Women's Hockey travels to Penn State for CHA Semifinal

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The No. 4 RIT women's hockey team travels to No. 1 Penn State to play the Nittany Lions in the College Hockey America Tournament Semifinal best-of-three series Friday-Sunday (Feb. 23-25).

Recap (RIT at Penn State)
RIT went 0-1-1 at Penn State last weekend, losing Friday afternoon, but rebounded to earn a 1-1 tie Saturday to qualify for the CHA Tournament for the first time since the 2021-22 season.  
 
First year forward Addie Alvarez scored and sophomore goalie Sophia Bellina made 43 saves in the Tigers 1-1 draw, Saturday. Alvarez gave RIT the lead on her eighth goal of the season at 15:43 of the second period. Bellina made 15 of her 43 saves in the first period and six in overtime.
 
First year defensewoman Emma Pickering tallied a goal and an assist in RIT's 5-3 loss, Friday. Juniors Kyla Bear and Megan McCormick each scored, while junior goalie Sarah Coe made 32 saves in net for the Tigers.
 
McCormick gave the Tigers the lead on her goal 1:03 into the first period. Bear tallied a power play goal at 18:51 of the period to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Pickering tied the game at 3-3 on her goal at 2:28 of the third period.
 
About RIT
RIT enters the CHA Tournament fifth in the CHA averaging 2.30 goals per game and are third allowing 2.52 goals per contest. The Tigers are third, killing off 78.7% (74-of-94) of its penalties and are third, winning 49.0 percent of their face offs. RIT is second in the league with 456 blocked shots, averaging 13.82 per game, while the Tigers power play is sixth, converting 17-of-108 chances.
 
Junior forward Kylie Aquaro leads the team with 26 points and is tenth in the CHA, averaging 0.81 points per game. She is tenth in the league with 16 assists and tied for third with five power play goals, and tied for fourth with three game-winning tallies. Alvarez is second on the team with 18 points (8g, 11a), while senior forward Emma Roland is third with 16 points and eight goals. Sophomore forward Jaidan Fahrny is fourth with 13 points (6g, 7a) and senior forward Nicole Ness is fifth with 12 points, and is second on the team with nine goals.
 
Bellina leads the CHA with a 2.03 goals against average and a .935 save percentage, and is fourth in the league averaging 26.14 saves per game.
 
Sophomore forward Lexi Sung is second in the CHA winning 60.1 percent of her face-offs, while junior forward Megan McCormick is seventh in the league winning 53.1 percent of her draws. Senior forward Lindsay Maloney is sixth in the CHA with 273 face-off wins, while Fahrny is ninth with 216 face-off wins.
Pickering is fourth in the CHA with 57 blocked shots, while senior defensewoman Mia Tsilemos is tied for fifth with 56 blocks.
 
CHA Tournament History
This is RIT's 11th appearance in the CHA Tournament and first since the 2022. The Tigers won back-to-back CHA Tournament titles in 2014 and 2015.
 
Bellina Having A Season
RIT sophomore goalie Sophia Bellina has recorded 10 wins this season. That is the most wins by a Tigers goalie since Terra Lanteigne won 12 games in 2018-19. Her .935 save percentage currently ranks as the third-best in CHA history, while her 2.03 GAA ranks eighth in CHA history.
 
Nearing the Half Century Mark
Junior forward Kylie Aquaro is one point shy of reaching the 50-point mark for her career. She enters the CHA playoffs with 49 career points and is tied for 55th all time in career scoring at RIT with 15 goals and 34 assists.
 
About Penn State
Penn State enters the CHA Tournament first in the CHA and seventh in Division I in scoring, averaging 3.35 goals per game. The Nittany Lions are the top defensive in the CHA, allowing 2.21 goals per contest. The Nittany Lions are second in the CHA, converting 31-of-126 (24.6%) of their power play chances and fourth, killing off 78-of-101 (77.2%) of their penalties.

Sophomore forward Tessa Janecke leads Penn State and the CHA with 52 points and is first averaging 1.53 points per game. She is first in the league with 36 assists and tied for fourth with 16 goals. Senior forward Brianna Brooks is second on the team and tied for fourth in the CHA with 31 points. She is tied for sixth in the league with 14 goals, ninth with 17 assists and is second with six power play tallies. Sophomore forward Katelyn Roberts is third on the team and tied for ninth in the league with 27 points (13g, 14a).
 
Janecke is first in the CHA winning 64.8 percent of her face offs, including a league-best 558 wins and is a +25 on the season. Roberts is third in the league with a +18, while first year forward Stella Retrum is tied for fifth with a +15 and junior defensewoman Karley Garcia is tied for eighth with a +11.
 
RIT vs. Penn State
Penn State is 33-19-7 all time against RIT. The two teams split a pair of games at the Gene Polisseni Center in January with Penn State winning game one and RIT winning in overtime the following day. The. Nittany Lions won game one in University Park, PA on Feb. 16, while RIT tied Penn State, 1-1 the following day.