UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Jenna Lascelle (Cornwall, Ontario) and Kayla Mork (Victoria, Minn.) recorded three points apiece to propel the University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team to Saturday night's 8-5 victory against Penn State University at Pegula Ice Arena. It marked career victory No. 250 for head coach Brian McCloskey.
UNH extended its unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1) and won its third consecutive road game to improve to 4-2-1 overall; it marked the team's highest goal total for the Wildcats, who went 3-for-5 on the power play and scored five third-period goals, since defeating Dartmouth College, 8-3, on Jan. 16, 2009. PSU is now 2-4-1. The teams face off again Oct. 27 at 2 p.m.
Lascelle tied her carer highs in both assists (two) and points (three) while Mork matched her personal best in assists (two) and established a career-high three points. A total of 10 Wildcats recorded a point and seven skaters tallied multiple points.
Arielle O'Neill (St Catharines, Ontario) equaled her career high of two goals while both Caroline Broderick (Marblehead, Mass.) and Heather Kashman (Edmonton, Alberta) both tallied a goal and an assist. Hannah Armstrong (Keswick, Ontario) and Jessica Hitchcock (LaSalle, Ontario) finished with two assists apiece.
Cassandra Vilgrain (Calgary, Alberta) netted a shorthanded goal for her third tally in as many games and Nicole Gifford (Ennismore, Ontario) scored an empty-net goal to account for the Wildcats' other two goals. Vilma Vaattovaara (Veikkola, Finland) recorded 23 saves and PSU counterpart Nicole Paniccia stopped 28 shots.
The Nittany Lions struck first 40 seconds into the game on a goal by Laura Bowman. UNH leveled the score, 1-1, when Kashman, with the assistance of Armstrong and Mork, scored at 6:07. Broderick netted a power-play goal at 9:27 of the first period to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead; Hitchcock and Mork were credited with assists.
New Hampshire took that one-goal advantage and 15-7 edge in shots into the first intermission.
PSU also scored 40 seconds into the second stanza on Srah Nielsen's power-play goal to tie the score at 2. UNH regained the lead, 3-2, when Mork recorded her third point of the game with a goal at 4:00. Hitchcock and Kashman tallied assists on the play. The home team knotted the score, 3-3, on a Jess Desorcie goal at 11:20.
Penn State struck in the opening minute for the third time in as many periods when Kelly Seward potted a power-play goal 31 seconds into the final frame to give the Nittanly Lions a 4-3 lead.
Vilgrain, with the assistanc of Sara Carlson (Hutchinson, Minn.), scored just 14 seconds later to tie the score, 4-4, and O'Neill's power-play goal put UNH back in front, 5-4, at 9:01. PSU forged the fifth tie of the game, 5-5, on Taylor Gross' goal at 11:20.
Lascelle, from Armstrong, and O'Neill, again on the power play from Lascell, netted goals 78 seconds apart -- at 16:21 and 17:39, respectively -- to give the 'Cats a 7-5 lead. Gifford closed the scoring with an empty-net goal at 19:33.