No. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Hosts Syracuse in the AHA Tournament SemifinalsNo. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Hosts Syracuse in the AHA Tournament Semifinals

No. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Hosts Syracuse in the AHA Tournament Semifinals

Penn State begins its postseason run as the top seed in the AHA Tournament after winning the regular season title for a fourth year in a row

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State women’s ice hockey begins postseason play in the AHA Tournament Semifinals against Syracuse this weekend at Pegula Ice Arena. The Blue & White seek a fourth consecutive CHA/AHA Tournament title after winning the regular season championship for a fourth straight year in January. 

The top-seeded Nittany Lions (29-5-0, 22-2-0 AHA) meet the fifth-seeded Orange (15-16-4, 10-11-3 AHA) in a best-of-three series to determine who will play in the AHA Tournament Championship. Game one will be at 6 p.m. on Friday with game two at 3 p.m. on Saturday. If necessary, the third game will be at 3 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on B1G+. 

No. 3 Penn State vs. Syracuse
University Park, Pa.

No. 3 Penn State vs. Syracuse

No. 3 Penn State
No. 3 Penn State

29-5 | 22-2 AHA

VS
Syracuse
Syracuse

15-16-4 | 10-11-3 AHA

THE MATCHUP

HISTORY 

  • This series marks the 60th, 61st and possibly 62nd meetings between the two programs with Syracuse leading the all-time head-to-head with a record of 31-20-8. 
  • Penn State has won the last nine meetings, with the streak starting on Jan. 20, 2024.Over those nine outings, PSU has outscored Syracuse 43-9. 
  • The Nittany Lions swept the season series with the Orange, including two dominant performances at Pegula Ice Arena. PSU beat Syracuse 7-0 on November 14 before earning an 11-2 win the following day. 

SCOUTING THE ORANGE 

  • Syracuse is 15-16-4 and 10-11-3 in conference play, finishing the regular season fifth in the AHA standings. 
  • The Orange took down RIT, 4-3, in double overtime in the AHA Quarterfinals to reach the semifinals against Penn State. 
  • Britni Smith is the head coach of the Orange in her fourth season. 
  • Emma Gnade leads the Orange in points with 20. Her nine goals and 11 assists lead the team as well. 
  • Ava Drabyk has started 32 games this season for Syracuse, posting a 2.31 GAA and .924 save percentage. She’s recorded five shutouts and made 877 saves this season. 
Follow the Action

Follow the Action

Dates: February 27-March 1 (if necessary)
Place: Pegula Ice Arena
Time: 6 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 3 p.m. (if necessary)

WINTER OLYMPICS REWIND

WINTER OLYMPICS REWIND

  • Four Nittany Lions, including three current student-athletes, represented Penn State at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics: Tessa Janecke with the United States of America, Nicole Hall and former Nittany Lion Jessica Adolfsson with Sweden and Matilde Fantin with Italy. 
  • Janecke became the first Penn State athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Team USA’s 2-1 overtime victory over Canada on February 19. 
  • Penn State’s captain totaled five assists, which ranked tied for fourth on the team and tied for sixth overall among all skaters at the Olympics. Janecke and Team USA cemented themselves into the Olympic record books with a historically dominant run to winning the country’s third gold medal. 
  • Sophomore forward Hall and Adolfsson, a defender, helped Sweden advance to the bronze medal game. Adolfsson scored a goal in the first period against Italy in her second Olympics with Sweden. 
  • Fantin, a freshman forward for the Blue & White, scored three goals to lead Italy and was one of just 16 women to pot three or more goals in Milan. 

POSTSEASON PREP 

  • Penn State seeks its fourth consecutive CHA/AHA Tournament title. The Nittany Lions would join Mercyhurst as the only program to win the postseason tournament four years in a row. PSU is already the only program to win the CHA/AHA Tournament three or more times in a row since joining the league for the 2012-13 season. 
  • On top of winning three straight conference tournaments, the Blue & White have not dropped a single game in that time, entering this year’s AHA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak. 
  • Penn State looks for its first-ever postseason victory against Syracuse as the Orange own a 3-0 lead in CHA/AHA Tournament play. It is the first postseason matchup for the two programs since 2021.  

PENN STATE IN THE POLLS 

  • On February 23, Penn State received the No. 3 ranking in the USCHO.com poll to give the program its highest ranking in program history. 
  • The Nittany Lions were ranked third in the USA Hockey poll the next day. The team sits at third in the NPI as well. 

WRAPPING THE REGULAR SEASON 

  • Penn State closed the regular season with a split series against RIT at home, falling in overtime in game one, 3-2, before bouncing back with a 4-2 victory in game two. 
  • Katelyn Roberts registered her 100th career point in the series, becoming the sixth player in program history to do so. 
  • Maddy Christian extended her point streak to nine games with 12 points in that span. 
  • The Nittany Lions finished with 29 regular season victories, the most in program history. Their 22 AHA wins are the most in program and conference history. 

FOUR-PEAT IN HOCKEY VALLEY 

  • On January 23 and 24, the Nittany Lions swept Delaware by scores of 5-0 and 7-0 en route to capturing their fourth-straight CHA/AHA regular season conference championship. 
  • The Nittany Lions join Mercyhurst as the only two programs to win four or more straight regular season CHA/AHA championships. 

500 FOR KAMPY 

  • On January 23, Penn State women’s ice hockey head coach Jeff Kampersal won his 500th career game as the Nittany Lions defeated Delaware, 5-0, at Pegula Ice Arena. 
  • He became the fifth women’s ice hockey coach ever to reach the milestone and fourth active with 179 of those victories coming in Happy Valley. 
  • Kampersal and Penn State are in the midst of the second-winningest season in program history, needing just two more to match last season's mark. In just the past four seasons alone, the Nittany Lions have earned 109 victories under Kampersal’s guidance, which ranks fifth nationally in that timeframe. 

MILESTONE WATCH 

  • Janecke returns to Happy Valley with 200 career points on the horizon. The senior is Penn State’s leader, for both the men's and women's programs, in career points as she currently sits at 193. 
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.