Two of the nation’s top NCAA Division 1 women’s hockey teams dropped puck at Gloucester’s Talbot Rink Saturday afternoon, and to no surprise fans were treated with a highly competitive neutral site clash.
Upwards of 800 individuals packed the wooden bleachers to watch as Penn State, the No. 4 ranked team in the country, aimed to bounce back from its first loss of the season the previous day in a rematch against No. 7 ranked Northeastern.
The Nittany Lions, coached by Beverly’s Jeff Kampersal, indeed got their revenge, rallying from an early deficit to secure a 4-1 victory heading into the holiday break.
“We need this heading into (the holiday) break; we don’t play again for another month, so that was really important,” said Kampersal. “It was also really important to win against a ranked team. Our best players came to play today and produced, and that’s what we needed.”
The game was organized by Bill Goodwin, Ben Smith and the rest of the Gloucester High Athletic Hall of Fame in an effort to raise funds for next year’s newest induction class ceremony.
Smith — a Gloucester native and legend amongst women’s hockey circles who coached Team USA’s women’s team to three Olympic medals at the turn of the century, including gold in 1998 — spoke for everyone involved in saying just how happy he was with the way things unfolded.
“It was a wonderful event. The Hall of Fame committee put a lot of work into this, and I think the game itself really demonstrated what we were trying to bring to the rink, bring into the town and show people what this level of women’s hockey is all about,” said Smith, who has a close relationship with Kampersal.
“The thing that I was most happy about is that women in sports is so big today, and to have NCAA Division 1 college athletes right here in our midst is a nice opportunity for our community.”
Northeastern had topped Penn State, 3-2, at Matthews Arena in Boston Friday afternoon, snapping the Lions’ 16-game winning streak to open the season. The Huskies stole momentum early in Saturday’s game, too, seizing a quick 1-0 lead in the opening period on a breakaway goal from Lily Shannon.
But the second and third periods belonged to Penn State, as it potted four unanswered tallies. The first came from Taylor Lum early in the second period; she received a pass from Mya Vaslet in the slot and one-timed it home.
Less than eight minutes later, Katelyn Roberts uncorked a laser of a wrist shot from the left wing, ripping the twine to give the Lions their first lead at 2-1. Penn State then added two insurance goals in the third from Maddy Christian and Mikah Keller to seal the deal.
Nittany Lions goaltender Katie DeSa was on her game, turning away 29 shots. “She played great. She rebounded very nicely — and that’s the Katie that we know,” said Kampersal.
For Kampersal, not only was it a big-time win for his program against an established NCAA powerhouse, but it was extra special to do it so close to home and give his girls a bit of an unordinary experience as they prepare for a hopeful trip to the national tournament later this season.
“Coach Ben Smith is a mentor of mine and asked (Northeastern) coach (Dave) Flint and I to have this game, so we’re fortunate that we had this opportunity,” said Kampersal. “And then to be a couple towns over (from Beverly) … this was going to be my dad’s 80th birthday today, he passed away in the summer, so he was with us and guiding us along today. I’m bummed that he’s not here but pumped to be here, have my surrounding family here and get the win.”
While the final numbers have yet to be tallied, Smith, Goodwin and the GHS Hall of Fame committee expect to generate significant funds from the contest. All ticket sales, as well as the 50/50 raffle, went directly to the HOF, while all concession sales were donated to Gloucester youth sports.
With Gloucester High’s boys and girls hockey seasons getting underway with tryouts this Monday, the timing of the event couldn’t have worked out any better, either.
“We do the Hall of Fame every couple of years and it costs us (a lot) every time we do it between the printing, the food, the trophies, and so on,” explained Goodwin, who serves as president of the GHS Hall of Fame committee. “So we needed the money and when Ben threw this idea out a couple of years ago, I was all in. We did something similar like this (for Gloucester’s 400th anniversary celebration between the Boston College women and Northeastern), and it was very successful as well.
“So very pleased with how it turned out,” Goodwin added. “Everybody had a job and everybody pulled their weight.”
Penn State 4, Northeastern 1
at Dorothy Talbot Rink, Gloucester
Penn State;0;2;2;4
Northeastern;1;0;0;1
Scoring summary
First period: N, Lily Shannon (Struker Zablocki, Peyton Compton), 7:19
Second period: PS, Taylor Lum (Mya Vaslet, Tessa Janecke), 3:27; Katelyn Roberts (Janecke, Sophie Morrow), 11:20
Third period: PS, Maddy Christian (Grace Outwater, Mikah Keller), 5:55; Keller (Outwater, Christian), 14:28
Saves: N, Lisa Jonsson 27; PS, Katie DeSa 29
Records: N, 13-3-0; PS, 17-1-0.