Penn State ties RIT on Senior Day; looks ahead towards CHA tournament

After defeating the RIT Tigers on Friday night 5-3 to secure the title of CHA Regular Season Champions, the two squads would tie 1-1 on Saturday.

While the game finished as a low-scoring draw, the blue and white outshot the Tigers 44-19.

This match marked the final game for both RIT and Penn State in the regular season. The Nittany Lions would finish 19-12-3 with a 14-4-2 in-conference record. RIT finished their season 13-17-3 with a 7-12-1 record in the CHA.

Penn State women’s hockey honored their graduating class at Pegula Ice Arena today with Senior Day. The starting lineup consisted of seniors Maggie MacEachern, Alva Johnsson, Maeve Connolly, Carrie Byrnes and Julie Gough.

Sophomore goalie Katie DeSa would start in goal with senior Josie Bothun sidelined due to injury. An emotional Bothun was still honored in pre and postgame ceremonies on the bench.

After a scoreless first period, RIT’s Addie Alvarez would hit paydirt first with an unassisted goal, putting the Tigers up 1-0.

Less than two minutes later, however, Alyssa Machado would tie the game up with an assist from Mya Vaslet. It was Machado’s 25th career collegiate goal and Vaslet’s 21st career assist.

Only one penalty was called during the game, with RIT’s Addie Carr getting sent to the box for a holding minor in the third period. The Tigers would successfully kill the penalty.

The third period ended with the game still tied, and the fans in attendance were treated to an action-packed extra period.

In the five-minute overtime, Penn State and RIT had nine combined shots and 10 combined saves from goalies DeSa and Sophia Bellina, but no pucks found the back of the net.

In his postgame press conference, Penn State head coach Jeff Kampersal commented on the initial performance of Penn State’s offense.

“I made an emphasis that it was really important to put RIT to bed,” Kampersal said. “We put on a passing clinic instead of shooting the puck.”

Kampersal also noted how he felt that the offense did not fully get going until Alvarez’s goal put them behind.

Depending on the outcome of today’s game between Lindenwood and Robert Morris, Penn State will face either Lindenwood or RIT in the first round of the CHA tournament next weekend in a three-game series at Pegula.

When commenting on if he had a preference on which team he would like to face in the first round, Kampersal pointed toward the Lions of Saint Charles, Mo., emphasizing this series against RIT and the Tigers’ strong goaltending.

“We usually do well against Lindenwood. We’ve had their number for a long time,” the seventh-year Penn State head coach said. “I think they are not as stout in-net as RIT is.”

Regardless of who they will play next week, the Nittany Lions’ journey through the CHA Tournament begins at home on Friday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m.

Jack Rachinsky is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jjr6682@psu.edu.