By Jacob Messing

Lions and Tigers and winless streaks are the theme of this weekend’s matchup between the women’s hockey teams of Penn State and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

The Nittany Lions’ last win came on Jan. 12, a streak of eight games during which they’ve gone 0-5-3. The RIT Tigers, meanwhile, haven’t won since Nov. 4, going 0-18-2 over their past 20 games.

Two of those losses came at the hands of Penn State whom shutout the Tigers 5-0 and 2-0 to open December. The rematch series comes this weekend and will be streamed live right here on FloHockey at 6 PM EST Friday and 3 PM Saturday.

The Lions, 6-13-11, have a light at the end of the tunnel with 16 underclassmen on the roster. Three of those underclassmen make up the team’s top three scorers in Natalie Heising (20 points) and Katie Rankin (14 pts.), separated by sophomore Brooke Madsen (18 pts.).

The trio each recorded three points in the seven-goal December series against the Tigers and will look to add to those totals again this weekend. 

Heising Receives CHA Rookie of the Week Honor

| https://t.co/beKVYkCngR#WeAre pic.twitter.com/WYXCF3AG9g

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 12, 2018

Heising’s 11 goals lead the Lions and after a pair last weekend, the College Hockey America (CHA) named her Rookie of the Week, her second honor this season.

With four games remaining, the Tigers will certainly be looking for a nice high note before the season ends. At 4-23-3 and 1-15-0 in the CHA, this weekend’s series against the Lions might be their last best chance.

The Tigers’ final series comes against Mercyhurst, who is 6-2-2 since Jan. 1. The Tigers are similar to the Lions in the sense of youth. Eight freshmen and 16 total underclassmen give hope to coach Scott McDonald, who is in his 12^th season behind the bench.

Brittney Gout leads the Tigers freshmen with four goals and 12 points, which is tied for second on the team. She’s proving to be a key part of the team’s continued effort to translate its Division III dominance into Division I, which the Tigers joined for the 2014-15 season.

“Brittney has a blue-collar mentality, competes hard on both ends of the ice and has great instincts with and without the puck,” McDonald told Joe Venniro of RITAthletics.com.

Gout will be at the forefront of the Tigers’ attack this weekend as RIT looks to finally get back in the win column and close out the season with a smile.

Don’t miss the series this weekend, as both teams look to find that evasive ‘W’ right here on FloHockey.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.