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Players Mentioned
Women's Hockey Opens 2014-15 Season at Penn State
October 25, 2014 | Women's Ice Hockey
| Games 1 & 2: Princeton at Penn State |
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| Gametime | Sunday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. l Pegula Ice Arena |
| Monday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. l Pegula Ice Arena | |
| Game Coverage | Live Video l Live Stats |
| Twitter: @PUTigers_Live | |
| Series Info | Record: Princeton leads 2-0 (began 1/29/13) |
| Last Meeting: Princeton won 6-1 (1/28/14) |
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| Records | Princeton (0-0, 0-0 ECAC), PSU (2-2-2, 0-0 CHA) |
| Princeton | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @PWIH I Game Notes |
| Penn State |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l |
PRINCETON, N.J. (10/23/14) - The Princeton women's hockey 2014-15 season gets underway this weekend when the Tigers travel to Penn State for a two-game series with the Nittany Lions. The first puck drop is on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m., game on Monday.
EYE ON THE TIGERS
Princeton graduated its top two scorers from a year ago and 45 percent of its total offensive production. The Tigers were in the exact situation last year but didn't struggle as a number of letterwinners stepped up to take over those roles. The top returning scorer is co-captain Brianna Leahy who totaled 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. Fellow co-captain Ali Pankowski has 16 points on 10 assists and six goals as the top scoring defender. Junior Jaimie McDonell and sophomore Cassidy Tucker follow with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Sophomore Hilary Lloyd had 11 points last season and had a hat trick in Princeton's 4-0 exhibition win over Brown. Sophomore Molly Contini returns after taking a year off. She came on strong at the end of her rookie season, finishing second on the team in goal scoring with nine. Four freshman skaters add to the line-up, two forwards and two defenders.
Defensively the Tigers return veterans Brianne Mahoney and Karen MacDonald as well as sophomore Kelsey Koelzer who moved to defense in the middle of last season. Kimberly Newell has been Princeton's starter in goal since her freshman year. Last year she earned a .907 save percentage and a 2.70 goals against average in 29 games. Princeton also has a capable goaltender in Ashley Holt and bring in Alysia freshman DaSilva.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State has a 23-day lead on Princeton in its 2014-15 season, having opened on October 3. The squad is 2-2-2, dropping its season opener to No. 1 Minnesota 8-0 before topping St. Cloud State 3-2 the next day. Penn State went 0-1-1 at home against Quinnipiac and went 1-0-1 at Union last weekend. The Nittany Lions' power play is 2 for 21 (9.5%) and its penalty kill is 14 of 22 (63.6%).
Sophomores Amy Peterson and Laura Bowman have five points apiece with Peterson scoring four of her team's 10 goals, while all of Bowman's points come from assists. Junior Shannan Yoxheimer has scored three times and junior Hannah Bramm has three helpers. Junior Celine Whitlinger and freshman Hannah Ehresmann have split time in net. Whitlinger is 1-2 with an .883 save percentage and a 4.00 GAA, while Ehresmann has a .949 save percentage and a 1.58 GAA.
THE PRINCETON/PENN STATE SERIES
Princeton is 2-0 in the young series with Penn State. The Tigers won 3-0 at the road in 2012-13 and won a 6-1 game at Hobey Baker Rink last year. Senior defender Ali Pankowski has three points in those two games and a +4 on-ice rating. Senior Brianna Leahy has scored twice and has a +3. Kimberly Newell is 2-0 in goals with 26 saves and one goal allowed.