Penn State Women’s Hockey Series Preview vs. No. 7 Boston College

Story posted October 1, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Nolan Wick

The Penn State Nittany Lions host the No. 7 Boston College Eagles for two games on Thursday and Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

Penn State looks to bounce back after suffering a loss and a tie in overtime against St. Lawrence in its opening series last week. Meanwhile, Boston College opens up as the No. 7 ranked team.

Penn State did not display much offense last week.

It holds a .032 shooting percentage, 63 total shots and only two goals in two games.

Against a top-10 team, that will not fly if the Nittany Lions are to do as much as even split this series.

With those lone two goals are Karley Garcia and Natalie Heising. Each has one point this season, and both those goals were unassisted. Garcia is a freshman from Rosevilla, California, and Heising is a fifth-year senior from Wayzata, Minnesota.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions looked decent despite giving up three goals in their first series.

Sophomore goaltender Josie Bothun made 32 saves, with a .914 save percentage. The defense bent but did not break, and the defense should continue that against Boston College.

On the power play, the Nittany Lions were atrocious last week.

The Nittany Lions were 0-for-10 in total opportunities, while St. Lawrence was 1-for-5 against them.

This area is probably the one that needs the most work. On power plays against Boston College, the Nittany Lions must capitalize on such opportunities against a team of that strength.

Last season, Boston College had a 14-6 record. The Eagles averaged 2.9 goals per game and 30.5 shots per game, with a total shot percentage of 0.95.

Boston College’s leading scorer last season was Savannah Norcross with 10 goals. She is no longer with the team, but the second-highest scorer, senior Kelly Browne, is. Browne had six goals and was tied with the most assists at 12.

Opponents against Boston College last season had a .066 shot percentage against the Eagles.

Penn State faces a tough, uphill battle against a strong team.

If the Nittany Lions capitalize on power-play opportunities and continue playing solid defense, this could end up being a good series for them, and possibly a split, against the Eagles.

 

Nolan Wick is a first-year majoring in Journalism. To contact him, email nhw5046@psu.edu.

Tagged in:

women's hockey