TROY, N.Y. – Junior Blake Orosz netted the tying goal in the second period to help the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s hockey team to a 1-1 tie with Penn State University, on Saturday afternoon at the Houston Field House. With the draw, the Engineers move to 4-6-3 overall, while the Nittany Lions are now 5-7-2.
Orosz (Chase Mills, NY/Nepean Wildcats) netted the equalizing goal at 14:45 of the second period, corralling a rebound at the right side of the crease and sticking home her fourth of the season. Assists went to classmate Sabrina Repaci (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros) and senior Josefine Hansen (Copenhagen, Denmark/Shattuck St. Mary’s).
Penn State then outshot the Engineers, 11-1, in the third period and overtime, but were unable to sneak a second puck past senior goaltender Lovisa Selander (Sollentuna, Sweden/SDE Riksserien), who finished with 35 saves. Nittany Lions junior Jenna Brenneman (Eagan, MN/Breck School) had 15 stops at the other end of the ice.
Sophomore Sophie Slattery (Edina, MN/Edina) opened the scoring at 7:22 of the first period, firing a shot that found its way through Selander’s pads and just across the goal line. The unassisted tally was her second of the year and second in as many days.
Midway through the second period, junior Brooke Madsen (Eagan, MN/Eagan) had a chance to make it 2-0, but her shorthanded breakaway chance was stoned by Selander, who stuck out her left pad to make the stop. Both teams then found the iron in the third period, including a try from Nittany Lions senior Meike Meilleur (Winnipeg, MB/St. Mary’s Academy) at 9:45 of the third that clanked off the left pipe.
Penn State finished with a 36-16 shot advantage, and was 0 for 1 on the power play. The Engineers were 0 for 2, including a minute and a half of 5-on-3 time.
Rensselaer is back on the ice next weekend, when it visits New Hampshire for a pair of afternoon contests on Friday (3pm) and Saturday (2pm). The Nittany Lions host RIT in CHA play on Tuesday and Wednesday.
