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Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's ice hockey team split the weekend series against Penn State, dropping Saturday afternoon's contest, 4-3, in overtime. It was the second straight overtime the teams played, as the Warriors won 2-1 on Friday night.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 3, Penn State 4 | Final OT
Records: Merrimack (3-4-2, 1-1-1 WHEA) // Penn State (2-5-1, 0-0-0 CHA)
Location: Lawler Rink | North Andover, Mass.
How it Happened
- 1st Period: After early pressure by the Warriors, it was Penn State that struck first. Natalie Heising won the face-off and took a shot that trickled over the goal line to give her team a 1-0 lead at 10:52. Merrimack answered less than three minutes later. Meghan Martin (Newport, Vt.) wristed a shot towards the net, and classmate Jessica Bonfe (Woodbury, Minn.) was in front of the net to redirect the shot by the goalie. Penn State scored with 1:36 left in the first period on a power play goal by Kesley Crow.
- 2nd Period: Merrimack some early chances in the period to tie the game, but the first half 10 minutes was spent killing off a pair of penalties. Junior Paige Voight (St. Michael, Minn.) tied the game at two at 11:31 of the second period. The puck got passed a Penn State defender at the blue line, and Voight was on a breakaway to beat Hannah Ehresmann. Junior Dominique Kremer (West Fargo, N.D.) gave Merrimack a 3-2 lead in at 17:42 of the period. Voight passed it across to junior Katelyn Rae (Courtice, Ontario), who shot towards the net. Kremer was there to tip the puck into the net.
- 3rd Period: Junior Samantha Ridgewell (Outlook, Saskatchewan) made three quick saves to start the period, including one while Merrimack was down a player. Rae had a chance to add to the lead four and a half minutes into the period. She skated by a defender and her shot narrowly missed the upper right post, going just wide. The Nittany Lions tied the game at 7:08 of the period. The Warriors attempted to clear the puck, however it went straight to Bella Sutton, who wristed a shot through traffic from the point. Junior Paige Sorensen (Plymouth, Minn.) defended an odd-man rush, while the Warriors were on the man advantage, denying a pass with seven minutes to go. Kremer had a great chance with a minute and a half left in regulation, skating down the boards and sending a back-handed shot off the blocker of Ehresmann.
- OT Period: Â Merrimack only had two shots in the overtime period, before Katie Rankin scored the game-winner for Penn State just 1:50 into the frame.
Inside The Numbers
- Five different Warriors recorded a point in the game, including a pair of two-point performances by Bonfe and Voight.
- The Merrimack defense blocked 16 shots. Rae had five, while Sorensen had four.
- Goaltenders: D-Samantha Ridgewell (27 Saves, 1-3-1) // D– Hannah Ehresmann (29, 2-2-0)
- Power Plays: Merrimack (0-4) | PSU (1-4)
- SOG (MC-PSU): 8-11 |10-8 | 13-9 | 1-3 | 32-31
Up Next
Merrimack returns to Hockey East action next weekend with a pair of games against Vermont. Friday's puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. and Saturday's game begins at 2 p.m.
