"When you get in a tight game like this," Whittemore said, "it shows you the true character of the team. Adversity always shows you the true character of a team or individual."
Penn State, 7-0-1 (4-0-0 in ACHA East play) found itself returning to the ice less than 12 hours after finishing off an 8-0 win over Buffalo at Greenberg Ice Pavilion the night before.
That might have led to some sluggishness -- or overconfidence.
And it provided an opening for the Terriers to charge ahead.
BU (2-4-0) took a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the second period when Kyla Brydon poked a rebound past goalie Tara Wheeler.
Wheeler had trouble holding onto the initial shot and Brydon, charging the net, knocked the puck loose.
"After that goal, they were definitely taken aback," Whittemore said. "They knew they had to step it up; they knew they were playing poorly...
"It was early in the game but sometimes teams don't recover. The leadership of the team said, 'That's not going to happen.' "
Penn State responded with a goal from junior forward Kate Connolly. It was similar to Brydon's goal moments before. BU goalie Jessica Martinez went down to corral the initial shot. Connolly poked the puck loose from between her pads.
The Lady Icers took the lead 47 seconds later when junior forward Alex McVicker, sliding skates-first toward the net, took a feed from freshman defenseman Dana Voelker and put the puck past Martinez.
Junior Becky Holmes scored on a shot from the point less than two minutes later to put Penn State on top.
The game was a back-and-forth affair in the third period with the Terriers tying the game at 4 midway through.
King then stepped up to score the game-winner to preserve Penn State's perfect record in ACHA East play.
