Dobson, Weiss and Machado Shine in Nittany Lions First Win

Story posted October 9, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Jacob Cheris

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State got its first win of the new campaign against Holy Cross. Both teams were coming into this matchup without a win.

The Nittany Lions struggled to enter the offensive zone cleanly in the first period, along with breaking the puck out. It was a very chippy first 20 minutes.

The Crusaders started the scoring midway through the second period, but the Nittany Lions responded quickly with a goal from Olivia Wallin. Wallin led CHA in goals last year with 13.

The third line of Rachel Weiss, Amy Dobson and Alyssa Machado was terrific. They were the drivers of the offense tonight.

“They essentially were the catalyst,” head coach Jeff Kampersal said after the win. “Rachel’s got a lot of speed in the middle, [Dobson] is always a steady, smart, reliable player. Alyssa has been a little up and down, but she had a very good game today.”

The trio combined for six points.

“We've been waiting for things to start clicking,” Weiss said. “Our line talked about trying to use each other and get to the net.”

Penn State focused on playing an aggressive style of hockey. The Nittany Lions were hard on pucks, winning puck battles and heavy on the forecheck. This style of play allowed Wallin to score her first goal of the season.

Both Penn State goals in the second period came off of second and third chance opportunities. Holy Cross goaltender Jada Brenon did not give up a lot of rebounds, so getting players to the net was critical.

The third period was all Penn State. The stars that failed to get on the scoring sheet finally did. Kiara Zanon scored her first goal of the campaign off a short-side snipe from below the goal-line. She also added an assist to cap off the night.

Coming into this matchup, the Nittany Lions had outshot their opponents 33-19. They ended up outshooting the Crusaders 40-20.

The rematch will come tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.

 

Jacob Cheris is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jacobcheris19@gmail.com.