No. 7/8 Women’s Hockey Takes On No. 8/7 St. Lawrence in NCAA Regional Semifinal

HISTORY 

• The two sides met a season ago in the NCAA Tournament, a 1-0 overtime win for St. Lawrence. Kristina Bahl scored the winning goal for the Saints. She has four goals and 10 assists this season. 

• Penn State is 0-8-1 all-time against St. Lawrence.  

SCOUTING THE SAINTS 

• St. Lawrence enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-11-5 (13-6-3 ECAC) record.  

• The Saints fell to Colgate in the ECAC Semifinals in a 4-2 decision after sweeping Yale in the conference tournament quarterfinal round. The team earned a first round bye after finishing third in the regular season standings. 

• St. Lawrence's scoring margin of .62 is 15th in the country. The Saints are 10th in the nation in power-play percentage at .244. 

• Abby Hustler paces the offense for St. Lawrence. She leads the team in points (37), goals (17) and assists (20). She ranks tied for 24th nationally in points per game (1.00), tied for 26th in goals per game (.46) and tied for 41st in assists per game (.54). 

• Goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordström has started 34 of the team’s 37 games. She holds an 18-11-5 record with six shutouts. Nordström has a .935 save percentage and 1.7 goals against average. Nationally, she is tied for eighth in shutouts, 11th in GAA, 14th in save percentage and 16th. 

PENN STATE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT 

• The Nittany Lions are seeking their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history having come up short to St. Lawrence, 1-0, in 2024 and Quinnipiac, 3-2, in 2023. The matchup with St. Lawrence went to overtime while the Quinnipiac contest went to triple overtime. 

• A season ago against the Saints, Katie DeSa saved 43 of the 44 shots she faced. 

• Tessa Janecke dominated the faceoff circle against the Saints, winning 23 out of 36. 

• In the defensive slugfest a year ago, current skaters Alyssa Machado, Karley Garcia, Leah Stecker, Kendall Butze and Lyndie Lobdell all recorded blocks. 

AHA CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP 

• Penn State defeated Mercyhurst, 4-1, on Saturday, March 8 at Pegula Ice Arena for its third straight AHA Championship victory. 

• The Nittany Lions became the first team to win the conference title three seasons in a row since joining the CHA for the 2012-13 season. 

• DeSa notched her 27th win of the season to become the program’s new single season wins leader. 

• Brianna Brooks led the way with two goals, one in the first period and one in the third. It was her third two-goal game of the season. She scored twice against Stonehill (Oct. 26) and RIT (Jan. 10). 

• Maddy Christian earned MVP of the AHA Tournament after having a goal in all three games while adding an assist in the AHA Championship. She scored just 23 seconds into the AHA Championship. 

• Janecke and Stecker were named to the AHA All-Tournament Team. Janecke notched three goals over the team’s three games while Stecker assisted on two goals and blocked two shots on the defensive end. 

• Katelyn Roberts scored her 11th goal of the season in the second period. 

RECORD WATCH 

• Janecke is chasing down three single-season milestones. With 52 points, she just needs two more to break the record. Additionally, Janecke is three goals away from eclipsing the current record of 26 set by Kiara Zanon in 2022-23. Her current +/- of 36 would be the highest mark in team history should it stay above 27. 

• Janecke is already the program’s career leader in points (152) and assists (89). Also, she is the program leader in points at the CHA/AHA Tournament with 12 off seven goals and five assists. 

• DeSa’s nine shutouts place her one away from sole possession of the single-season record.  

• Christian, tied for the nation’s lead in short-handed goals with four, needs two more to pass Zanon’s single-season record of five in 2022-23.  

• Butze’s 26 points on three goals and 23 assists are three shy of passing Izzy Heminger’s single-season record of 28 points by a defenseman. She is two assists from passing Heminger for assists by a defenseman in one season.  

• Lobdell currently has 64 career assists, which places her third for a career, five shy of first place. In terms of career assists from a defenseman, she needs just two more to pass Heminger for the record. Lobdell holds the record for career points by a defenseman with 84 and counting. Additionally, the senior has played in 166 games for the Blue & White, the most in program history. 

THE TOURNAMENT RESUME 

• The Nittany Lions reached 30 wins for the first time in program history with a two-game sweep over RIT in the AHA Semifinals. Currently the team has 31 victories, a single-season program record.  

• With a weekend sweep over RIT on Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15, Penn State set a new AHA single-season conference win record with 19.     

• For the third straight year, the Nittany Lions became AHA Regular Season champions following their 4-3 overtime win against Mercyhurst on Feb. 7.  

• It's the fourth all-time Regular Season Championship for the women's ice hockey program and all under the direction of head coach Jeff Kampersal.  

• The team earned three victories, two on the road, over nationally ranked opponents in the regular season. The road wins came against No. 9 UConn, 4-2, and No. 3 Minnesota, 6-2. The Nittany Lions defeated No. 13 Northeastern 2-1 on September 27 in Happy Valley.  

• Penn State leads the nation in short-handed goals with nine. The team ranks fifth in goals (134) and sixth in assists (212). The Nittany Lions tie for eighth in the country with 23 power play goals.   

• The Blue & White hold opponents to 1.49 goals per game, the fourth best mark nationally. Pairing that with the nation’s sixth highest scoring offense (3.62), the program stands in second in the country with a 2.14 scoring margin. 

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS 

• Head Coach Jeff Kampersal earned AHA Coach of the Year honors for the third straight season, guiding Penn State to its winningest season in program history. Kampersal picked up his 477th career victory, fifth all-time and fourth among active coaches, against Mercyhurst in the AHA Championship. Since arriving in 2017, Kampersal has built Penn State into one of the top programs in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. 

• Janecke proved to be one of the top players in the country all season, earning her second straight placement as a Top 10 Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. She was named the AHA Player and Forward of the year as well as the league’s scoring champion. The junior was selected to the All-AHA First Team for the third consecutive year. 

• Janecke, the program’s career leader in points with 152, leads the team in points (52), goals (24) and assists (28) this season. The team captain paces the conference and nation in faceoff wins with 604, over 100 more than the next highest total. Janecke ranks in the top 10 nationally in points, points per game (1.41), goals, goals per game (.65), power play goals (six) and short-handed goals (two). She is just outside the top 10 in assists and assists per game (.76), sitting in 14th place. 

• DeSa earned AHA Goaltender of the Year with a stellar season. With the win against Mercyhurst, she reached 27 wins, a new single-season school record. The junior secured All-AHA First Team honors as well as being named a semifinalist for the HCA Goalie of the Year award. 

• DeSa’s nine shutout victories tie her for first place nationally. She ranks second in wins, second in winning percentage (.844), fifth in goals against average (1.364) and 16th in save percentage (.934).  

• Butze won the AHA Best Defenseman award and was another All-AHA First Team choice. She has 23 assists, placing her tied for second on the team and tied for fourth in the AHA. The junior defenseman is tied for 24th nationally in assists and tied for 26th in assists per game (.62). With two more assists, she will become Penn State’s single-season leader for assists in a season by a defenseman. She has blocked 32 shots, good for fourth on the team. 

• Roberts, the final All-AHA First Team selection, is second on the team and third in the AHA in points (34). Her .91 points per game place her third in the league and 35th in the nation.  She is tied for second on the team in assists with 23, tied for 24th nationally in assists and tied for 26th in assists per game (.62). Roberts has scored 11 goals this season, good for fourth on the team. 

• Christian earned All-AHA Second Team honors. She leads the team and is tied for first in the nation with four short-handed goals. The junior forward is tied for first on the team, second in the conference and 10th nationally in power play goals (six). Christian’s 21 goals are second on the team and 12th nationally. She is 12th in goals per game (.57).  

• Lobdell became Penn State’s program leader in career points by a defenseman earlier this season. She earned All-AHA Second Team honors this season. Lobdell currently has 84 points in her career with 21 of those coming from four goals and 17 assists this year. The 17 assists are fourth on the team and tied for ninth in the conference.  The graduate defenseman has blocked a team-high 46 shots. 

• Grace Outwater, an AHA All-Rookie Team selection, has made a name for herself in her freshman campaign with 26 points on 16 goals and 10 assists. She is tied for 27th in the nation in goals and 31st in goals per game (.44). She ranks tied for fourth in the conference in goals and sixth in goals per game. Outwater leads the AHA and is tied for eighth nationally with five game winning goals. 

• Grace Tullock was selected to the AHA All-Rookie Team as well. She is second on the team with 38 blocks and has assisted on six goals this season.