Dutchwomen fall on late goal

by Ryan Fay

Laura Bowman collected a power play goal at 14:31 of the third period to lift the Penn State Lady Nittany Lions to a 2-1 win over visiting Union in non-conference action Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena.

Bowman (PSU)

Bowman potted her third goal of the season just three seconds before a Kelly McGrath elbowing penalty was set to expire. The tally was Penn State's only power play goal of the afternoon as the team finished 1-for-3 on the man advantage.

The win salvages the weekend for Penn State, which dropped a 2-1 decision to Union on Friday. The Lady Nittany Lions improved to 2-3-1 while Union fell to 3-4-0.

The contest got off to a rocky start for the Dutchwomen. Union was out-shot 12-to-1 in the first period, and fell behind 1-0 at 12:34 on Jill Holdcroft's first goal of the season.

Penn State's 1-0 lead stood until Courtney Turner recorded her fourth goal of the year, a power play tally at 17:42 of the second period to even the score. Turner, who leads Union with eight points, was assisted by Bryanne Panchuk and Maddy Norton.

Both goaltenders turned in strong showings. Union's Shenae Lundberg kicked aside 32-of-34 shots while Penn State's Celine Whitlinger stopped 20-of-21 shots.

The Duchwomen struggled to win draws as Penn State went 39-20 in the faceoff battle. Turner was the only Union player effective on faceoffs, going 13-9. Sarah Nielsen led the way for Penn State by winning 12-of-17 draws.

Union continues non-conference action next Saturday with a trip to Syracuse. Faceoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

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