The stakes for Penn State women’s hockey were simple on Saturday afternoon. Win and the Nittany Lions would make their way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Lose, and Penn State would watch at home in spite of a 27-8-2 record.
With 14:41 to go in overtime, Julie Gough made sure that history didn’t need to wait for another year, flipping a shot into the back of the net to beat Mercyhurst 2-1 for a CHA Championship and a ticket to the postseason.
While shots are not always indicative of quality, Penn State won the game on the its 37th of the game while holding Mercyhurst to just 19 on the evening. Gough would get the assist on Penn State’s first tally of the night getting a pass to Eleri MacKay who slammed home a shot from between the circles to put the Nittany Lions ahead 1-0 just four minutes into the second period. Penn State goalie Josie Bothun otherwise stood tall the entire afternoon, backstopping a solid defensive effort by the Nittany Lions who have now won 11-straight games en route to a CHA Championship. Penn State was also dominant in the faceoff circle winning 42 of the game’s 69 drops at the dot.
Mercyhurst would tie the game with about eight minutes to go in the middle frame, sending the teams to a season-defining third period. Neither team would bend or break in the final frame, sending the game to extra time. The rest was in fact history.
Penn State will wait until noon on Sunday to find out its seeding and regional location for the NCAA Tournament. The Frozen Four is located in Duluth, Minnesota. The tournament is slated to begin on Friday, March 10.
