While the men’s team brings in all the hype, the Nittany Lions’ women’s hockey team is starting the Division I journey before the men ever hit the ice. That journey begins Friday night as the Nittany Lions take on Vermont.
In total, along with the 20-game College Hockey America schedule, Penn State will play 14 non-conference games entirely comprised of Division I teams from several conferences including Hockey East, ECAC and WCHA. The Nittany Lions return nearly 99 percent of their scoring and all three of their shot-stoppers returning to goal.
That returning experience on the roster is something coach Josh Brandwene is very excited about.
“It’s huge. You can even see the elements of that in training camp right now, in terms of our learning curve and the pace in which we’re able to do things,” He says. “They have been great in terms as we’re going over stuff, if a new player has a question, we’re not answering it, they’re answering it. That’s exactly what I was hoping for going into a second season. You see it every day at the rink.”
For Brandwene the season will pose plenty of challenges as the Nittany Lions look to face tougher programs across the board. The transition to Division I play might be a difficult one, but one he is looking forward to tackling head-on.
“I think one of the biggest challenges is, and I’m excited about this, is our schedule this year,” Brandwene says. “Like I said earlier, we have a great league schedule and that will always be the case every year, developing rivalries with those opponents and I love everything about our non-conference schedule. We’re going to get tested by great competition every single day that we step on the ice, and that’s a real opportunity that stands in front of us. In terms of the things that I love, this group is just so coachable. They work hard, they listen, and they make us fun for us as a coaching staff to come to the rink every day.”
Anchoring the team through the difficult schedule? The goaltending duo of Nicole Paniccia and Celine Whitlinger. Paniccia made 1,028 stops in her junior season to rank second in Division I, averaging 38.1 saves per game. Whitlinger appeared in 10 games and stopped nearly 94 percent of the shots on goal, averaging 37.7 saves per game.
Paniccia’s return is something Brandwene is very grateful for.
“She’s such a fantastic person and an incredible athlete,” Brandwene says. “As I’ve said, going back to last year, great player even better person. She works so hard at her craft in terms of her goaltending, she is never satisfied. She has a tremendous work ethic, she’s always looking to make whatever little improvements she can. Certainly her results last year speak for themselves, in terms of not only what she did statistically for us, but the leadership and experience she provided as a veteran at the DI level on a young team. So she’s just great to work with.”
After opening the first four games of the season on the road, the Nittany Lions will return to open Pegula Ice Arena with an eight-game home stand. Union (Oct. 18-19), New Hampshire (Oct. 26-27), Robert Morris (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) and Syracuse (Nov. 9-10) will be the first women’s opponents on the Pegula ice.
“I gotta tell ya, turning down University knowing I was making a right hand turn for the first time into this parking lot,” Brandwene said smiling. “My heart was racing. Like it really hasn’t been since I was a player despite the number of times I’ve been in the building. So it’s been really special to move in to the facility as us as coaches as well.”
