Penn State Women’s Hockey Falls to Syracuse in Overtime

Story posted February 6, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Trevor Grady

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State fell in overtime to Syracuse 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

The Nittany Lions got out to a quick start in the first period with some very solid offensive chances early on. They led in shots 5-2 in the first six minutes of the game, and the dominance in that category did not slow down.

Penn State went into the first intermission with a 19-4 advantage in shots, but it had nothing to show for it with the score remaining 0-0.

There was no doubt that Penn State was the much more aggressive and assertive team in the first period. Penn State senior, Rene Gangarosa, tallied six shots in the first period.

However, Syracuse goalie, Arielle Desmet, played a perfect first period saving all 19 shots that came her way.

The second period started with a bang. The Orange began the period on a power play and took advantage right away. It only took 16 seconds for Jessica DiGirolamo to find the back of the net and give Syracuse the 1-0 lead.

Penn State still outshot the Orange in the second period 16-12, but Syracuse was clearly in control from the start. Penn State had two power-play chances in each of the first two periods but couldn’t convert on any of the four.

Penn State coach Jeff Kampersal spoke about what he thinks needs to change with his team's power-play approach.

“The flank shots on the PP, unless it is by design, they are kind of wasted shots, so we need to just talk about that,” Kampersal said.

The difference in the first two periods was the fact that Syracuse was able to notch a goal right away on its first, and only, power-play chance of the game.

Penn State came out of the gates on a mission in the third period. It outshot the Orange 18-2, and Rachel Weiss scored to tie it up at one with 9:22 left in regulation. Neither squad could break the tie in the last 9:22, so these two squads went to overtime for the second day in a row.

It was an overtime period that was much like the rest of the game. Penn State had possession for most of the period, but Syracuse converted an unassisted goal from Sarah Marchand to win it with one minute remaining.

Penn State finished leading in shots 55-21, and Kampersal was asked if there is any level of frustration that comes with a stat like that in a loss.

“Yeah I think there is great frustration with it, but they kept plugging away,” he said. “They supported one another on the bench.”

Kampersal talked about his team’s mindset coming in and why he was encouraged by its play.

“I felt the team gave a great effort. They were prepared,” he said. “They were ready to play, they were intense.”

Penn State now sits at 14-9-4 on the season and 7-3-2 in CHA play. The Nittany Lions will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Ithaca, New York, to take on Cornell.


Trevor Grady is a fourth-year majoring in supply chain. To contact him, email tmg5685@psu.edu.