Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544053
A P R I L 2 0 2 6 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M OLYMPIC SPORTS P enn State knew what it was up against when it drew Wisconsin in the semifinal round of the Wom- en's Frozen Four. The Badgers are the most success- ful program in the history of collegiate women's ice hockey. Prior to the 2025-26 season, they had been to 16 Frozen Fours and won eight national championships. Their coach, Mark Johnson, was a player on the famed "Miracle on Ice" 1980 U.S. Olympic team, and he won his 700th game at Wisconsin when the Badgers beat Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals of this year's NCAA Tournament. The Nittany Lions, by contrast, were making their first Frozen Four appear- ance. Their program didn't even exist when Wisconsin began racking up na- tional championships, but it has been steadily rising in recent years, and its ascent was turbocharged by the arrival of a strong recruiting class in 2022 that included future Olympian Tessa Janecke. With this year's Frozen Four taking place at Pegula Ice Arena March 20- 22, the third-ranked Nittany Lions had home-ice advantage. In the end, though, it wasn't enough to vault them past the defending national champions. After Penn State tied the score with a third-period rally, the second-ranked Badgers won it in overtime, 4-3, on a power-play goal by Kristen Simms less than two minutes into the extra period. "It was a heart-and-soul effort," PSU coach Jeff Kampersal said. "There's not necessarily any moral victory, but I do think they established standards here at Penn State and put the program on the map. … Hopefully, all the values and standards that they instilled, the young group will carry along now." Penn State had never won an NCAA Tournament game before this year, but it shut out Connecticut, 3-0, in the quarterfinals to set up its clash with Wisconsin. While the Lions were hardly in a just-happy-to-be-here mood in the week leading up to the game, the sudden surge of enthusiasm and attention was new to everyone. "Everything leading up to this game was a first for us," senior forward Katelyn Roberts said. "There was so much excite- ment around it. You would kind of teeter back and forth between practice and doing media, and there was all the hype around it from school. Just being in the moment [was important], but then realizing that once the puck drops, it's just a game that we've all been playing for so long." Janecke, a senior forward who four weeks earlier had won gold as part of Team USA's victory at the Winter Olym- pics, scored twice for Penn State. Her first goal came on a power play with just 1:52 gone in the first period. Sophomore forward Abby Stonehouse also scored a power play goal for PSU, but the Lions trailed, 3-2, going into the third period. Then Janecke struck again. She beat Wisconsin goalie Ava McNaughton on a breakaway, tying the score with 4:49 remaining. Johnson wasn't surprised by the Nittany Lions' rally. "When you're trying to end some- body's season, it's not easy," he said. "I give them a lot of credit, because they played very, very well in the third pe- riod. They probably could have scored two or three more goals." Janecke's equalizer turned out to be the last goal of her decorated college career. She finished with 201 points, the most ever by a PSU ice hockey player, female or male. The day after the game, which ended the winningest season in program history at 33-6, she was named a first-team CCM/AHCA All-American. Janecke, Roberts and the rest of Penn State's seniors played their final game in front of 5,176 fans, the most ever for a Women's Frozen Four contest. In the media room after the game, Janecke said she hoped that during her four years in State College, she and her classmates elevated the program to the point where big crowds will turn out with regularity. "I just want that to continue. I want that for this team, for this group, for the program going forward," she said. "People should be excited about Penn State women's hockey." ■ 'A HEART-AND-SOUL EFFORT' PSU's historic season ends in the semifinals of the Women's Frozen Four M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M Senior forward Tessa Janecke scored twice for Penn State in what would turn out to be her final game with the Lions. PHOTO BY BRYCE MOSMEN/PENN STATE ATHLETICS