ROCHESTER, NY – Laura Bowman scored a power-play goal 1:12 into overtime to lift Penn State (6-14-4, 2-4-4 CHA) to a 3-2 win over the RIT women's hockey team (5-18-1, 1-8-1 CHA) at the Gene Polisseni Center on Saturday afternoon.

RIT trailed 2-0 after one period before rallying to tie the game, first on a Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) power-play goal and second on a goal by Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Moon Area) with 2:23 left in regulation. RIT was assesed a penalty with 25 seconds left in regulation, carrying over into the overtime session. Bowman was in the right place at the right time, as a shot from the point by Bella Sutton caromed off a RIT defender, then Hannah Bramm and Jeanette Bateman in the slot right to Bowman, who fired a quick shot past RIT goaltender Jetta Rackleff (Bend, OR/Summit) from the unprotected right side to win the game.

Rust had a goal and an assist for the Tigers, as she extended her point-scoring streak to five straight games. Rust now has a team-best 15 points on five goals and 10 assists. In goal, Rackleff was solid, stopping 26 shots in the loss.

Bowman, Sutton, and Shannon Yoxheimer scored for the Nittany Lions, while Bateman had two assists. In net, Hannah Ehresmann stopped 15 shots in the win.

Penn State out-shot RIT, 29-17. The Nittany Lions were 2-for-7 with the man-advantage, while RIT was 1-for-4.

"Overall, I was happy with how we competed all weekend, we played with a lot of courage and worked hard," said Bruce B. Bates Women's Hockey Coach Scott McDonald. "This could be a good stepping stone for the rest of the season."

Penn State took control early on, scoring twice in the opening period to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

RIT fired the first three shots of the game, but Yoxheimer got the Nittany Lions on the board on their first shot just 4:27 into the contest, taking a feed from Hannah England on a 3-on-2 rush and firing a good low, hard shot from the slot through the legs of Rackleff for her third goal of the season. Victoria Samuelsson also assisted on the tally.

RIT ran into penalty problems later in the period and Penn State took advantage with 2:19 left, as Bella Sutton fired a shot that went off a RIT defenseman in front and past Rackleff, who was screened. Jeanette Bateman and Amy Petersen also assisted on the goal, Sutton's second of the season.

RIT scored the only goal in the second period, 4:15 into the frame on the power-play, as Jess Paton (Woodstock, Ontario/Waterloo K-W Rangers) took a feed from Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Moon Area) on the rush and from the slot, ripped a slap shot over the glove of Ehresmann for her fifth goal of the year.

Both goalies stepped up a few key saves later in the period to keep the score 2-1 heading into the third. In the third, Rackleff made a handful of key saves early on, including two delections in front on a Penn State power-play to keep it 2-1. Rust tied the game with a great individual effort with 2:23 to play, intercepting a pass along the boards at center ice, chipping the puck past one player and racing by another before firing a perfectly placed wrist shot from the right face-off circle under the crossbar for her fifth goal of the year.

Last night, Rackleff made 33 saves to record her third career shutout in a 3-0 win over the Nittany Lions. Taylor Thurston (Kanata, Ontario/All Saints Catholic), Lindsay Stenason (Oakville, Ontario/Appleby Collegiate), and Paton scored for the Tigers.

RIT is 12-4-2 all-time against the Nittany Lions, including a 10-2-0 record in Rochester. In the first two seasons of CHA play, RIT and Penn State meet four times over a span of 15 days. The Tigers head to Penn State on Jan. 29-30 for a two-game series.

RIT returns to action on Friday, as Syracuse comes to town for a single game at 7:05 p.m. RIT will wear special purple jerseys and raise money for the "Do It for Daron" foundation.