Coming off a 31-6-1 record and an AHA Championship, No. 8 Penn State women’s hockey kicks off its 2025-26 season on Thursday, September 25.

The Nittany Lions’ eight-place rank in the USCHO Preseason Poll marks the highest preseason ranking in program history. Expectations are sky-high for this year’s squad, which returns a loaded roster headlined by reigning AHA Player of the Year Tessa Janecke and Goaltender of the Year Katie DeSa.

With four players named to the Preseason All-AHA Team, Penn State enters the season as a legitimate national contender.

Schedule

Penn State opens its season with no warmup games, jumping straight into a ranked showdown this Thursday and Friday against No. 9 St. Lawrence at Pegula Ice Arena.

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱-𝟮𝟲 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗢𝗣

We’ll see you soon, Nittany Nation! @TheRoarZone | @GoPSUsports

: https://t.co/9BWonui9z5#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/Hc6hmA4FFe

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) June 4, 2025

The difficult schedule continues the following weekend with back-to-back road series at Vermont on October 3 and 4 and Delaware on October 10 and 11, where the Blue Hens will make their Division I debut against Penn State under former Nittany Lion associate head coach Allison Coomey.

Conference play begins when the Nittany Lions return home to host Mercyhurst on October 17 and 18 and Lindenwood on October 24 and 25, before hitting the road for a tough matchup in Robert Morris on October 31 and November 1.

After nearly two full weeks off, Penn State welcomes Syracuse on November 14 and 15 and then heads north for a series against RIT on November 21 and 22. It only ramps up from there, as Penn State travels to No. 15 Northeastern on November 28 and 29 before hosting No. 4 Cornell on December 30 in perhaps the teams’ biggest non-conference matchup.

Just three days later, the Nittany Lions will play a two-game series on the road against No. 2 Ohio State on January 2 and 3. The seven-game road swing continues with visits to Mercyhurst on January 9 and 10, Syracuse on January 16 and 17, and a return to Cornell on January 20.

Penn State then heads back to State College to host Delaware on January 23 and 24 before one of the program’s biggest spotlight moments: an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium against Robert Morris on January 31, the first women’s hockey game ever played at Beaver Stadium.

The regular season wraps up with a road trip to Lindenwood on February 6 and 7 and a final homestead against RIT on February 13 and 14.

Postseason play begins with the AHA quarterfinals on February 20, while the 2026 Frozen Four will be hosted at Pegula Arena from March 20 to 22, giving the Nittany Lions a chance to chase a national championship on home ice.

Roster

Penn State once again turns to its veteran core, led by captain Janecke, who enters her senior season as the program’s all-time points leader with 153. Janecke, a two-time Patty Kazmaier Award Finalist, racked up 24 goals and 29 assists last year and has led the Nittany Lions to three straight AHA titles and NCAA Tournament appearances.

Seniors Katelyn Roberts, Kendall Butze, Maddy Christian, Leah Stecker, and Mya Vaslet will all serve as alternates this year. Roberts tallied a career-best 35 points last season, Butze was named AHA Best Defenseman after a 27-point campaign, Christian broke out with 21 goals, and Stecker logged a plus-24 rating along with 18 points. Vaslet returns for a fifth season after missing most of 2024-25 due to injury.

Between the pipes, DeSa gives Penn State one of the best puck-stoppers in the nation. The reigning AHA Goaltender of the Year set a program record with 27 wins last season and will be the foundation of the Nittany Lions’ defensive efforts this season.

Introducing the 2025-2026 Captains

©Tessa Janecke
Mya Vaslet
Kendall Butze
Leah Stecker
Katelyn Roberts
Maddy Christian #WeAre

: https://t.co/UEbVI4Ub5d pic.twitter.com/FQKPhukqeA

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) September 10, 2025

The Nittany Lions also welcome eight newcomers this season. Among them are standout forwards Mikah Keller, the reigning JWHL Liz Turgeon Player of the Year, who racked up 82 points last season with the North American Hockey Academy, and Matilda Fantin, an Italian national team forward who led the 2025 IIHF Division I B World Championship in scoring with five goals and five assists.

On defense, Danica Maynard arrives as one of the best blue-line prospects in North America after setting the CSSHL assist record and winning gold with Team Canada at the U18 Worlds.

Goaltenders Madison Campbell and Lauren Hernick will sit behind DeSa, while Sophie Morrow and Shelby Shane add size on defense. Graduate transfer Taylor Lum, who logged 57 points at St. Lawrence and represented China at the 2022 Olympics, brings immediate veteran leadership to the forward group.

Prediction

Penn State faces one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and it will be constantly tested throughout the season. Still, this group enters the 2025-26 season with its best shot at a national championship yet.

Coming in at No. 1 in the AHA preseason poll and No. 8 nationally, the Nittany Lions have experience, talent, and depth to compete with the best of the best. At the bare minimum, this team should expect to advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament.