Penn State women’s hockey eyes return to NCAA Tournament

Penn State women’s hockey took down RIT 4-0 on Saturday to complete the CHA Semifinals sweep. The Nittany Lions will now host the CHA Championship game for the second consecutive season. Will Penn State make a return to the NCAA Tournament once again in 2024?

Penn State women’s hockey secures a semifinal sweep

Penn State took care of RIT 2-1 last Friday, then completed the sweep with a dominant 4-0 win on Saturday to advance back to the CHA Championship. It is just the second time that the Nittany Lions will play in the CHA title game, and they will once again be the hosts.

The win on Saturday was the 11^th for Penn State women’s hockey in the CHA Tournament. Star forward Tessa Janecke scored her 100^th point with a first-period goal on Saturday. The sophomore now is the fastest player in Penn State women’s hockey history to reach the milestone.

CHA Championship preview

Penn State currently sits with a 21-12-3 record heading into the CHA Championship game on Saturday. The Nittany Lions are No. 15 in the Pairwise Rankings, so the only path to making the 11-team NCAA Tournament field will be to win the CHA and get the automatic berth.

Mercyhurst took down Robert Morris 2-1 over the weekend. The Lakers dropped game one 5-0 before taking the next two games 5-2 and 6-1. Mercyhurst holds a 20-16-1 record and is No. 16 in the Pairwise.

The two teams faced off four times in the regular season. Penn State split the series at Mercyhurst 0-4 and 3-1 back in mid-November. The series at Pegula earlier this month featured a 4-0 and 3-2 OT Nittany Lion sweep.

“It’s definitely a grind. There is a lot of familiarity. Usually, there are adjustments from game to game, but essentially, you know what to expect,” said head coach Jeff Kampersal this week when asked about playing the Lakers for a fifth time this season.

“Mercyhurst has kind of been dominant in the CHA space for such a long time,” he added. “It’s good that we are here. We’re here to be a formidable opponent.” The Lakers have won 13 of the 21 CHA tournament titles and reached the finals in all but three seasons in the conference’s existence.

Like Penn State, Mercyhurst also won’t have an opportunity for an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the game will get the CHA automatic bid, while the loser’s season will be over. A win would send the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.

Taking the next step as a program

This will be another opportunity for Penn State to continue to take strides toward national relevance in NCAA women’s ice hockey. Jeff Kampersal is aware of the implications of the game on the future of the program.

“For us, strictly Penn State speaking, to get into the [NCAA] Tournament is huge,” Kampersal said. “And to advance in the Tournament is the next phase for us as well. Where we want to be is perennially like a top 10, top five program. We have a ways to go, but we are definitely trending in that direction.”

The next step for Penn State as a program will be recruiting at a high level. While Tessa Janecke is a great player, reaching the level that Kampersal wants to achieve will require multiple players like his star forward all over the roster.

“Recruits look at the teams that are top 10 in the country, and they focus on those schools as places that they want to go,” Kampersal said.

Continuing to reach the NCAA Tournament and eventually start to win games will help the Nittany Lions reach that top 10 or top five level, which will draw the attention of top recruits. But it will need to start with taking down a tough Mercyhurst team on Saturday.

The CHA Championship will take place at 2:00 p.m. ET Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena and will be broadcast on BTN+.

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