BOSTON, Mass. – September 18, 2024 – Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) opens its women's season this weekend on Saturday, Sept. 21 as Lindenwood hosts St. Cloud State. The 2024-25 season marks the first women's season for Atlantic Hockey America after the merger between College Hockey America and the Atlantic Hockey Association.
 
The AHA women's league for the 2024-25 season consists of Lindenwood University (Lions), Mercyhurst University (Lakers), Penn State University (Nittany Lions), Rochester Institute of Technology (Tigers), Robert Morris University (Colonials), and Syracuse University (Orange).
 
Season Openers
The women's season begins on Saturday, Sept. 21 when Lindenwood hosts St. Cloud State. The Penn State Nittany Lions start their regular season on Thursday, Sept. 26 with a home matchup against Northeastern. RIT (vs. Assumption), Mercyhurst (vs. Colgate), and Robert Morris (vs. Union), all start their respective seasons on Friday, Sept. 27. Syracuse begins its season with a road tilt against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Penn State Tops Preseason AHA Coaches' Poll
The Penn State Nittany Lions topped the Atlantic Hockey America Women's Preseason Coaches' Poll released Sept. 10 by the AHA. The Nittany Lions garnered five of five possible first-place votes and 30 total points in balloting among AHA women's head coaches (coaches could not vote for their own teams). Penn State captured a third CHA regular season title in 2023-24, while also securing back-to-back CHA postseason titles and two straight NCAA Tournament appearances. 
 
Mercyhurst finished second in the balloting with 26 points and received the remaining first-place vote. Robert Morris finished third with 22 points, while RIT finished fourth with 16 points. Syracuse and Lindenwood rounded out the poll with 13 points each.

Janecke Named AHA Preseason Player of the Year
Penn State junior forward Tessa Janecke was named 2024-25 AHA Preseason Player of the Year. Janecke is coming off a sophomore campaign in which she recorded a team-high 17 goals and 36 assists for 53 points in 38 games. For her efforts, the Orangeville, Ill. native was named First Team All-CHA and CHA Player and Forward of the Year. Lindenwood senior forward Morgan Neitzke also received a vote in the Preseason Player of the Year voting.

Preseason All-AHA Team
The Preseason All-AHA Team includes forwards Tessa Janecke from Penn State, Morgan Neitzke from Lindenwood, and Alaina Giampietro from Robert Morris. Netizke was First Team All-CHA last season, as she led the Lions in points (46), goals (24), and assists (22). She received CHA Forward of the Week honors three times and CHA Forward of the Month honors for Sept/Oct. Giampietro was named CHA Rookie of the Year last season, producing 19 goals, 12 assists, and 31 points. Giampietro also claimed CHA Rookie of the Month honors twice and CHA Rookie of the Week honors four times. Penn State's Mya Vaslet, Mercyhurst's Vanessa Upson, and Mercyhurst's Thea Johansson also received votes in the balloting.

Mercyhurst's Sydney Pedersen and Penn State's Lyndie Lobdell were named to the Preseason All-AHA Team as defensemen. Pedersen was First Team All-CHA last season, posting seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points. Lobdell scored nine goals and dished out 11 assists for 20 points last season, while also blocking 70 shots for the Nittany Lions. RIT's Emma Pickering and Mercyhurst's Megan McKay also received votes in the balloting.

The choice at goaltender for the Preseason All-AHA Team was Penn State's Kaite DeSa. The Pawcatuck, Conn. native posted a save percentage of .938 last season while making 300 saves for the Nittany Lions. RIT's Sophia Bellina received two votes in the balloting.

By the Numbers

• 446: Career wins by Penn State head coach Jeff Kampersal, which stands fifth all-time amongst Division I women's hockey coaches. He has 119 wins at Penn State.
• 3.18: Goals per game for Penn State last season, which led the CHA. The Nittany Lions ranked 9th nationally with 121 goals on the year.
• 26: Seasons behind the bench for Mercyhurst head coach Mike Sisti when the Lakers drop the puck on the 2024-25 season on Sept. 27 vs. Colgate.
• 6: Game winning goals by Mercyhurst's Vanessa Upson last season, which led the CHA. Upson has 52 goals in her career at Mercyhurst.
• 11: Wins by head coach Taylor Wasylk in her first season at Lindenwood, setting a program record. The Lions open the 2024-25 season on Sept. 21 vs St. Cloud State.
• 1.44: Points per game by Lindenwood forward Morgan Neitzke last season, which led the CHA. Neitzke has 93 points in 93 career games at Lindenwood.
• 1,130: Saves by Syracuse goaltender Allie Kelley last season, which led the CHA. The East Berne, N.Y. native averaged 35.3 saves per game, which also led the CHA.
• 20: Points by Syracuse forward Tatum White last season, the top among Syracuse returnees. 
• 71: Blocks by Robert Morris' Allyson Hebert last season, leading the CHA. Hebert will serve as RMU's captain for a second straight year in 2024-25.
• 19: Assists by Robert Morris freshman Janelle Evans last season, the top total among RMU returnees.
• 2.07: Goals against average by RIT goaltender Sophia Bellina last season. Bellina posted a 10-10-1 record with a .936 save percentage on the year.
• 5: Power play goals scored by RIT's Kylie Aquaro last season, leading the Tigers. Aquaro also led the Tigers in goals (10), assists (16), points (26), and shooting percentage (.192).

About Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) embarks on its first season in 2024-25 after the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields 11 men’s teams (American International College, Bentley University, Canisius College, The College of Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Military Academy), and six women’s teams (Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University). In 2025-26, Delaware University will join the women’s league. For more information, visit atlantichockeyamerica.com.