Evan Maldonado/Atlantic Hockey America Women's Ice Hockey 1/13/2026 1:00:00 PM Gabe Herman, Director of Communications AHA Women’s Players of the Week (Jan. 5-11, 2026) Penn State’s Janecke, Mercyhurst’s Evans, Syracuse’s Drabyk and RIT’s Keranen honored with AHA weekly awards. BOSTON - Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) announced its Players of the Week on Tuesday for games played between Jan. 5-11, 2026. Four programs were represented, with one student-athlete being a first-time honoree. PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Forward: Tessa Janecke, SR, Penn State (Orangeville, Ill.) Defenseman: Payten Evans, SR, Mercyhurst (Calgary, Alberta) Goaltender: Ava Drabyk, FR, Syracuse (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Rookie: Tilli Keranen, F, RIT (Kuopio, Finland) FORWARD OF THE WEEK Janecke earned her third AHA weekly honor of 2025-26 after leading the conference last week with four points (1G-3A) in two games played at Mercyhurst. The Orangeville, Ill. native recorded two multi-point games and provided two helpers in a 3-0 win on Friday, Jan. 9. DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK Evans collects her first-ever AHA weekly honor after helping the Lakers earn a win over top 10 conference rival Penn State. The Calgary, Alberta native netted the game-winning goal on Saturday, Jan. 10 in overtime with only 15 seconds remaining in the period to give Mercyhurst a 4-3 victory over No. 4/4 Penn State. Evans also collected eight blocks against the Nittany Lions. GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK For the second consecutive week and fifth time this season, Drabyk is honored with an AHA weekly award. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native recorded two shutouts in Syracuse’s road sweep of Robert Morris (2-0-0 record) and led AHA goaltenders (min. 33% team minutes played) with a 0.00 goals-against average and a 1.000 save percentage. Syracuse’s freshman netminder made 38 saves in the two contests and leads all Division I freshmen goaltenders with five shutouts this season. ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Keranen tallied three points (1G-2A) in both games of RIT’s sweep at Delaware. In a 3-2 win on Thursday, Jan. 8, the Kuopio, Finland native potted her second career game-winning goal in the game’s final minute of regulation at the 19:02 mark. On Friday, Jan. 9, Keranen added two assists in the Tigers’ second 8-1 victory of 2025-26. 2025-26 HONORS Dec. 29-Jan. 4 Forward: Sofia Nuutinen, JR, Mercyhurst (Vantaa, Finland) Defenseman: Sofia Ljung, JR, Mercyhurst (Hudiksvall, Sweden) Goaltender: Tara Bach, FR, Mercyhurst (Oakville, Ontario) Rookie: Ava Drabyk, G, Syracuse (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Dec. 1-7 Forward: Julia Schalin, SO, Mercyhurst (Espoo, Finland) Defenseman: Emma Pickering, JR, RIT (Fishers, Ind.) Goaltender: Maggie Hatch, R-JR, Robert Morris (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) Rookie: Julia Perjus, R-FR, Mercyhurst (Stockholm, Sweden) Nov. 24-30 Forward: Zsofia Pazmandi, JR, Lindenwood (Kaposvar, Hungary) Defenseman: Emma Pickering, JR, RIT (Fishers, Ind.) Goaltender: Ava Drabyk, FR, Syracuse (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Rookie: Linnea Misner (D), Robert Morris (Springfield, Manitoba) Nov. 17-23 Forward: Tessa Janecke, SR, Penn State Defenseman: Danica Maynard, FR, Penn State Goaltender: Maggie Hatch, R-JR, Robert Morris Rookie: Tilli Keranen (F), RIT Nov. 10-16 Forward: Katelyn Roberts, SR, Penn State (Chanhassen, Minn.) Defenseman: Kendall Butze, SR, Penn State (Cleveland, Ohio) Goaltender: Sophia Bellina, SR, RIT (Cleveland, Ohio) Rookie: Riley Gramlich (D), RIT (Burstall, Saskatchewan) Nov. 3-9 Forward: Julia Schalin, SO, Mercyhurst (Espoo, Finland) Defenseman: Emma Pickering, JR, RIT (Fishers, Ind.) Goaltender: Magdalena Luggin, SO, Mercyhurst (Vienna, Austria) Rookie: Michaela Paulinyova (F), FR, Lindenwood (Bratislava, Slovakia) Oct. 27-Nov. 2 Forward: Addie Alvarez, JR, RIT (Rochester, N.Y.) Defenseman: Holly VanNetten, FR, Mercyhurst (Simcoe, Ontario) Goaltender: Katie DeSa, SR, Penn State (Pawcatuck, Conn.) Rookie: Lexie Lonask (D), FR, Delaware (Chandler, Ariz.) Oct. 20-26 Forward: Jessica MacKinnon, SO, Robert Morris (Clark's Harbour, Nova Scotia) Defenseman: Kaitlyn Schooley, JR, Robert Morris (Moon Township, Pa.) Goaltender: Ava Drabyk, FR, Syracuse (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Rookie: Matilde Fantin, F, FR, Penn State (Como, Italy) Oct. 13-19 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) 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. Connect with AHA on X (@Atlantic_Hockey), Instagram (@atlantichockeyamerica) and Facebook (Atlantic Hockey America). Watch AHA home games on FloHockey this season.