ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's hockey team (6-5-3, 1-2-1 CHA) failed to hold a third period lead, falling to Penn State University (6-6-3, 1-2-1 CHA) on Saturday afternoon from the Gene Polisseni Center. The Tigers fell for the first time in 14 all-time meetings against the Nittany Lions, dropping to 11-1-2.

With 1:58 left in overtime, Caitlin Reilly scored her second goal of the game on an odd-man rush. Amy Petersen and Laura Bowman connected to get the puck in the middle to Reilly. Reilly missed her first opportunity in front of the net but buried the puck as she fell behind the goal line.

Penn State out-shot RIT, 31-28. The Tigers were 0-for-4 with the man-advantage, while the Nittany Lions were 1-for-4. Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) made 28 saves for RIT, while Hannah Ehresmann got the win for Penn State with 26 stops.

"The momentum was up and down all game," said RIT head coach Scott McDonald. "We had to play to win in the third period and we were a bit passive. We had an opportunity in overtime to seal the game but we couldn't stick it. Penn State wanted it more than we did."

In the first period, the Tigers came out with a few good chances but the momentum quickly shifted in favor of Penn State. The Nittany Lions created several opportunities during RIT's penalties and were finally able to break through at 17:41. Reilly netted the goal over Binnington's opposite shoulder off a pass from Petersen after a bad RIT giveaway in its own zone.

The goal was just the second first period goal RIT has allowed all season and the first time they trailed after one period in 14 contests.

The Tigers came out fired up in the second period, scoring two goals within the first 1:38. Junior Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) carried the puck up the right side of the ice after a good defensive stop. Paton fired the shot from just over the blue line, picking the top corner of the net.

Just 50 seconds later Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) scored to give RIT a 2-1 lead. Brown won the faceoff in the offensive zone to Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas) behind the net. McCrea wrapped the puck around and dished the pass in front of the goal for Brown to tap it in.

Penn State had a few good chances during the second period. Reilly intercepted a pass at center ice, breaking away to blast a shot on net for Binnington to make a quick glove save. Minutes later, Bowman battled in front to get a stick on a rebound but Binnington was able to get across for the save.  

In the third period, the two teams battled back and forth. With two RIT players in the penalty box, Penn State was able to score the tying goal that would take the game into overtime. Bella Sutton fired a shot inside the far pipe from the top of Penn State's offensive zone.

"We have our work cut out for us the rest of season," said McDonald. "We need to keep the intensity consistent throughout the game. We tend to rely on Ali too much; we need all five players on the ice to get the job done. That is what we have done in the past and what we need looking forward."

The Tigers will be back in action Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22 as they travel to Erie, Pa. for a conference series with Mercyhurst. Both games from the Mercyhurst Ice Center start at 3 p.m.