One shot was all it took, as the St. Lawrence University women's hockey team edged #9/10 Penn State 1-0 in its season opener on Thursday evening in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania.

First-year Hillary Sterling scored her first collegiate goal for the Scarlet and Brown on the power play, as she tipped a pass from Rachel Teslak on the doorstep of Nittany Lions' goaltender Josie Bothun. Teslak's shot was the first of the game for the Saints as Penn State held the lead in shots on goal through the entirety of the game.

Teslak and Shailynn Snow both recorded assists on the play.

"What a great way to start the season," said head coach Chris Wells '92. "I'm not sure anyone had a real good sense of what to expect from our team heading into the game. The first seven minutes of non-stop action gave everyone some confidence and we were able to capitalize on an early power play."

Turnovers caused problems for the Nittany Lions throughout the game and especially in the third period, as Abby Hustler had two great opportunities for the Saints with just over 13 minutes remaining.
Skylar Podvey went one-on-one with Bothun with 1:46 to play, but the glove save was made to keep the Saints from adding another goal. Bothun made 10 saves in the third frame to keep the Saints to just one goal.

With the extra attacker, Penn State poured on the pressure, but Saints' goalkeeper Lucy Morgan was up to the challenge all night. Morgan stopped all seven shots from the Nittany Lions in the final period, including fighting off a six-on-four advantage with the Saints' defense for the final 30 seconds.

"Our kids gave it their all right until the end," Wells added. "The late second period in-game time out gave us a chance to regroup and we finished the last 26 minutes with some of our best hockey. Penn State is fast and we had more than a few pucks bounce our way tonight to get the win."

Morgan kept Penn State off the board with her first shutout of the season, making 22 saves. Tonight's shutout marked the fifth of Morgan's career which moves her into a tie for eighth place in the career record book. Bothun finished with 16 saves for Penn State.

The Nittany Lions finished with a 22-16 advantage in shots on goal, but the Saints held a 23-18 edge in the circle and went 1-for-3 on the power play.  

St. Lawrence opened the season 1-0-0, while Penn State fell to 0-1-0

The Saints will return to Pegula Ice Arena for game two against the Nittany Lions, Friday, September 24 at 7 p.m.