Surrounded by her teammates, sophomore Nicole Hall received the call of a lifetime with an invitation to the 2026 Olympic Games.
“One of the teammates filmed her getting the call from the Swedish officials, and it was just pure joy on her face and her reaction,” coach Jeff Kampersal told The Daily Collegian. “It’s a pretty genuine response, and I’m proud of her for putting in the time.”
While only a sophomore at Penn State, Hall experienced international play well before she takes on the Olympics in February.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native competed on a pair of teams in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League before representing her country on the 18U Swedish team at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships.
When Hall arrived at Penn State in 2024, she already had six years of international and semi-professional experience.
“She’s such a great teammate,” sophomore Abby Stonehouse said. “She’s super fun to be around, helps her teammates out, and then on the ice, is obviously a great player, high hockey IQ and makes her line mates better.”
Right off the bat, Hall took the ice for the Nittany Lions and her presence had a positive influence on her team.
While playing in all 38 games in her freshman year, Hall recorded seven goals and four assists. Just two weeks into the season, the forward recorded her first and second career goals in back-to-back games against Union and Dartmouth.
Forward Nicole Hall (21) skates with the puck during the Penn State women’s hockey game against Cornell in Pegula Ice Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Bears 1-0.
Matt Cropp
“All the practices, the games, (work) off the ice, on the ice has helped me,” Hall said. “The coaches are willing to help all day, and my teammates are making me a better hockey player every day.”
As a freshman, Hall stood up and helped her teammates down the stretch of a successful season as the Nittany Lions earned a spot in the AHA semifinals against RIT.
“I watched her in the world championships when she was the captain of the U18 Sweden team,” Kampersal said. “She made it with those little things like winning plays, having good habits and being a good teammate. We knew she had leadership capabilities.”
Hall’s success was on display throughout the postseason as she recorded two blocks and a faceoff victory as she wrapped up her first year as an AHA champion.
Entering her second season, Hall’s efforts were even more on display as she increased her work ethic and put in the work ahead of Year 2.
“(The biggest thing I learned from her) is how hard she works,” Stonehouse said. “She never takes a shift off. She’s always in there, so she just taught me to always keep my feet moving and work hard.”
Just as the Nittany Lions opened 2025 with success — earning 16 straight wins — Hall found her own success with goals in each of the first two games of the year.
“Nicole and her teammates kind of run the show in terms of how they want their season to go,” Kampersal said. “She just brings that lunch pail, work hard mentality to Penn State.”
After 16 straight wins, Penn State suffered its first loss of the season against Northeastern on Nov. 28. With the help of Hall’s mentality, the blue and white came back and went on an 8-3 stretch since then.
“Sometimes you can get frustrated a bit, but she just keeps up the positive energy,” graduate student Mya Vaslet said. “She just keeps saying, ‘Just trust the process, it’ll come,’ and I think that’s really important too.”
Forward Nicole Hall (21) skates toward the puck during the Penn State women’s hockey game against Lindenwood in Pegula Ice Arena on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions beat the Lions 6-1.
Samantha DiCamillo
On Jan. 12, Hall received a phone call from the Swedish national team, giving her the news that she would be competing in her first Olympic Games.
“We were all really excited,” Vaslet said. “I know she was waiting to get the call, but there wasn’t a doubt in any of our minds she wasn’t going to get it.”
While Hall has played for the senior women’s team in 15 contests, February will mark her first time suiting up for the Olympic Games, a memory she’ll never forget.
“I started crying right away when they told me I have a ticket for the Olympics,” Hall said. “I was speechless, I didn’t know what to say.”
In addition to Hall taking the big stage, her teammates Matilde Fantin, Tessa Janecke and former Nittany Lion Jessica Adolfsson will all compete in the Olympics as well.
“No matter (what position) you play at Penn State hockey, we get better day in and day out,” Vaslet said. “It shows with people going to the Olympics.”
After competing in their first preliminary contest on Feb. 5 against Germany, Hall and Team Sweden will face off against Fantin and Team Italy on Feb. 7.
“Let the best woman win,” Hall said.
MORE HOCKEY CONTENT
Matilde Fantin has spent the last few months traveling from Penn State to Italy’s Olympic ca…
If you’re interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click here.