No. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Takes on No. 2 Wisconsin in the Frozen Four at Pegula Ice ArenaNo. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Takes on No. 2 Wisconsin in the Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena

No. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Takes on No. 2 Wisconsin in the Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena

The Nittany Lions are making their first appearance in the Frozen Four with puck drop for the National Semifinal set for 7:30 p.m.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State women’s ice hockey will face No. 2 Wisconsin in the Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The National Semifinal game will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

The Nittany Lions are in the Frozen Four for the first time in program history. The Blue & White secured the program’s first win at the NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship against No. 6 UConn on March 14 in a 3-0 shutout. The four-time defending AHA Champions have won 33 games this season, a single-season program record.  

Penn State is hosting the Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena for the second time after being home to the event in 2022 as well. For information about tickets, parking and the 2026 NCAA Women's Frozen Four FAN FEST, visit 2026 Women’s Frozen Four Central. 

As part of the Frozen Four festivities, Alumni Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center on Penn State's campus will be the home of the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award ceremony on Saturday. Penn State's Tessa Janecke, Wisconsin's Caroline Harvey and Minnesota's Abbey Murphy are the three finalists for the most prestigious award in Division I women's ice hockey. The ceremony will start at 12:30 p.m. ET with a live broadcast will be on NHL Network. 

No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 2 Wisconsin
Pegula Ice Arena - University Park, Pa.

No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 2 Wisconsin

No. 3 Penn State
No. 3 Penn State

33-5 | 22-2 AHA

VS
No. 2 Wisconsin
No. 2 Wisconsin

33-4-2 | 24-3-2 WCHA

THE MATCHUP

HISTORY 

  • This is the fifth meeting between the two programs with Wisconsin leading the series with a record of 3-1-0 against the Nittany Lions. At Pegula Ice Arena, the series is split 1-1. 
  • This is the first time meeting of these teams since September 23, 2022 at Pegula Ice Arena. 
  • Penn State’s lone victory in the series came on September 22, 2022. The Nittany Lions won by a 4-1 margin. In her first career game, Tessa Janecke scored two goals and assisted on another, setting the stage for a legendary career in the Blue & White.  

SCOUTING THE BADGERS 

  • Wisconsin finished the regular season first in WCHA standings. Wisconsin fell to No. 1 Ohio State, 2-1, in the WCHA Championship. 
  • The Badgers beat No. 7 Quinnipiac, 6-0, to reach the Frozen Four against Penn State. This is the fourth Frozen Four appearance in a row for the defending national champions.  
  • Mark Johnson is the head coach of the Badgers in his 23rd season. He became the first Division I women’s ice hockey coach to reach 700 career wins in the victory over Quinnipiac. 
  • Lacey Eden leads the Badgers in points with 75. The forward’s 29 goals and 46 assists top the team leaderboard as well. 
  • Goaltender Ava McNaughton has started 20 games this season for Wisconsin, posting a 1.27 GAA and .941 save percentage. She’s recorded eight shutouts and made 585 saves this season. 
  • Defenseman Caroline Harvey joins Janecke as a Top-Three Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Harvey has 62 points on 18 goals and 44 assists. 
STAYING HOME FOR THE FROZEN FOUR

STAYING HOME FOR THE FROZEN FOUR

  • No. 3 Penn State advanced to the program’s first Frozen Four with a 3-0 victory against No. 6 UConn on March 14 at Pegula Ice Arena. It was the Nittany Lions’ first-ever win at the NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship in their first time hosting a regional. 
  • Katie DeSa posted her 12th shutout of the season, the most in the nation, with 36 saves, a season-high for the senior goaltender, to boot. She tied her own single-season wins record with her 27th of the year. 
  • Matilde Fantin opened the scoring for the Nittany Lions with a redirect in front of the net under two minutes into the contest. The freshman was assisted by Nicole Hall as the two worked up the ice in tandem. 
  • With under seven minutes to play, Tessa Janecke capitalized on an errant pass from the UConn goaltender to score unopposed. The senior captain brought her career point total to 199 as she looks to become the first Penn State hockey player, men’s or women’s, to reach 200 points at the Frozen Four. 
  • Abby Stonehouse sealed the win with an empty net goal with 17 seconds left, igniting the Pegula crowd of 1,615. The game has the fifth-highest attendance in program history, the fourth-best at Pegula Ice Arena. 
KAMPY GARNERS NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS

KAMPY GARNERS NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS

  • Jeff Kampersal was named the 2026 CCM/AHCA University Division Women’s Coach of the Year on Thursday. It is his first national coach of the year honor. 
  • The 2025-26 campaign has been a historic season for the Nittany Lions. Under Kampersal’s guidance, the program reached its first Frozen Four and earned its first-ever win at the NC Women's Ice Hockey Championship. Penn State hosted a regional for the first time in program history.   
  • With 33 wins on the season, the Blue & White have set a single-season record for the second season in a row. Over the past four seasons, PSU has amassed 113 victories, tying for the third-most in the country. The team's No. 3 ranking is the highest in program history.  
  • Kampersal earned his fifth overall, fourth in a row, AHA/CHA Coach of the Year honor on March 5. This is his 11th time receiving a conference coach of the year honor after earning six in his time at Princeton.  
  • The Nittany Lions won their fourth consecutive AHA/CHA Championship on March 7. The team won its fourth straight regular season title with a sweep of Delaware on January 23 and 24.  
  • Kampersal reached the 500-win mark for his career against Delaware on January 23, becoming the fifth coach in history to reach the milestone. He owns a 183-90- 41 record at Penn State and a 510-351-99 mark for his career. 

THE TOURNAMENT RESUME

NUMBERS DON'T LIE 

  • Penn State is in the midst of its winningest season in program history with 33 victories while setting an AHA record with 22 conference wins. The team is ranked No. 3 in the country, the highest in program history. 
  • PSU set an AHA record this season with seven individual awards won by six individuals. The team tied program records with nine All-AHA selections and four All-AHA First Team honorees. 
  • Penn State has eight victories over teams ranked inside the top 12 of the NPI. The Nittany Lions defeated No. 5 Northeastern, No. 6 UConn, No. 11 Cornell twice and No. 12 Mercyhurst four times. 
  • Entering the Frozen Four, Penn State ranks fourth in the country in goals (162) and fourth in goals per game (4.26). The Nittany Lions have only allowed 50 goals all season, the least allowed in the nation. The team ranks first in goals allowed per game (1.32). The scoring margin of 2.94 is the second-best mark in the country. PSU is third in shots per game (38.9) and first in shots allowed per game (21.1). 
  • The Nittany Lions have owned special teams situations this season. On the power play, the Blue & White rank 10th nationally in powerplay percentage (0.248) and sixth in powerplay goals (32). The team ties for the nation’s lead in shorthanded goals with eight. Penn State is 11th nationally in penalty kill percentage (0.850). 
  • Defensively, PSU has the most shutouts in the country at 16. Katie DeSa leads the nation with 12 while Maddy Campbell has contributed the other four. DeSa is the program leader in single-season shutouts and career shutouts (25). 
  • Penn State has the fourth-best faceoff winning percentage nationally at 55.8%. Tessa Janecke leads the Nittany Lions and the AHA in the category, winning 66.4% of her faceoffs with 390 wins to her name.

EVERYBODY EATS 

  • Tessa Janecke was named the program’s first Top-Three Finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. The three-time AHA Player and Forward of the Year and four-time All-AHA First Team selection ranks sixth nationally in points per game (1.53), third in goals per game (0.80) and 14th in assists per game (0.73). The senior captain has 46 points on 24 goals and 22 assists and is just one point away from 200 for her career. 
  • Two Penn State defenders, Danica Maynard and Kendall Butze, rank inside the top seven nationally in points by a defenseman. Maynard has 33, the second-most by a freshman defender and tied for 11th among all freshmen skaters with Penn State’s Mikah Keller. Her 24 assists are the second-most among freshmen defensemen. Butze has 32 points and her 27 assists are fifth nationally among defenders. She is tied for 17th among all skaters in assists per game (0.71). Maynard was the AHA Rookie of the Year while Butze was named AHA Best Defenseman for the second year in a row. 
  • Grace Outwater has proven to be one of the most prolific scorers in the country all season, tying for the PSU lead with 24 goals, which is tied for eighth nationally. The AHA Scoring Champion averages 0.69 goals per game, making Penn State one of two programs in the country to have two skaters rank inside the top 10 in goals per game. 
  • DeSa, a back-to-back AHA Goaltender of the Year award winner and HCA Goalie of the Year Semifinalist, ranks second in goals against average (1.28) and ninth in save percentage (0.939). 
  • Maddy Christian and Katelyn Roberts joined Maynard on the All-AHA Second Team. Mikah Keller was PSU’s other All-AHA Rookie Team selections. 
FOUR-PEAT IN HOCKEY VALLEY

FOUR-PEAT IN HOCKEY VALLEY

  • No. 3 Penn State secured its fourth consecutive AHA Tournament Championship with a 3-2 triumph against No. 12 Mercyhurst on March 7 at Pegula Ice Arena. 
  • With the victory, the Nittany Lions set a single-season program record with their 32nd win. They also completed a fourth straight sweep of the AHA Regular Season and Tournament Championships. 
  • Mya Vaslet opened the scoring in the first period. The graduate student moved into a tie for second on the program’s AHA Tournament scoring leaderboard with seven points. 
  • Nicole Hall and Katelyn Roberts potted goals in the second period, with Roberts’ serving as the game-winner. Hall scored her second goal of the tournament. 
  • Katie DeSa was excellent between the pipes for the Blue & White. The senior made 29 saves, tying for her third-most all season, in her 26th win of the season.  
  • Tessa Janecke was named the AHA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player with five points in three contests. She scored a hat trick in game one of the AHA Semifinals against Syracuse. She was joined by Fantin, Kendall Butze and DeSa on the AHA All-Tournament Team. 
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