Penn State’s Frozen Four run is over, but it ‘put the program on the map’
The No. 3 seed Nittany Lions lost, 4-3, in overtime to No. 2-seeded Wisconsin on Friday, but the impact of the climb was undeniable.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — It’s hard to describe the climb Penn State has made.
What was once an unranked, College Hockey America bottom-feeder has become one of the sport’s blue bloods. What started as a rebuilding project for Jeff Kampersal, who was named Penn State women’s hockey coach in 2017, has yielded four conference tournament titles and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
After waiting five seasons for the program’s first conference title — CHA and Atlantic Hockey merged in 2024 to create Atlantic Hockey America — and four more to reach the Frozen Four, Kampersal stood behind his team’s bench on Friday in Pegula Ice Arena as his No. 3 seed Nittany Lions faced Wisconsin, the No. 2 seed and reigning NCAA champions.
Decked in his traditional navy blue Penn State jacket in front of 5,176 raucous fans — the largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in Pegula history — Kampersal’s greatest ambitions for the program finally were realized. And while the Nittany Lions lost, 4-3, in overtime, Friday’s contest was monumental.
“I’m super proud of the women in our program and their heart-and-soul effort,” Kampersal said. “They’ve established standards here at Penn State. They put the program on the map, put the league on the map … I’m just proud to be a Penn Stater, proud to be their coach.”
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Wisconsin (34-4-2) will face top-seeded Ohio State (36-4) for the title on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPNU).
Tessa Janecke, Penn State’s all-time points leader and a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award — given to the best player in women’s college hockey — scored twice in Friday’s loss. Her second goal, a forehand deke into a backhand finish, sent the crowd into a frenzy as the Nittany Lions (33-6) tied the contest, 3-3, with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
The atmosphere was nothing new to Janecke, who, in February, won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. women’s hockey team in Milan, Italy. But it was different for a women’s game at Pegula, where crowds often were sparse throughout the standout forward’s first three seasons.
The 5,176 strong who chanted “We Are” and exploded in unison when the Nittany Lions scored on Friday were louder than Janecke expected — so loud that she doesn’t recall celebrating her game-tying goal. She hopes that atmosphere remains long after her career in Happy Valley ends.
“The crowd was awesome. I couldn’t believe how packed it was,” Janecke said. “I think it’s a testament to what we’ve done for Penn State. But we don’t just want that in the Frozen Four. We want that at every game. I think we deserve it. And I think going forward, it’d be awesome to see those crowds.”
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The Nittany Lions gradually entered the top echelon of college hockey.
First, a win over No. 2 Wisconsin on Sept. 22, 2022, proved they could beat the top teams. Then they started regularly beating ranked programs like Minnesota and Northeastern. Suddenly, they had climbed into the top five of the U.S. College Hockey Online poll in 2025-26.
But the respect that typically comes with that ranking was missing, which irked Janecke and her Penn State teammates.
“We can compete with anybody. We can compete with the best,” Janecke said. “We get a lot of slander for our conference. It doesn’t matter what conference you’re playing in. To go the whole season with only five losses is something that’s not easy to do. I don’t care what the stat sheet says. I don’t care who’s on your team. If we’re willing to outcompete you, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
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The finality of a program-defining season, her last at Penn State, set in for Katelyn Roberts, tears filling her eyes as she took the podium on Friday. The senior forward was crushed by Kirsten Simms’ overtime winner, but she smiled through the pain as she recalled the memories she made at Penn State and the impact she and her teammates made.
“No one knows the amount of work that we put in each day, the amount of love we have for each other,” Roberts said. “There’s so many moments, and there’s so many accolades that we have, and we’ll take the memories with us forever.”
Added Janecke: “We did our job here. It wasn’t just about the wins on the score sheet or the points. We grew women’s hockey in ‘Hockey Valley’ and at Penn State. So if we could just inspire one girl to want to play hockey, or anybody for that matter, then we did our job.”