It all leads up to Championship Saturday.
After a sweep over Syracuse in the AHA conference tournament semifinals, No. 3 Penn State women’s hockey now stares down Mercyhurst in a winner-take-all matchup for the AHA championship this weekend.
The championship is a rematch of last year’s, in which the Nittany Lions beat the Lakers 4-1 to take their third consecutive AHA conference title. The rivalry is enhanced by Mercyhurst giving Penn State one of only two conference losses on the season.
Despite anticipation for the game, Nittany Lions head coach Jeff Kampersal is concerned with getting his players back in the swing of things, particularly with players Matilde Fantin, Nicole Hall, and Tessa Janecke all recently returning to the team after participating in the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
“It’s not like starting over, but it’s starting fresh, and we’ve got to get used to each other again,” Kampersal explained.
While just getting back to the team last Tuesday, captain and newly minted gold medalist Janecke shone in her first games back from Milan, scoring four goals in the two-contest series. Her linemates benefited greatly from her return, with the first line of Janecke, Katelyn Roberts, and Abby Stonehouse combining for eight points against the Orange.
All three forwards have been great this season, and the chemistry between them has played a major part in the Nittany Lions’ success so far. Getting back on the same page early in the playoffs was critical for the team, and Janecke has come back better than ever to propel Penn State back to the conference title game.
“It’s a lot easier to score at this level,” Janecke said. “To take what you’ve learned there and just apply it here, it becomes a lot easier to find ways to score.”
With the primary goal scorer in Janecke away, other members of the first line had to step up to maintain production. Now that she’s returned to the lineup, Stonehouse and Roberts are more poised to perform as they get deeper into the postseason.
“We feel more confident in our own personal abilities,” Roberts noted. “I feel like our line confidence is really high right now, and it’s showing.”
Penn State has the pleasure of hosting Mercyhurst, with Saturday marking the third week in a row the Nittany Lions have played a series at Pegula Ice Arena, and the players and coaches are reaping the benefits.
“It’s nice,” Stonehouse proclaimed. “We like playing here, so I think it helps a lot.”
The Nittany Lions will use home ice to their advantage on Saturday, searching for Penn State’s fourth consecutive conference tournament title.
“We have it really good here, so we prefer to stay at home and play in front of Hockey Valley,” Kampersal remarked.
As the team gears towards a potential fourth title in as many years, the seniors on the team have started to reflect on their time at Penn State as it starts to come to a close.
“We came in, freshman summer with this notion that the program was almost there to be a top program, and we’ve definitely taken it to a new level,” Roberts stated. “I’m very proud, but I think that there’s still so much left that I want to do here.”
Penn State will host second-seeded Mercyhurst in the AHA championship game with puck drop at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 7th, at Pegula Ice Arena. A broadcast location has yet to be announced.
Brian is a freshman from State College, PA, majoring in journalism and minoring in sports studies. He’s a fan of Pittsburgh sports and likes listening to music and lifting in his free time. You can contact him @kriley_brian on X or [email protected]