No. 4 Nittany Lions Begin 2026 at No. 2 Ohio State for Top Five MatchupNo. 4 Nittany Lions Begin 2026 at No. 2 Ohio State for Top Five Matchup

No. 4 Nittany Lions Begin 2026 at No. 2 Ohio State for Top Five Matchup

Penn State set to play in the program’s first top five matchup ever.

Watch Live (Friday) Watch Live (Saturday) Live Stats

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Coming off a ranked win on Tuesday night, the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions are set to face No. 2 Ohio State this weekend in the program’s first top five matchup ever at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio.

Friday’s game will begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+ while Saturday’s puck drop is slated for 3:30 p.m. and will be stream on B1G+ as well as FOX9+ in Minnesota, Chicago and Pheonix.



No. 4 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State
University Park, Pa.

No. 4 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State

No. 4 Penn State
No. 4 Penn State

18-1-0 | 12-0-0 AHA

At
No. 2 Ohio State
No. 2 Ohio State

15-3-0 | 11-3-0 WCHA

The Matchup

HISTORY

  • This is the 12th meeting between the two programs, with Ohio State leading the series at 9-2-0.
  • The two programs however have not met in four years, with the Buckeyes taking the last meeting 4-2 on Nov. 27, 2021.
  • Ohio State comes into the game with a two-game win streak in the series with the last Nittany Lion win coming in 2018, a 5-1 victory in Columbus.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

  • Ohio State is ranked second in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls with a record of 15-3-0 with wins over Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, and Clarkson.
  • Nadine Muzerall is the head coach of the Buckeyes in her 10th
  • She currently owns a record of 239-84-22 as head coach of Ohio State.
  • Hilda Svensson leads the Buckeyes in points at 33 with 12 goals and 21 assists.
  • Goaltender Hailey MacLeod has started 11 games for OSU posting a record of 9-2-0 with two shutouts. She has a 1.90 GAA and .900 save percentage.
Follow the Action

Follow the Action

Dates: Friday January 2-3
Place: OSU Ice Rink | Columbus, Ohio
Time: 6 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. 

 

 

PENN STATE IN THE POLLS

  • The Penn State Nittany Lions currently sit fourth in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls.
  • It is the highest ranking the program has achieved in either poll in its history as PSU is the lone undefeated team in the country.

DEFENSE TO OFFENSE

  • Penn State is currently number one in the country in scoring defense and tied for second overall in scoring offense with third-ranked Minnesota.
  • The Nittany Lions are scoring 4.7 goals per game while only allowing 1.1 goals per game, making for the second highest scoring margin in the nation.
  • PSU also has only allowed 16.8 shots on goal per game, which is the lowest in the nation by nearly four shots.
  • The Nittany Lions also lead the nation in shorthanded goals with seven.
  • PSU makes up the entire top 10 in plus/minus rating in the AHA with Maddy Christian leading the way at +26.

DOMINANCE IN THE DOT

  • The Nittany Lions are ranked first nationally in faceoff win percentage at 61.8 percent.
  • Tessa Janecke has won 231 faceoffs, pacing the Nittany Lions while leading the AHA with a 70.0 faceoff win percentage.

MILESTONE WATCH

  • Several veteran members of the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions are inching closer to break career program records.
  • Tessa Janecke is just one goal from becoming the program’s all-time leading goal scorer, currently sitting at 74.
  • This past weekend she tied Natalie Heising at the mark.
  • Goaltender Katie DeSa is one shutout from breaking the program’s career shutout record, currently sitting at 20. She tied Josie Bothun ’24 on Tuesday with the 1-0 win over Cornell.
  • Kendall Butze is one assist from passing Izzy Heminger for the most career assists by a defenseman, sitting at 65 currently.
  • She is also within eight points of breaking the program’s career points by a defenseman record which was set at 84 last season by Lyndie Lobdell.

SHORTHANDED SUCCESS  

  • PSU has had immense success in scoring on its penalty kill this season, currently leading the nation in the category with seven, after leading the nation last season with nine total.
  • Grace Outwater and Maddy Christian are tied for second nationally with two shorthanded goals each.

BIG GAMES, BIG PERFORMANCES     

  • The Nittany Lions are currently 6-1 against ranked opponents this season, their most wins in a season ever against ranked opponents.
  • In those games, Penn State has outscored their opponents 24-7.
  • PSU is also outshooting their opponents in ranked games 36.9 to 22.3
  • Katie DeSa has posted a 1.05 GAA and .952 save percentage against ranked teams while Tessa Janecke leads the Nittany Lions with nine points.
Follow the Nittany Lions

Follow the Nittany Lions

Get all of the latest updates on Penn State women's ice hockey by following @PennStateWHKY on Twitter, "liking" the Penn State Women's Ice Hockey page on Facebook and following @pennstatewhky on Instagram.