BOSTON - Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) announced its Players of the Week on Tuesday for games played between Oct. 13-19.
For the first time this season, three players were selected from the same program. The three honors this week bring the Nittany Lions' total to seven this season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Forward: Tessa Janecke, SR, Penn State (Orangeville, Ill.)
Defenseman: Danica Maynard, FR, Penn State (Lake Country, British Columbia)
Goaltender: Katie DeSa, SR, Penn State (Pawcatuck, Conn.)
Rookie: Ava Drabyk, FR, Syracuse (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
Janecke's first weekly honor of the season and 16th of her collegiate career comes after she tallied four points (2G-2A) to help sweep then-No. 15 Mercyhurst. Janecke's four points tied for the AHA lead last week.
The Orangeville, Ill. native has 21 points (10G-11A) in 17 games against the Lakers, the most among active collegiate skaters. Saturday's 6-1 victory at Pegula Ice Arena was the senior captain's 120th career game, and she recorded her fourth multi-point game this season (third straight) and recorded two points (1G-1A) in both games of the sweep.
Janecke netted the game-winner in Penn State's 3-0 win on Friday, Oct. 17.
Maynard earns her second consecutive Defenseman of the Week honors after tying her captain for the conference points lead last week with four (1G-3A) to play a key role in the Nittany Lions' AHA sweep.
The Lake Country, British Columbia native leads AHA in points, is tied for the most among blueliners in Division I and is tied for the fifth-most in the nation.
The freshman was tied for the national points lead among all defensemen last week.
DeSa received her 11th-ever AHA/CHA weekly honor after a weekend where she recorded her third shutout of 2025-26, tied for the second-most in Division I.
The Nittany Lions' goaltender stopped all shots, but one, as she allowed a late goal to the Lakers in Saturday's 6-1 victory.
Last week, DeSa's 0.50 goals-against average ranked second in the AHA, and her .971 save percentage ranked third-best in the conference (min. 33% of team's minutes played).
The Pawcatuck, Conn. native is one of two AHA netminders to earn a shutout last week.
Drabyk put together her first honor-worthy week of her freshman season after recording her first collegiate shutout and helping the Orange sweep Delaware on the road.
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native led AHA (min. 33% of team's minutes played) with a 0.48 goals-against average, a .979 save percentage and also recorded 47 saves, only allowing one goal to the Blue Hens.
The freshman netminder has recorded 186 saves this season, the second most in the conference. Drabyk is in the top five (min. 33% of team's minutes played) in AHA in save goals-against average (2.50) and save percentage (.925) on the season.
Oct. 6-12
Forward: Matilde Fantin, FR, Penn State (Como, Italy)
Defenseman: Danica Maynard, FR, Penn State (Lake Country, British Columbia)
Goaltender: Sophia Bellina, SR, RIT (Cleveland, Ohio)
Rookie: Tatiana Blichova (F), FR, Lindenwood (Presov, Slovakia)
Sept. 29-Oct. 5
Forward: Peyton Armstrong, SO, Syracuse (Bancroft, Ontario)
Defenseman: Leah Stecker, SR, Penn State (Randolph, N.J.)
Goaltender: Magdalena Luggin, SO, Mercyhurst (Vienna, Austria)
Rookie: Katelynn Charlton (F), FR, Delaware (Brampton, Ontario)
Sept. 22-28
Forward: Jessica MacKinnon, SO, Robert Morris (Clark Harbour, Nova Scotia)
Defenseman: Makayla Javier, SR, Mercyhurst (Abingdon, Md.)
Goaltender: Katie DeSa, SR, Penn State (Pawcatuck, Conn.)
Rookie: Linnea Misner (D), FR, Robert Morris (Springfield, Manitoba)
ABOUT ATLANTIC HOCKEY AMERICA
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is in its second season following the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields 10 Division I men's teams and seven women's teams. For more information, visit atlantichockeyamerica.com.
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