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Penn State Will Have Home-Ice Advantage at the Women's Frozen Four

The Nittany Lions qualified for their first Frozen Four, which they will host at Pegula Ice Arena.
Mark Wogenrich|
A general view of Penn State's Pegula Ice Arena prior to a preseason hockey game between the Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres.
A general view of Penn State's Pegula Ice Arena prior to a preseason hockey game between the Minnesota Wild and the Buffalo Sabres. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The Penn State women's hockey team made history Saturday and will have a chance to make more on home ice next week. The Nittany Lions defeated UConn 3-0 in an NCAA Regional Final to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.

The timing's perfect. Penn State also will host the NCAA Women's Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena. The third-seeded Nittany Lions will face second-seeded Wisconsin as part of a semfinal doubleheader March 20. The national championship game is scheduled for March 22 at Pegula Ice Arena, which is hosting the Frozen Four for the second time.

And Penn State will continue a marvelous season with a chance to win its first NCAA title at home. The Nittany Lions won their school-record 33rd game Saturday and first in an NCAA Tournament.

Penn State (33-5) won its fourth straight Atlantic Hockey America title this season with a conference-record 22 victories. Among those was a 3-0 victory over Robert Morris in the first outdoor hockey game at Beaver Stadium. Penn State entered the NCAA Regional ranked third in the USA Hockey poll, its highest ranking in program history.

Freshman Matilde Fantin got Penn State on the board less than 2 minutes into Saturday's regional game, redirecting a long wrist shot by Nicole Hall. After a scoreless second period, Penn State took control in the third period with goals from senior Tessa Janecke and sophomore Abby Stonehouse.

Janecke took advantage of a UConn turnover to score her 24th goal of the season. Stonehouse completed the win with an empty-net goal late.

Penn State senior goaltender Katie DeSa recorded her 12th shutout of the season, making 36 saves against the Huskies. DeSa tied her single-season wins record at 27 with two games to play.

By hosting the Frozen Four, Janecke has one of the most unique opportunities in sports. She can win an Olympic gold medal and an NCAA title in the same season.

Janecke became the first Penn State athlete to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. The Nittany Lions captain was on the ice for both of Team USA's goals in its 2-1 overtime victory over Canada in the gold-medal game at the Milano Cortina Games.

Janecke recorded five assists for Team USA at the Olympics, tying for sixth among all players in the women's tournament. She had two assists in Team USA's 5-1 opening win over Czechia and assists in consecutive games against Italy, Sweden and Canada.

Janecke then returned home to win the AHA Tournament's oustanding player award, producing five points (four goals and an assist) in three games. She is the most prolific scorer in Penn State hockey history, men or women.

Janecke is Penn State's career points leader with 199 (87 goals, 112 assists). Janecke tied her own Penn State single-season record with 53 points last season. She enters the Frozen Four with 46 points, which ranks 12th nationally.

Janecke also became Penn State's first top-three finalist for the Patty

Kazmaier Memorial Award, given by USA Hockey to the nation's most outstanding player. The three-time AHA player of the year entered Saturday's game ranked sixth nationally in points per game (1.55), fourth in goals per game (0.79) and 11th in assists per game (0.76).

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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