Penn State women’s hockey opened its season with a bang, shutting out St. Lawrence 3-0 behind a dominant first-period performance. For goaltender Katie DeSa, the win carried extra weight after the Saints ended the Nittany Lions’ season in the NCAA Tournament last March.

“They’ve been marked on our calendar since last year,” DeSa said. “We weren’t going to forget that.”

Head coach Jeff Kampersal echoed the same message, saying the win set an important tone. “It is nice to play a program and get a good, solid W,” Kampersal said. “PSU sports, there’s high expectations.”

That level of expectation showed in the way Penn State pounced on St. Lawrence early, notching three first-period goals before clamping down defensively. DeSa stood tall in net to record the shutout, but even after, the Nittany Lions were searching for more.

“We scored three in the first period, which is great, but we all said we’re not satisfied with that,” DeSa noted.

Kampersal praised the team’s competitiveness while also pointing out areas needing improvement.

“I love the grit that we had, but we took a few penalties that we shouldn’t have had,” he said. “The power play looked good, and PK was aggressive and did a good job as well.”

The balance of grit and expectation that coach Kampersal mentioned has become the standard for Penn State hockey. After a record-breaking 2024-25 season, the Nittany Lions aren’t shying away from the pressure that comes with chasing the next step. Asked about the ceiling for Penn State this season, DeSa pointed straight to the brightest lights of college hockey.

“End the year in March, Frozen Four. I think that’s a very achievable goal for us this year with the team we have,” DeSa said. “With our defense and our forwards, we’re definitely super deep… So yeah, be prepared to see us here in March.”

Thursday night’s win only offered a glimpse of what this Penn State team can be. There’s still plenty to clean up, but the Nittany Lions have dug their foundation for another record-breaking season.

Ryan is a sophomore from Yonkers, New York. He also covers New York Rangers hockey for Forever Blueshirts and runs an account @nyrryan, which has become the go-to spot for Rangers fans on TikTok. A diehard fan of the Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Boston Celtics (weird combo, he knows), you can reach him at [email protected].