.
Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) started the game in net for RIT making just five saves through one period until leaving the game due to injury. Freshman
Brooke Stoddart (Elmvale, Ontario/Elmvale) took over in goal for the Tigers, stopping 14 shots over the final 45 minutes.
RIT outshot the Nittany Lions 36-20 on the night, but could only manage the two goals in the effort. RIT was 1-for-3 with the man-advantage, while Penn State was 0-for-3.
"I thought we were lucky to come out of here with at least a point tonight," said head coach
Scott McDonald. "Our intensity level wasn't where it should be, especially for this time of year, and we need to come out tomorrow with a little bit more aggression and play a more consistent game."
It was a slow start for both teams after the puck dropped, as neither team could seem to establish consistent offensive pressure. With 13:22 to go Penn State would earn first power play of game and looked to gain some momentum. RIT had other plans however as their dominant penalty kill shut the Nittany Lions down without allowing a shot on goal. That seemed to swing things in RIT's favor as the offensive attack picked up from there.
Later the Tigers would draw a penalty of their own and Zach took advantage, squeezing the puck between the right post and the pad of Whitlinger in goal after a Scoyne shot was stopped and deflected to her..
In waning minutes of first period Jill Holdcroft stole the puck and had a breakaway chance that nearly got past Binnington but hit off the right post. Right after, Penn State would break through as Petersen poked the puck through the legs of Binnington and into the net with just 1:45 remaining in the first.
RIT was in control from start to finish in the second period creating some solid scoring opportunities, including two 3-on-2 chances that Whitlinger made great saves on. The best scoring chance for Penn State in the second came on a breakaway by Yoxheimer, but she fired her shot too high and over the head of Stoddart.
The third got off to a rough start for RIT as just 2:40 into the period Penn State would grab their first lead of the night off a shot from right out in front of the net by Yoxheimer.
The Tigers stayed resilient though and with just 10:18 remaining Brown knotted the game up again at 2-2. With time winding down neither team could generate a consistent offensive attack and time expired with the score tied.
Despite both teams having several solid looks at goals in the overtime period, neither could turn it into a goal, as the game would end in a 2-2 draw.
RIT is now 7-0-2 all-time against Penn State, dating back to the 2012-13 season.
The Tigers will return to Pegula Ice Arena tomorrow afternoon for a 2 p.m. rematch with the Nittany Lions to wrap up the regular season series between the two schools. For Penn State it will be their "Skate For a Cure" game where they will don pink jerseys and expect a large crowd in attendance.
