Outwater’s two goals helps Penn State complete the sweep against Dartmouth

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Freshman Grace Outwater played an important role, scoring two goals out of four shots as the No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Dartmouth Big Green, 4-1, in the annual Pink Game at Pegula Ice Arena.

“Grace is definitely a scorer and it’s nice for her to get the two,” head coach Jeff Kampersal said. “Hopefully she goes on from there…because we need all that secondary scoring when she’s [Tessa Janecke] is marked or covered.”

Those goals were the first two of Outwater’s collegiate career.

Dartmouth dominated the first 10 minutes of the game, holding Penn State to zero shots. After that, however, momentum shifted as the Nittany Lions outshot them 12-to-3 in the second half of the period.

Janecke had a shot blocked by freshman goalie Michaela Hesová late in the period, but Katelyn Roberts found the rebound and squeezed it past her to put Penn State on the board, 1-0.

“Scoring early can rattle a younger goalie like that as long as we stay on top of them,” Kampersal said.

The Big Green scored a goal nearing the halfway point of the second period. Multiple players from both teams were fighting for the puck in front of Katie DeSa and Mia Buonarosa found a way to trickle the puck past the goal line.

Penn State answered with back-to-back goals to retake the lead, 3-1. Stella Retrum broke the tie after putting it past the right pad of an extended Hesová.

Minutes later, Outwater ripped a shot from the slot while McKenna Walsh was taking away Hesovás' eyes to extend their lead.

Again, the Nittany Lions scored on a screen while on the power play, which has struggled recently. Outwater found the back of the net for the second time in the game after she deflected the puck while blocking Hesová’s view.

Penn State didn't slow down despite being up three goals and dominated possession for the final minutes of the game to complete the series sweep.

“We try to segment it [the game] into 12 five-minute segments,” Kampersal said with the goal of winning each of those segments.

The Nittany Lions are set to travel to Columbus, Ohio next weekend to take part in the Ice Breaker Tournament. They will face off against Cornell on Friday, Oct. 25, followed by a game on Saturday, Oct. 26, against either Ohio State or Stonehill.

Carlin Whalen is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cjw6426@psu.edu.