UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's ice hockey forwards Tessa Janecke and Kiara Zanon were invited to the U.S. Women's National Team Evaluation Camp as announced on Monday. Associate head coach Allison Coomey will also be a part of the staff as a camp coach. The camp will be held on March 27-31 in Blaine, Minn., at the National Sports Center. The roster for the 2023 IIHF World Championship will be released on Saturday, April 1.
The camp is part of the process in selecting the U.S. Women's National Team that will compete in the 2023 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship on April 5-16, in Calgary, Alberta.
Janecke was an integral part of Penn State's championship season as she skated in 38 games and tallied 22 goals alongside 25 assists for 47 points. The Orangeville, Ill. native scored her first hat-trick as a Nittany Lion on February 25 against Lindenwood in the CHA semifinals as it was the second time in program history a hat-trick was scored in the postseason. She also broke all the program records for freshman including single season points, assists and goals.
Janecke was named CHA Rookie of the Year, HCA National Rookie of the Year and was a Patty Kazmaier Award nominee. Additional accolades from the 2022-23 season include one CHA Forward of the Month honor, one HCA National Rookie of the Month award, three CHA Rookie of the Month awards, and six CHA Rookie of the Week nods.
Zanon's third season as a Nittany Lion was an historic one in 2022-23. She broke Natalie Heising's record in single season goals which was 21 as she's currently recorded 25 this season. The Fairport, N.Y., native leads the nation with five shorthanded goals. On Jan. 13 against RIT, the forward equaled and surpassed the 100-career point mark as she scored back-to-back shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill. She hit the mark faster than any Nittany Lion in program history.
Zanon also broke her own single season program record in points from a season ago which was 41 as she tallied 49 this year. She was a three-time CHA Forward of the Week recipient and captured two CHA Forward of the Month honors. The Fairport, N.Y. native also was named the 2023 CHA Player of the Year and CHA Scoring Champion. Zanon also was named a Patty Kazmaier Top Ten finalist.
One of the nation's top coaches, Coomey's leadership and perspective on the game has helped create a positive winning culture at Penn State in her six seasons with the Nittany Lions. Penn State won its second CHA regular season championship and first CHA tournament title in 2022-23 with a 27-9-2 overall record.
She was named the 2019 AHCA Women's Hockey Assistant Coach of the Year for her outstanding career resume, which now includes five CHA semifinal appearances for the Nittany Lions and her promotion to associate head coach before the 2020-21 season. Prior to Penn State, Coomey had a successful nine-year stint at Boston University in which she coached four Olympians who won a combined six gold medals. She also had coached both Zanon and Janecke with the USA Hockey Development team in a three-game series against Canada.
She has also had prior coaching experiences with USA Hockey as a member of USA Hockey's scouting staff at the 2019 IIHF U18 women's world championship. She also has experience as a Team USA Camp instructor at the Women's National Festival and Women's National Winter Camp. This is the second time Coomey has served as a camp coach for at the evaluation camp. This is the first time both Zanon and Janecke have been invited to the U.S. Team Evaluation Camp.
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