One of the winningest and well-respected coaches in women’s ice hockey history, Jeff Kampersal has taken the Penn State women’s hockey program to new heights and now enters his eighth season at the helm of the Penn State program in 2024-25. The 2023-24, 2022-23, and 2020-21 CHA Coach of the Year and two-time AHCA National Coach of the Year finalist led a record-breaking Nittany Lion team to its second CHA tournament title and third CHA regular season title in 2023-24. The veteran coach brought the team to its first NCAA tournament in program history. He has amassed 67 wins over the last three seasons, the most over three years in program history.
His coaching excellence at both the collegiate level and the international level with USA Hockey has brought a steadying veteran leadership to the up-and-coming Nittany Lions.
With the Nittany Lions 3-2 victory over Boston College on October 14, 2022, Kampersal captured his 400th career win. He stands fifth all-time amongst division I women’s hockey coaches in career wins with 446. He currently stands at 119 wins as head coach of the Nittany Lion program.
During the 2023-24 season, Kampersal was named the 2023-24 CHA Coach of the Year for the third time in his career as the team won 22 games as well as had a team that comprised of a total of 24 CHA weekly award winners, nine CHA monthly award winners, and three All-CHA team selections.
Through Kampersal’s leadership, Tessa Janecke was a top-10 Patty Kazmier Award finalist for the first time in her career in 2024. On February 24 against RIT, the forward equaled the 100-career point mark as she scored a goal in the CHA Tournament semifinals. She hit the mark faster than any Nittany Lion in program history. Janecke was also named the CHA Player and Forward of the Year as well as the associations scoring champion. She earned USCHO Second Team All-American honors for the first time in her career.
During the 2022-23 season, Kampersal was named the 2022-23 CHA Coach of Year for the second time in his career as the team won a program-high 27 games as well as had a team that comprised a total of 26 CHA weekly award winners, 12 CHA monthly award winners, and five All-CHA team selections. He’s produced a team that went on an 18-game unbeaten streak and been nationally ranked amongst the top 10 in the nation. Kampersal became a finalist for National Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
Under Kampersal’s leadership, Kiara Zanon was a top- 10 Patty Kazmier Award finalist for the second time in her career in 2023. She broke Natalie Heising’s record in single season goals. The Fairport, N.Y., native also led the nation with five shorthanded goals.
On January 13 against RIT, the forward equaled and surpassed the 100-career point mark as she scored back-to-back shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill. Zanon also broke her own single season program record in points from a season ago. She was a three-time CHA Forward of the Week recipient and captured two CHA Forward of the Month honors. The Fairport, N.Y. native also was named the 2023 CHA Player of the Year and CHA Scoring Champion.
Kampersal also aided freshman Tessa Janecke as she was an integral part of Penn State’s championship season as she skated in 38 games and tallied 22 goals alongside 25 assists for 47 points. The Orangeville, Ill. native scored her first hat-trick as a Nittany Lion on February 25 against Lindenwood in the CHA semifinals as it was the second time in program history a hat-trick was scored in the postseason. She also broke all the program records for freshman including single season points, assists and goals. She was named the USCHO.com Rookie of the Year and was named the All-USCHO Rookie team for the first time in her career.
She is the third Nittany Lion in program history to be named to the All-Rookie team. Janecke was named CHA Rookie of the Year, HCA National Rookie of the Year and was a Patty Kazmaier Award nominee. Additional accolades from the 2022-23 season include one CHA Forward of the Month honor, one HCA National Rookie of the Month award, three CHA Rookie of the Month awards, and six CHA Rookie of the Week nods. She also captured a gold medal with Team USA at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championships and tallied three goals and three assists during the tournament.
Penn State’s 2020-21 team secured its first No. 1 seed in the College Hockey America tournament, its first top-ten national ranking in botht the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, and broke several team records both offensively and defensively. Seven of his players on the 2020-21 squad received All-CHA honors, also a program record. Under Kampersal’s direction, two Nittany Lion freshmen broke through as a pair of the nation’s top performers.
Kiara Zanon became the first Patty Kazmaier finalist in team history and was named the WHCA National Rookie of the Year while teammate Josie Bothun was chosen as the team’s first national goalie of the year finalist while also being named the USCHO.com National Rookie of the Year. These two players in addition to several other key contributors elevated their individual play and bought in to an unselfish team culture that led to the Nittany Lions’ title season.
Kampersal’s team has showcased defensive excellence since his arrival, highlighted in the 2019-20 season by seven total shutout victories, a single-season program high. Penn State’s increased competitiveness has resulted in marquee program victories of late, including a win over fifth-ranked Colgate, 4-2, in 2018-19, the highest-ranked win in program history. Kampersal’s arrival impacted Penn state immediately on the ice in his first season in 2017-18, when Penn State allowed a CHA-best 1.92 goals per game, an improvement of more than a goal per game from the previous season.
In addition to his on-ice guidance, Kampersal has built and sustained a program culture of excellence both in the classroom and in the community. Since Kampersal’s arrival in Hockey Valley, Penn State women’s hockey recorded back-to-back perfect academic progress rates according to the latest NCAA APR reports, which measures eligibility, retention and graduation of the program’s student-athletes. The Nittany Lions have also had 66 All-CHA Academic team honorees and 61 Academic All-Big Ten winners during his tenure.
The 2018-19 team captain Kelsey Crow was the recipient of Penn State’s prestigious Eric A. Walker Award, an award given to a graduating Penn State senior who has best represented the university through extracurricular activities and community service.
Kampersal was named Penn State head coach on June 1, 2017. The head coach of the Princeton Tigers for 21 seasons, Kampersal garnered ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year honors three times and Ivy League Coach of the Year accolades twice.
He guided the Tigers to two Ivy League Championships (2005-06 & 2015-16) and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2005-06 & 2015-16).Kampersal’s student-athletes earned 68 All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey honors, 54 All-Ivy League selections, five Patty Kazmaier Award nominees, and two American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-America plaudits. During his final two seasons at Princeton, Kampersal guided the Tigers to a 42-19-5 cumulative record that included the 2016 Ivy League Championship and an NCAA Tournament at-large berth.
The 2016-17 campaign saw Princeton compile an overall record of 20-10-3, falling to eventual national champion Clarkson in the ECAC Tournament semifinals. During the season, the Tigers recorded seven wins over ranked teams, had a Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist, the USCHO.com National Rookie of the Year, six All-Ivy League members, and four All-ECAC members, including the Goalie and Rookie of the Year. Princeton was ranked No. 9 in the final 2016-17 USCHO.com poll.
In 2015-16, Kampersal directed Princeton to its winningest season in program history to date. The Tigers compiled a 22-9-2 record, won the Ivy League title, had an NCAA Tournament bid and Kampersal earned Ivy League and ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year honors.
Kampersal’s experience as a coach with USA Hockey includes guiding the USA Women’s Hockey Under-18 Team to silver medals at the 2013 and 2014 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Women’s U18 Championships. He also served on the coaching staff of the USA Women’s Select Festival from 2004-06.
A 1992 Princeton graduate with a degree in psychology, Kampersal served as the men’s hockey team’s captain as a senior. An All-Ivy League and All-ECAC selection, Kampersal was awarded the 1941 Championship Trophy, given to the Princeton player who best represents the winning spirit of the 1941 championship team.
From Beverly, Massachusetts, Kampersal played high school hockey at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2009.
A 10th-round selection of the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders in the 1988 entry draft, Kampersal played for the ECHL’s Richmond Renegades and the AHL’s Capital District Islanders.
Kampersal and his wife, Eileen, have a daughter, Keira, and a son, Jack.