No. 6 Penn State Women’s Hockey Dominates Syracuse 7-0
No. 6 Penn State women’s hockey (13-0, 9-0 AHA) took care of business against Syracuse (6-7, 4-2-1 AHA) on Friday afternoon at Pegula Ice Arena, winning the game 7-0 in a brilliant offensive performance.
Goaltender Katie DeSa made fourteen saves in another shutout, her sixth of the season. Tessa Janecke, Katelyn Roberts, Matilde Fantin, Danica Maynard, and Maddy Christian all had multi-point games in a commanding win over the Orange.
How It Happened
The game opened up with a quick goal for the Nittany Lions after forward Janecke threw the puck on net, and Roberts picked up the rebound, putting the Nittany Lions up 1-0.
A cross-check from Syracuse’s Sami Gendron gave Penn State its first power play of the game with 17 minutes left in the first period. Penn State pressed hard, and Janecke fired a shot from the left side that initially looked like it had been stopped by Syracuse’s goaltender, Ava Drabyk.
The goal was immediately waved off, and play went on. However, after a stoppage, a video review determined the puck had crossed the line and the goal counted. It gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead over the Orange.
An interference penalty from Grace Outwater with 15 minutes remaining in the first period gave the Orange their first power play chance of the game. Still, Penn State was strong on the kill, with a couple of big stops from DeSa keeping Penn State in the lead.
Syracuse was handed a bench minor for too many men on the ice with nine minutes left, their second penalty of the night. A glove save from Drabyk robbed Janecke on the one-timer attempt, but the Nittany Lions followed up with a third goal from Maynard, who sniped a wrister top shelf, beating Drabyk on the blocker side.
Dani picks her spot for our third of the first period
— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) November 14, 2025#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/T5b8o4DneQ
Syracuse increased their pressure on Penn State in the dying minutes of the first, but the Nittany Lions’ defense held off their attack. A few major shot blocks from Penn State defenseman stopped Syracuse from getting on the board.
The period ended with Syracuse leading the Nittany Lions in shots, nine to eight. Penn State still controlled its lead, with an impressive 3-0 lead over the Orange after the first period.
The second period began with a few shots from Penn State as it pressured the Orange in their own zone. With 16 minutes remaining in the second, the Nittany Lions took a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Quickly into the Orange’s power play opportunity, Syracuse took a penalty for interference, and the game headed to four on four for the remainder of the bench minor on the Nittany Lions. Penn State had a ten-second power play, but nothing came out of it for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State kept pushing, with 12 shots in the period with four minutes remaining, but Syracuse fought off their scoring chances. Syracuse’s best opportunity of the period came with three minutes and 56 seconds remaining, with a wrister from Rylee McLeod from the left circle, but DeSa came up big with a strong stop.
The second period ended with neither team scoring, and Penn State leading 23 to 11 on the shot clock. The Nittany Lions dominated the period, although they weren’t able to add any goals to their 3-0 lead over Syracuse.
The Nittany Lions began the third period with an opportunity from Outwater, but her shot sailed wide. However, Penn State quickly made it 4-0 off a Leah Stecker goal one minute and 51 seconds into the third period.
Roberts almost made it 5-0 shortly after, but her shot rang off the crossbar. A costly turnover from a Syracuse defenseman put Abby Stonehause in alone on Drabyk, and Stonehause’s shot trickled through her pads, making it 5-0 Nittany Lions.
The third too-many-men call of the afternoon was called on Syracuse, and Penn State headed to the power play with 14 minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the game. Syracuse survived the two-minute bench minor call, and Penn State was not able to capitalize on its fourth power play of the game. Penn State continued pressing, pinning Syracuse in its defensive zone for long periods of time.
DeSa made a massive save with her left pad to stop a partial breakaway chance from Syracuse’s Stella Costabile. DeSa’s impressive stop led to a two-on-one opportunity for the Nittany Lions. Outwater let go of a wrister that was stopped by Drabyk, but was able to pick up her own rebound, putting the Nittany Lions up by six with eight minutes and fifteen seconds remaining.
Defense
— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) November 14, 2025Offense#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/cobOClhMa5
Drabyk was replaced in the net after the sixth goal, and goaltender MaĂŻka Paquin took her spot. Penn State received another power play opportunity two minutes later. Another big rebound in front gave Fantin a perfect setup, and she took advantage. Fantin scored the seventh goal of the game and put the Nittany Lions up 7-0.
Another penalty was assessed to the Orange, but the Nittany Lions failed to capitalize. A few seconds after the Penn State man advantage, Stecker took a minor for interference. Syracuse quickly took another penalty into the power play, and the teams went to four on four for the final thirty seconds. The game ended with the Nittany Lions overtaking the Orange 7-0, in a dominant performance that resulted in yet another shutout for DeSa.
Takeaways
- Penn State’s offense showed up dominantly, with Janecke picking up two points and adding her ninth goal of the season.
- DeSa added her sixth shutout of the season in the 7-0 win against Syracuse
- Penn State dominated with shots on net, with 43 shots to Syracuse’s 14.
What’s Next
Penn State women’s hockey faces off against Syracuse tomorrow afternoon in the second game of the home series at 1 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.
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