Penn State women’s ice hockey claims 2-1 victory in overtime against Mercyhurst

With the College Hockey America tournament nearing, the Nittany Lions women’s team was looking to add a win to their 12-8-3 record against in-state rival Mercyhurst.

It took a little longer than anticipated, but the Nittany Lions won 2-1 in overtime on Friday afternoon.

Penn State found itself down 1-0 with less than two minutes remaining in the third period. Then, Natalie Heising came to the rescue with a goal on assists by Olivia Wallin and Anna Promersberger with 1:42 left to knot the game at 1-1. Heising finished off the Lakers with a goal assisted by Rene Gangarosa and Kiara Zanon for the 2-1 overtime victory in just 16 seconds of OT.

“I felt like our team was dominating that whole game,” Heising said. “I think we had the majority of the chances, and we were playing really, really good hockey. I was not happy with the way the game was going at the end. And obviously, that last minute or two, the opportunity was just there. So, I followed the puck to the net and I was able to put it in. It gave us a few more minutes to try to win the game.”

Gangarosa’s initial shot bounced off of the goal for Penn State, which Heising initially thought went in. Heising finished just 3 seconds later when she found the puck leaking out to her.

The defensive core of Gangarosa, Mallory Uihlein and Avery Mitchell constantly make a point to control the puck for the Nittany Lions. They set the tone for the game by finding open shooters from the blue line, making adjustments to change their attack with Mercyhurst’s 30 blocks.

“We always say that we control the game, and if our D-core is playing good, then generally as a team, we’ll be playing good,” Gangarosa said. “If we’re not, then it’s really evident because we take a lot of pride in our D-zone, and we’d like to think we’re strong defensively. Mercyhurst did a good job of blocking shots this game. So, I think in the second period, we kind of adjusted to that and started using the end wall and looking for different looks.”

Penn State head coach Jeff Kampersal understands the importance of taking games day by day. His focus is process-based, and while it can be easy to get wrapped up in the long-term goals, he wants to continue to push the team to keep their eyes on the finest of details.

“We actually had a talk this week — we have goals, but we’re going to try to get away from having goals except to focus on every day,” Kampersal said. “So, we don’t want to be outcome focused. Our focus is to win each day. Mercyhurst being the opponent today, it’s definitely a big win, and to come back against them is huge. But we have a lot more to go and we’ll probably see them again down the line.”

Lakers goalie Ena Nystrom entered the game with a 1.97 average in goals allowed for the season. Penn State put her ability to the test early and often with heavy pressure on the puck and by attacking in transition. Nystrom finished the game with 30 saves.

Nittany Lions goalie Josie Bothun also withstood a striking Mercyhurst offensive push. The Penn State net-minder had averaged just 1.93 goals allowed per game entering the contest and allowed just one goal to pass through on Friday. With just 44 seconds off of the clock in the third period, Mercyhurst’s Sydney Pedersen snuck the puck right by Bothun to give her team a 1-0 lead. Bothun’s defense regrouped and continued to stand strong for the remainder of the contest. She had 22 saves.

Penn State (13-8-3) will take on Mercyhurst (16-8-2) on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the second of a two-game series.

Penn State 2, Mercyhurst 1 (OT)

1 2 3 OT

Penn State 0 0 1 1

Mercyhurst 0 0 1 0

3rd Period Summary

Mercyhurst — Sydney Pedersen, unassisted (19:16)

Penn State — Natalie Heising, assisted by Olivia Wallin and Anna Promersberger (1:42)

Overtime Summary

Penn State — Natalie Heising, assisted by Rene Gangarosa and Anna Promersberger (19:44)