No. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Hosts AHA Championship Against No. 12 MercyhurstNo. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Hosts AHA Championship Against No. 12 Mercyhurst

No. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey Hosts AHA Championship Against No. 12 Mercyhurst

The Nittany Lions seek a fourth consecutive AHA Tournament title

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 3 Penn State women’s ice hockey is set to face No. 12 Mercyhurst in the AHA Championship on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Pegula Ice Arena. The game will be broadcast on B1G+. 

The Nittany Lions (31-5-0, 22-2-0 AHA) host the Lakers (23-10-3, 18-5-2 AHA) for the conference title for a fourth straight year. PSU has won the previous three meetings and seeks a fourth consecutive AHA Tournament title. The winner will secure an automatic bid into the 2026 NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship. 

No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 12 Mercyhurst
University Park, Pa.

No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 12 Mercyhurst

No. 3 Penn State
No. 3 Penn State

31-5 | 22-2 AHA

VS
No. 12 Mercyhurst
No. 12 Mercyhurst

23-10-3 | 18-5-2 AHA

THE MATCHUP

HISTORY 

  • This is the 62nd meeting between the two programs with Mercyhurst leading the all-time series by a slim, 27-25-9 margin. PSU owns a 3-2 record in postseason play against Mercyhurst with all three wins coming in the CHA/AHA Championship. 
  • Penn State has won 15 of the last 19 meetings, dating back to the 2022-23 season. 
  • The Nittany Lions won both meetings at Pegula Ice Arena in the first half of the season, outscoring the Lakers 9-1. The two sides split the matchups in Erie, Pennsylvania with the Blue & White taking game one, 3-0, before falling 4-3 in overtime in game two.  
  • Saturday’s contest will make Mercyhurst the most played opponent in the program’s history. 

SCOUTING THE LAKERS 

  • Mercyhurst is 23-10-3 and 18-5-2 in conference play, finishing the regular season second in AHA standings.  
  • The Lakers swept Lindenwood by scores of 2-1 and 3-2 in the AHA Semifinals to reach the AHA Championship against Penn State. 
  • Michael Sisti is the head coach of the Lakers in his 27th season. 
  • Julia Perjus leads the Lakers in points with 38. Her 17 goals lead the team as well while Sofia Nuutinen tops the assists leaderboard with 23. 
  • Magdalena Luggin has started 29 games this season, posting a 2.08 GAA and a .927 save percentage. She has recorded three shutouts and made 797 saves this season. 
Follow the Action

Follow the Action

Dates: March 7
Place: Pegula Ice Arena
Time: 2 p.m.

EVERYBODY EATS 

  • The Nittany Lions dominated the AHA postseason awards and honors. Penn State’s six postseason award winners, across seven individuals, set an AHA record. The team’s nine All-AHA selections match a program-high set during the 2020-21 season while the four first team selections tie that season and the 2024-25 campaign. 
  • Jeff Kampersal was named AHA Coach of the Year for the fourth year in a row. It is his fifth time achieving the honor over the past six seasons. 
  • Tessa Janecke became a three-time AHA Player and Forward of the Year and All-AHA First Team selection. She is also a top-10 finalist for the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Janecke is the first student-athlete to win AHA Player of the Year three years in a row since Meghan Agosta from 2007-2009, who the award is named after. She is the first three-time top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in program history. 
  • Kendall Butze became a back-to-back winner of the AHA Best Defenseman honor as well as a two-time All-AHA First Team selection. She is the first back-to-back AHA Best Defenseman since the award’s namesake, Molly Bryne, who won it in 2014 and 2015. 
  • Katie DeSa is the AHA Goaltender of the Year for the second year in a row, in addition to a second All-AHA First Team honor. She is the second AHA netminder to win the award two seasons in a row. 
  • Danica Maynard was tabbed AHA Rookie of the Year. The nation’s leader in points and assists by a freshman defenseman was also an All-AHA Second Team honoree. 
  • Grace Outwater is the AHA Scoring Champion with 31 points in conference play. She was named an All-AHA First Team selection on Wednesday. 
  • Mikah Keller was PSU’s other All-AHA Rookie Team selection. 

CHASING ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP 

  • 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. The program is currently on an 11-game winning streak in AHA Tournament play. 
  • Penn State has defeated Mercyhurst in the AHA Championship three seasons in a row. The Nittany Lions have outscored the Lakers by a 7-2 margin in those three contests with all of them being played at Pegula Ice Arena. 

SWEEPIN’ SYRACUSE IN THE SEMIS 

  • No. 3 Penn State swept Syracuse in the AHA Tournament Semifinals on February 27 and 28. The Nittany Lions shut out Syracuse in a 7-0 decision in game one before taking the second game, 2-1. 
  • Janecke shined in her return from winning a gold medal with Team USA at the Winter Olympics. In game one, she potted the fourth hat trick of her career by scoring a goal in each period. She scored another goal in game two to complete a four-goal series. She was named AHA Forward of the Week for her performance. 
  • DeSa recorded her nation’s-best 11th shutout of the season in game one of the series. She stopped 31 of the 32 shots she faced in the series.  
  • Abby Stonehouse earned herself a three-point series by scoring a goal in both games, including the game-winner in game two, while assisting on Janecke’s first goal in game one. 
  • Matilde Fantin and Nicole Hall, also making their return to Hockey Valley after Olympic competition, scored in game one of the series. Fantin registered two assists in game one. 
  • Mya Vaslet scored a goal in the second period of game one. Butze earned two assists in the game.  
  • Maynard was named AHA Rookie of the Week after tallying an assist in both games. 

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. 

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 181 of those victories coming in Happy Valley. 
  • Kampersal and Penn State are in the midst of a 31-win season, tying for the most single-season victories in program history. In just the past four seasons alone, the Nittany Lions have earned 111 victories under Kampersal’s guidance, which ranks fifth nationally in that timeframe. 

MILESTONE WATCH 

  • Janecke has 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 and currently sits at 197. 
  • Butze became the program’s leader in career points by a defenseman on January 31 in Penn State’s 5-2 win over Robert Morris. She currently boasts 93 career points, looking to become the program’s first defenseman to reach 100.  
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. 
Follow the Nittany Lions

Follow the Nittany Lions

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