No. 3 Penn State women’s hockey (30-5, 23-2 AHA) defeated Syracuse (15-17-4, 10-12-3 AHA) 7-0 at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday evening to take the first game of the AHA Tournament Semifinals.

The top-seeded Nittany Lions were led by the efforts of Olympians Nicole Hall, Matilde Fantin, and Tessa Janecke, with all three netting a goal in their first game back from the Winter Olympics. Janecke scored a hat trick after earning a gold medal with Team USA.

How It Happened

Syracuse won the opening draw to start the game. The contest’s first penalty came just under 5 minutes in, when Grace Tullock was sent to the box for interference while trying to prevent a breakaway by the Orange.

The Nittany Lions killed the penalty with minimal, not allowing even a shot on net. Penn State had a couple of looks shortly after, but Syracuse goalie Ava Drabyk turned away both Janecke and Kendall Butze from the slot.

After a defensive zone faceoff win, Syracuse looked poised to open the scoring with a tap-in from the crease from Jackson Kindler, but Katie DeSa came up huge with a sliding blocker save to keep the game goalless.

She would make another big save a couple of minutes later, stopping Stella Costabile’s shot from the high slot off an odd-man break from the Orange. Shortly after, Janecke made the game 1-0 with a one-time rocket off a feed from Abby Stonehouse.

Welcome home Tessa #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/LDMi139zP3

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 27, 2026

Just seconds later, Matilde Fantin doubled the Nittany Lions’ lead, beating Drabyk’s glove after forcing a turnover in the neutral zone.

Defense Offense

Mati does it herself to double the lead!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/NnL2fJOOAq

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 27, 2026

Despite a couple more solid chances, Penn State would come up short for the rest of the period and go into the first intermission up 2-0.

Janecke was called for a delay of the game in the opening minute of the middle frame, sending the Nittany Lions on the penalty kill. Despite registering a few shots, Syracuse came up short on the power play for the second time to keep the Penn State lead at two.

Just through the mid-way point of the game, Maddy Christian had a good look from the crease but sailed it over the net. A couple of minutes later, Mya Vaslet scored Penn State’s third goal, beating Drabyk in the blue paint.

Nice lil move out front from Mya to extend the lead #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/PsU3HaKQkh

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 28, 2026

With just over seven minutes left to play in the second, the Nittany Lions got their first power play opportunity after a cross-checking call on Syracuse. The Orange blocked shots and managed to kill off the penalty.

Taylor Lum tallied a couple of shots out front, but Drabyk made a sprawling save and covered the puck before the Nittany Lions could poke it home.

Penn State had another power play chance late in the second via a boarding penalty by Syracuse. Janecke made the Orange pay quickly, netting her second goal of the game on a breakaway less than a minute into the penalty.

Tessa in a one-on-one…enough said #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/HxBL1swr0n

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 28, 2026

With just over a minute left to play in the period, Christian was called for charging, while Drabyk received a five-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head on a play in the Syracuse net. Nothing came of the four-on-four before the end of the period.

Just twenty seconds into the final period, Taya McDonald was called for body checking to give Syracuse a four-on-three advantage for a little under a minute. Christian came out of the box before the Orange could get much zone time to get it back to even strength.

After McDonald’s time was served, Penn State made the most out of a shortened power play, with Janecke securing a hat trick with a backdoor tap-in. She beat Bella Gould, who filled in for Drabyk after her game misconduct.

Hat trick in her first game back? Just Tessa doing Tessa things #WeAre #HockeyValey pic.twitter.com/ZZBngezdmh

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 28, 2026

A great defensive effort by Fantin forced a turnover in the offensive zone by Syracuse and led to a one-timer goal by Nicole Hall.

That Olympian connection #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/WuLLym3rQG

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 28, 2026

Stonehouse extended the Nittany Lion lead to seven, skating around the Orange defense and going five-hole for her second point of the night.

Abby goes solo to make it 7-0 #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/1XRvqb6QOC

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) February 28, 2026

Despite a penalty late, 7-0 would remain the final score as Penn State took game one of the semifinal series.

Takeaways

• All three Olympians shone in their first game back, with each of Nicole Hall, Matilde Fantin, and Tessa Janecke scoring after representing their countries in the Winter Olympics.
• The Nittany Lions put on a clinic of offense, having 10 skaters with points, as they outshot Syracuse 36-17.
• Katie DeSa continued her strong senior season, registering her 11th shutout of the season.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will look to finish the job and advance to the tournament finals with a second win over Syracuse on Saturday, February 28. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena, and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.