No. 4 Penn State women’s hockey (22-4, 15-1 AHA) defeated No. 12 Cornell (12-8-2, 8-5-1 ECACH) 5-1 on Tuesday night at Lynah Rink.

The Nittany Lions took care of business in a rare Tuesday night game, behind a strong night from Katie DeSa in her first start since January 2.

How It Happened

The Nittany Lions won the opening draw, setting the tone. Cornell would earn the game’s first power play just 3:41 into the game after Leah Stecker was called for cross-checking. Cornell fired four shots during the man advantage, but DeSa stood tall in the net to keep the game scoreless.

Midway through the period, Katelyn Roberts stripped the puck from a Cornell skater near the blue line, and the puck found Tessa Janecke’s stick, where she buried it top-shelf to give the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead at 10:44.

Robby forces the turnover and Tessa picks her corner#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/XZDDcLdPcx

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 20, 2026

Cornell responded with a push late in the frame, but DeSa stayed strong, and Penn State carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Cornell opened the second period with pressure, and 1:27 into the frame, Shannon Pearson beat DeSa to tie the game at 1-1. After the equalizer, Cornell kept the pressure on and fired multiple shots towards DeSa, including chances from Piper Grober and Alyssa Regalado, but DeSa turned them away.

12 minutes into the middle period, Maddy Christian threw a shot on net that deflected off Grace Outwater and into the net. The goal gave the Nittany Lions the lead back at 2-1.

The don't ask how#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/eRoZze8AWe

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 21, 2026

The Big Red looked for another answer, but Penn State settled in defensively, and DeSa continued to come up with saves. Avi Adam was called for slashing at 15:11, giving Penn State a power play, but the Nittany Lions couldn’t extend the lead before the end of the second period.

Penn State came out hot to start the third. Just 2:20 into the period, Roberts dumped the puck into the corner for Janecke, who fed Abby Stonehouse. She found the back of the net to give Penn State a two-goal cushion at 3-1.

After Penn State killed off a penalty, Sophie Morrow added to the Penn State lead after she sniped a shot past Annalies Bregman to make it 4-1 with just under six minutes to play.

Cornell earned a late power play opportunity but was unable to capitalize. The Big Red then pulled their goalie, but with 1:51 to play, Christian sealed the game with an empty netter, making it 5-1 before the buzzer sounded.

Takeaways

• Penn State scored five goals on 30 shots and made Cornell pay for mistakes in transition while also dominating possession of the game.
• Janecke finished with a goal and an assist, while Roberts recorded two assists and was involved in multiple scoring plays.
• DeSa made 25 of 26 saves and looked phenomenal in net, especially given it was her first game back since January 2.

What’s Next?

The Nitany Lions will be back at Pegula Ice Arena to host Delaware at 6 p.m. on Friday, January 23. Streaming information for the game is still TBD.