The book has closed on yet another regular season for Penn State women’s hockey as the Nittany Lions will aim to ride momentum from their final series of the regular season into the postseason. Penn State finished with an overall record of 19-12-3 and a stellar 14-4-2 in CHA conference play.

After finishing the season atop its conference, Penn State clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will have home-ice advantage throughout. The importance of playing the games at Pegula Ice Arena cannot be overstated as head coach Jeff Kampersal has continued to praise the Penn State faithful and Roar Zone throughout the season.

Standing in the Nittany Lions’ way is RIT, which snuck into the tournament as the No. 4 seed after securing one point in the final game of the regular season in its overtime tie with Penn State. RIT has given Penn State problems in its four matchups during the regular season, and the Nittany Lions have only secured two wins in four games.

In its first matchup in Rochester, Penn State left with a 4-0 win in game one and a 3-2 overtime loss in game two. To close out the regular season, the Nittany Lions secured a 5-3 win in game one and an aforementioned 1-1 overtime tie in game two.

RIT is led by goaltender Sophia Bellina, who led the CHA with a .935 save percentage. Bellina also led the conference with a 2.03 goals-against average. She stymied the Nittany Lions in her final start of the season, posting 42 saves while facing 43 shots on goal. The leading scorer for a pedestrian RIT offense is Kylie Aquaro, who posted 26 points in 32 games.

An area the Nittany Lions must exploit is RIT’s inability to score goals at the same clip as Penn State. Penn State averages a whopping 1.05 more goals per game than RIT and should the Nittany Lions be successful in solving Bellina, they will find themselves in position to advance to the championship game.

Led by star forward Tessa Janecke, Penn State boasts a high-flying offense that scored 114 goals in the regular season, good for first in its conference. Janecke built on her outstanding freshman season by finishing atop the CHA in points with 52 in just 34 games. Additionally, the Nittany Lions have two more skaters who placed in the top 10 for points during the regular season, featuring Brianna Brooks clocking in at No. 4 with 31 points and Katelyn Roberts finishing at No. 9 with 27.

One area the Nittany Lions must clean up is the amount of penalties taken by the team during the regular season. Penn State was third in the CHA with 297 accumulated penalty minutes, and as games become faster and more physical, the Nittany Lions must be conscious of taking penalties and handing RIT any unnecessary momentum.

“When we get down to the strategy, we need to stay out of the box and give ourselves the best chance to win,” Kampersal said.

Perhaps the biggest question mark for Penn State is the health of goalie Josie Bothun, who has been sidelined due to injury since January 19. Before her injury, Bothun was amid an outstanding senior season, posting a .911 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average. Backup Katie DeSa has played admirably in the absence of Bothun, posting a 1.76 goals against average and two shutouts. DeSa has yet to appear in a postseason game, however, and the return of Bothun would add experience to this Penn State squad.

The Nittany Lions have positioned themselves well to move past RIT and into the championship with the No. 1 seed of the tournament and victories in 2022 and 2023.

On paper, this series is Penn State’s to lose, and the group must dictate the pace of play and be wary of letting RIT play its style of hockey, a slower game with fewer goals. The Nittany Lions have found success by playing fast and converting opportunities off of the rush. Should Penn State continue this style, fans will leave Pegula Ice Arena happy knowing the Nittany Lions will play for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.