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Re: 2018-19 Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State travels to Robert Morris this weekend for a Friday/Saturday CHA series, and it's going to be another big test for Penn State. Just as the Syracuse series was at the beginning of November, this series at Robert Morris will show where this team is, at the midway point of the season. This is the last series before the Christmas break, after which Penn State returns to action on December 30-31 at Boston University.
Robert Morris is led by Jaycee Gebhard, with 27 points after 18 games played. Penn State is led by Natalie Heising, with 18 points after 16 games played. There's a big scoring dropoff for both teams after Heising and Gebhard, but the next group of Robert Morris scorers aren't far from Natalie Heising's numbers, so they're going to be a defensive challenge for Penn State.
Last year, the big story at Robert Morris was Brittany Howard, but when Penn State shut Howard down they didn't lose to Robert Morris until the fourth game. It's tempting to think that will work this year with Gebhard, but Robert Morris has those few others who are scoring well, too. Penn State's defense is going to need to play smart, play disciplined, and be quick about moving the puck out of their defensive zone.
This series marks the return of Penn State sophomore Katie Rankin, who broke two fingers in the series against Syracuse and has been out since. She's a physical player who can score, but her real talent is in the faceoff circle when she's on, so hopefully she's coming back hungry.
One place where Penn State has an edge is in net, where Penn State's Jenna Brenneman has a 1.66 goals against average, and Robert Morris's Lauren Bailey has a 2.32 average. Robert Morris averages 2.39 goals per game, and Penn State averages 2.31, so both goalies will need to be on their game this weekend.
No free video for this series, but there is the pay stream...no thanks.
Penn State travels to Robert Morris this weekend for a Friday/Saturday CHA series, and it's going to be another big test for Penn State. Just as the Syracuse series was at the beginning of November, this series at Robert Morris will show where this team is, at the midway point of the season. This is the last series before the Christmas break, after which Penn State returns to action on December 30-31 at Boston University.
Robert Morris is led by Jaycee Gebhard, with 27 points after 18 games played. Penn State is led by Natalie Heising, with 18 points after 16 games played. There's a big scoring dropoff for both teams after Heising and Gebhard, but the next group of Robert Morris scorers aren't far from Natalie Heising's numbers, so they're going to be a defensive challenge for Penn State.
Last year, the big story at Robert Morris was Brittany Howard, but when Penn State shut Howard down they didn't lose to Robert Morris until the fourth game. It's tempting to think that will work this year with Gebhard, but Robert Morris has those few others who are scoring well, too. Penn State's defense is going to need to play smart, play disciplined, and be quick about moving the puck out of their defensive zone.
This series marks the return of Penn State sophomore Katie Rankin, who broke two fingers in the series against Syracuse and has been out since. She's a physical player who can score, but her real talent is in the faceoff circle when she's on, so hopefully she's coming back hungry.
One place where Penn State has an edge is in net, where Penn State's Jenna Brenneman has a 1.66 goals against average, and Robert Morris's Lauren Bailey has a 2.32 average. Robert Morris averages 2.39 goals per game, and Penn State averages 2.31, so both goalies will need to be on their game this weekend.
No free video for this series, but there is the pay stream...no thanks.
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