No. 4 Penn State women’s hockey (23-4, 16-1 AHA) defeated Delaware (2-25, 1-18 AHA) 5-0 on Friday night at Pegula Ice Rink.

The Nittany Lions took care of business against their former assistant coach, Allison Commey, and her Blue Hens. Led by a strong offense, Penn State controlled the puck in the offensive zone for most of the game, which resulted in 45 shots.

Penn State head coach Jeff Kampersal earned his 500th collegiate win.

How It Happened

Delaware’s W. Abboud won the opening faceoff, though the puck spent most of its time in Penn State’s offensive zone. Tessa Janecke fired the first shot of the game a minute into play when she charged the left side of the net. Without much of an angle, Janecke sent the puck wide left. Two more Nittany Lions, Grace Outwater and M. Christian, got shots off, but neither found the net as Payne made two blocker saves.

Through the first five minutes of play, the puck spent most of its time in Penn State’s offensive zone. Keller won a faceoff at 4:02 and fired Penn State’s best shot yet off the pipe, bringing Penn State’s shot attempts to five.

Delaware finally gained control six minutes into the frame, but Penn State disarmed them, and Janecke skated the puck deepinto Delaware’s zone. Janecke bounced her puck off Payne’s leg pad, unintentionally giving Stonehouse a one-timer that was a smidge wide. Maddy Christian had Penn State’s next opportunity as she tried to tip the sizzling puck from the crease, but the Blue Hen goalie made the save and froze the puck.

Payne’s number was called early and often, as she made seven saves through just eight minutes of play. On the other side of the ice, Penn State could have pulled Campbell based on the amount of action she received.

A media timeout halfway through the frame gave the Blue Hens time to recover and come out aggressively. Despite starting in their defensive zone, Delaware broke the puck out and warmed Campbell up with their first shot, but it was behind the net.

The puck returned to its temporary home in Delaware’s zone at 13:20, and Shelby Shane slung a shot at Payne that got tipped by a Penn State stick before heading wide.

Coomey’s defense remained strong through the first period. Meera Smith, Wren Abboud, and Victoria Borg got in the way of three Penn State shots, bringing their blocked shots to eight. Through Penn State’s first eleven shots, the Blue Hens kept them off the board.

Time expired in the first frame following a last-second shot by K. Roberts that sailed wide.

Penn State’s Mya Vaslet won the faceoff to kick things off for the second period. The Blue Hen defense started strong; they had managed three clears out of their defensive zone.

It did not last long, though, as a Delaware skate accidentally intercepted a pass and placed the puck right in front of the net. Grace Outwater flung Penn State’s second goal from just in front of the crease into the right side of the net. Payne was screened from the action.

She can't stop scoring#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/CRfnEOTJdf

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 23, 2026

At 4:05, the first penalty was called. Keller was penalized for indirect contact to the head and spent two minutes in the sin bin. She was joined just over a minute later by F. Barresi, called for body checking.

Upon Keller’s release, the forward broke the puck away for a two-on-one, setting D. Maynard up for a shot, but Payne got her body in front for the save.

Penn State’s power play unit tabbed five shots in its singular minute of advantage.

Coming back to full strength at 9:04, Abboud got a head start on the Nittany Lions and skated into a one-on-one opportunity with Campbell. Penn State’s goalie was all over it, and the defense had no trouble clearing the rebound.

The Nittany Lions continued their dominance of possession in Delaware’s zone. Just over ten minutes into the frame, Penn State’s Nicole Hall fired three consecutive shots, leading to Delaware’s Suvina Heidt’s trip to the penalty box for high sticking.

Delaware’s power kill limited Penn State to three shots, though most of the power play was controlled by the Nittany Lions.

It would remain in Delaware’s territory after coming back to full strength. At 13:24, Kendall Butze wailed a shot from the blue line and found the top shelf for Penn State’s second goal of the game.

Tessa with a great keep and the Kenny gets this one through traffic! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/nArW6nmVMi

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 24, 2026

Five minutes remaining in the second frame, Maynard earned a trip to the penalty box for body checking.

Penn State’s PK unit did an excellent job, and just as Maynard re-entered the rink, she skated the puck into Delaware’s zone for a breakaway. Her shot was blocked, but Maynard recovered the rebound and dished it to Keller as she tipped it in to make it 3-0.

Relentless pressure leads to another! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/8qoBUp6HYg

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 24, 2026

It would not be long before they netted their fourth goal.

Following a Delaware clear, Penn State slid the puck up to Outwater in the offensive zone. Outwater had M. Christian on the left side, and Christian one-timed it into the upper shelf, with less than a minute left in the frame.

Stretch pass so good the cameras couldn't keep up#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/gHw1JFLkGS

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 24, 2026

Penn State won the final period-opening face-off and continued its game-long control of possession.

Action was limited in the first three minutes as the Nittany Lions took aim at Payne.

Just under 15 minutes left in Friday night’s matchup, Janecke was marked for tripping, and Delaware entered its third power play. However, Penn State managed to get a solid shot opportunity during Janecke’s visit to the penalty box.

Vaslet stole the puck away in the neutral zone and skated at Payne with no defender in sight. The puck escaped her control, and Delaware brought it back to their advantage.

The Blue Hens got a few good shots off, but Penn State’s PK unit drained the clock on Janecke’s two-minute sentence.

Not even 30 seconds after coming to full strength, Penn State would be tasked with killing another two minutes. Taylor Lum was called for tripping at 7:52 and returned at 9:52 with no damage done.

Taya MacDonald scored Penn State’s fifth goal of the night with nine minutes remaining as she sank the puck into the top left of the net from the face-off circle.

SHOOTER#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/CK0nrcYxlA

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) January 24, 2026

Despite the five-goal lead, the Nittany Lions kept the pedal to the metal. Delaware did not hold the puck in their offensive end for more than a minute, and Penn State kept peppering Payne with shots. Fittingly, time expired as Penn State skated in the offensive zone.

Takeaways

• Penn State did an excellent job maintaining possession in Delaware’s zone. The team was able to fire off 45 shots, netting five of them.
• The penalty kill unit was called upon four times in Friday’s matchup. They did not allow a goal, bringing Penn State’s PK success rate up to 91.2%
• Jeff Kampersal earned his 500th win in his collegiate coaching career against his former assistant coach. It’s his 173rd win for the blue and white.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will remain in Pegula Ice Arena for their second game of their weekend series against Delaware at 2 p.m on Saturday, January 24. There will be a ceremony honoring graduating seniors following the game. The game and ceremony will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus.