Penn State women’s hockey dominated the Atlantic Hockey America preseason honors after being ranked No. 1 in the AHA preseason polls.

For the third year in a row, Tessa Janecke was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year.

She finished last season with 24 goals and 29 assists, becoming the program’s all-time leader in points. Janecke was a top-ten finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award for the top player in Division I women’s ice hockey.

Four players were also named to the Preseason All-AHA team, with Katie DeSa, Katelyn Roberts, Kendall Butze, and Janecke earning the honor.

DeSa was awarded the AHA Goaltender of the Year and a spot on the All-AHA First Team for the 2024-25 season. She finished the season with a 27-6-0 record and 629 saves. The 27 wins were the most in a single season in program history.

Roberts appeared in every game for the Nittany Lions and earned a place on the All-AHA First Team last season. She trailed Janecke in points after scoring 11 goals and 24 assists.

Butze earned the AHA Best Defenseman award last season. She was also selected to the All-AHA First Team. She was the highest scoring defender of the season with a total of 27 points.

The Nittany Lions kick off their season at Pegula Ice Arena against St. Lawrence on September 25.

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Alex is a second-year Journalism major from Sarasota, Florida. Alex is a huge Tampa Bay sports fan and even has a cat named Kucherov. You can contact her at [email protected].