Mae Severn scored first and
Kassidy Lawrence made 32 saves for the St. Lawrence University women's hockey team, but sixth-ranked Penn State struck twice on the power play in the third to claim a 3-1 win in game one of the weekend series on Friday evening at Appleton Arena.
St. Lawrence fell to 2-7-0 with the loss, while Penn State improved to 6-3-0.
With 7:09 to play, the Nittany Lions challenged for a goal after a scramble in front of Saints' goaltender
Kassidy Lawrence, the goal was granted by the officials, but the Saints then challenged for goaltender interference, which was also granted, keeping the game stalled at 0-0.
Just 13 seconds after the two challenges, the Saints cashed in on a scramble of their own.
Rylan Haslam took the initial shot, and Severn found the back of the net for her second goal of the season to put the Saints up 1-0.
Meghan Crowley also assisted on the action.
Penn State led 14-11 in shots on goal, but the Saints held onto their one-goal advantage after the first 20 minutes of play.
The Saints sustained heavy pressure in the latter part of the second period, with some quality opportunities from Severn, Barbora Juříčková, and Haslam. SLU continued to lead 1-0 after the second frame, while Penn State led 24-17 in shots on goal. Lawrence made 10 of her 32 saves in the second period.
With 8:07 remaining in the third, Penn State evened the score, as Kylie Amelkovich sent a cross-ice pass to Abby Stonehouse, who beat a sliding Lawrence from the doorstep, tying the game 1-1.
The Saints were called for a five-minute major with 6:13 remaining in the third, and Stonehouse scored her second of the game and Grace Outwater added a third for the Nittany Lions for the 3-1 final.
"Hard contested game tonight that unfortunately didn't bounce our way," said head coach
Chris Wells. "We did a lot of good things tonight against a very good hockey team. Each game we gain more experience and we become more connected. It will be nice to take what we learned and play again tomorrow."
Lawrence stopped 32 shots, while Morgan Stickney made 21 for Penn State.
"Their top kids executed when the game was on the line and that was the difference. Kass gave us a great chance to get a result tonight in the net."
Penn State led in shots (78-40) and shots on goal (35-22), the Saints led in blocked shots 17-6.
The Saints and the Nittany Lions meet back at Appleton Arena at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
