UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) announced its annual individual award winners on Wednesday afternoon. Jeff Kampersal was named AHA Coach of the Year, Tessa Janecke earned AHA Player and Forward of the Year, Kendall Butze was named the AHA Best Defenseman and Katie DeSa was selected as the AHA Goaltender of the Year.
Jeff Kampersal – AHA Coach of the Year
- This is the third consecutive and fourth overall CHA/AHA Coach of the Year award for Kampersal.
- Under the direction of Kampersal, Penn State has won two CHA Tournaments and four CHA/AHA regular season titles. He has coached four CHA/AHA Player of the Year winners, three Rookie of Year honorees, two Defenseman of the Year awardees and two Goaltenders of the Year.
- Kampersal has guided the Nittany Lions to a single-season record of 30 victories so far, including 19 conference wins, an AHA record for a single year.
- Since arriving in Happy Valley in 2017, he holds a 149-84-41 record. His 476 career victories place him fifth all-time for NCAA Division I women’s hockey.
- This season, Penn State ranks first in short-handed goals (9), second in scoring margin (2.11), fourth in scoring defense allowing just 1.5 goals per game and sixth in scoring offense with 3.61 goals per game.
Tessa Janecke – Meghan Agosta AHA Player of the Year and Vicki Bendus AHA Forward of the Year
- Janecke took home both of these awards a season ago. She is the program’s fifth straight conference Player of the Year alongside Kiara Zanon (2020-21 and 2022-23) and Natalie Heising (2021-22).
- She became the Penn State ice hockey (men’s and women’s) all-time leader in points in a 4-0 shutout win over Lindenwood on Jan. 25. She currently has 152 points on 63 goals and 89 assists for her career.
- The Orangeville, Illinois, native is also the AHA Scoring Champion for the second year in a row with 28 points in conference play.
- Janecke earned her third consecutive All-CHA/AHA First Team selection on February 26.
- The junior forward was named the AHA Forward of the Month in October and November and the conference’s Forward of the Week four times (Oct. 7, Nov. 18, Jan. 27 and March 3).
- For the season, Janecke leads the team in points (52), goals (24) and assists (28).
- The team captain paces the conference and nation in faceoff wins with 586, over 100 more than the next highest total.
- Janecke ranks in the top 10 nationally in points, points per game (1.44), goals, goals per game (0.67), power play goals (six) and short-handed goals (two). She is just outside the top 10 in assists and assists per game (.78), sitting in 14th place.
- She leads the AHA in points, points per game, goals, goals per game, shots (205), shots per game (5.69) and plus/minus (+36). Janecke is second in assists and assists per game. She is tied for second in the league in power play goals and tied for third in short-handed goals.
Kendall Butze - Molly Byrne AHA Best Defenseman
- Butze, a member of the All-AHA First Team, is one of the top facilitators in the conference and country.
- She has 22 assists, placing her third on the team and fifth in the AHA. The junior defenseman is tied for 25th nationally in assists and 29th in assists per game (.61). Among defensemen, she leads the AHA in assists. With three more assists, she will become Penn State’s single-season leader for assists in a season by a defenseman.
- In addition to her accolades this season, the junior was selected to the CHA All-Rookie Team for the 2022-23 season.
- Butze was named AHA Defensive Player of the Month in November and earned AHA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 18.
- The Cleveland, Ohio native ranks fourth on the team with 32 blocks and tied for fourth in points with 25.
- She scored three goals during the 2024-25 campaign.
- Butze joins Izzy Heminger (2022-23) as the second winner of the league’s Best Defenseman award.
Katie DeSa - Brianne McLaughlin AHA Goaltender of the Year
- DeSa ranks as one of the top goaltenders in the nation having been named a semifinalist for the HCA Goalie of the Year Award and All-AHA First Team selection.
- This season, DeSa earned two AHA Goaltender of the Month honors (December and January) and seven AHA Goaltender of the Week awards (Sept. 30, Oct. 21, Nov. 25, Dec. 9, Jan. 6, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27).
- The junior has compiled an impressive 26-5 record, just one win away from breaking the program’s single season record. Additionally, she is one shutout away from having the most in a season.
- DeSa’s nine shutout victories tie her for first place nationally. She ranks second in wins, second in winning percentage (.839), fifth in goals against average (1.376) and 16th in save percentage (.934). She tops the AHA leaderboard in all five categories.
- She is the second Nittany Lion to win the conference’s Goaltender of the Year award, joining Josie Bothun who won in 2020-21.
The Nittany Lions swept RIT in the AHA Semifinals on Friday, February 28 and Saturday, March 1. The Blue & White took game one 3-2 before registering a 4-0 shutout to close out the series against the Tigers.
Penn State hosts the AHA Championship against Mercyhurst on Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions are seeking their third consecutive AHA Championship.
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