FINAL SCORE: Vermont 3, #6 Penn State 5
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont (0-2-0) women's hockey displayed valiant effort in the third period, scoring two unanswered goals, but it was No. 6 Penn State (4-0-0) that skated away with the 5-3 victory on Saturday evening from Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
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COACH'S QUOTE
"First, credit to Penn State for the way they played this weekend, they were the better team," said Head Coach Jim Plumer. "That said, we had some bright spots in what was an uneven overall performance today. I am pleased with the way we started and finished the game and especially with the way we played in the third period. Lots of firsts in this game, from Lily Prendergast's first college start in net to Makenna Lloyd-Howe's first collegiate goal and Lauren O'Hara's first goal as a Catamount. We will be ready for St. Lawrence next weekend."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Just 2:38 into the first period, Penn State struck first after capitalizing off a strange bounce off the boards, seeing the puck trickle to the front of the net while Lily Prendergast was behind trying to track down the dump in. Taylor Lum was there to tap in her first goal of the season, earning the Nittany Lions the opening 1-0 advantage.
• The Catamounts pounced back just over two minutes later on the powerplay when Rose-Marie Brochu and Oona Havana worked together to put a shot on net before Josie Hemp came flying through the middle, drilling the rebound opportunity to the back of the net, securing her first goal of the season and knotting the score, 1-1.
• Penn State regained the lead 14 minutes into the first frame on the powerplay thanks to Mikah Keller scoring her first goal of the season, propelling the Nittany Lions to a 2-1 lead.
• Tessa Janecke buried her third goal of the season with just 50 seconds remaining in the first period, giving Penn State a 3-1 edge heading into the second frame.
• Maddy Christian made it 4-1 Penn State 3:11 into the second frame, getting a beautiful feed from Leah Stecker to set up a breakaway, pinning her shot five hole for her second goal of the season.
• Stecker made it 5-1 a little over halfway through the middle frame, earning Penn State a four-goal cushion heading into the final period.
• The Catamounts came out flying in the third, finding the back of the net 6:08 into the final frame when Julia Mesplède connected with Darci Matson entering the offensive zone, who then dished it across the ice to Makena Lloyd-Howe who buried her one-timer to the back of the net, tallying her first career collegiate goal, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
• With less than seven minutes remaining, Vermont struck again, this time seeing Lauren O'Hara carry the puck on the rush, taking a shot on net upon reaching the far circle. Her shot was saved, but the rebound bounced right back to her, where she was able to corral the puck and wrap around the net to pin her first goal as a Catamount, bringing UVM to within two, 5-3.
• Penn State tamed Vermont's offensive push for the remainder of the game, earning the 5-3 win on Saturday from Gutterson Fieldhouse.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Lloyd-Howe recorded her first career collegiate goal against Penn State to go along with two shots on goal and two blocked shots.
• O'Hara notched her first goal as a Catamount.
• Hemp scored her first goal of the season on the powerplay, the second of her career.
• Matson registered her first point in the green and gold, earning one assist against Penn State.
• Ashley Kokavec, Mesplède, Brochu, and Havana all tallied one assist on Saturday.
• Prendergast made 32 total saves in her first career collegiate start.
• Vermont scored its first powerplay goal of the season against Penn State.
• UVM blocked 14 shots to Penn States seven.

 
UP NEXT
The Catamounts embark on their first road trip of the 2025-26 campaign, gearing up to face top 15 ranked St. Lawrence from Canton, N.Y. On Friday October 10, puck drop is slated for 6 p.m. and on Saturday October 11, puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m. All the action will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
For news and updates about the Vermont women's hockey program, follow @UVMwhockey on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
 
The Windjammer Inn and Conference Center is the presenting sponsor of the UVM women's hockey program