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Evan Maldonado/Atlantic Hockey America

Women's Ice Hockey Gabe Herman, Director of Communications

AHA Women’s Players of the Month (January 2026)

Mercyhurst’s Luggin and Perjus, Lindenwood’s Henderson and Penn State’s Butze were honored with AHA awards for January’s performance.

BOSTON - Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) announced its December Players of the Month on Wednesday.

Three programs were represented with two first-time honorees.

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Forward: Molly Henderson, SR, Lindenwood (Rockford, Ill.)
Defenseman: Kendall Butze, SR, Penn State (Cleveland, Ohio)
Goaltender: Magdalena Luggin, SO, Mercyhurst (Vienna, Austria)
Rookie: Julia Perjus, F, Mercyhurst (Stockholm, Sweden)

FORWARD OF THE MONTH
Henderson collected her first-ever AHA monthly award after recording the second-most points in the conference last month with 14 (7G-7A) in eight games.

The Rockford, Ill. native’s 14 points are the most in a single month by an active Lindenwood skater.

Lindenwood’s senior forward netted two game-winning goals in January, including one in a 3-2 win over Delaware on Jan. 16.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
Butze earned her second-ever monthly honor after leading all blueliners with 10 points (3G-7A) in 11 games played.

The Cleveland, Ohio native was one of eight Division I blueliners to tally a double-digit point total to begin 2026.

Penn State’s senior tied for the AHA lead in her position group with two multi-point efforts and totaled six points (1G-5A) in those games.

GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
For the first time this season, Luggin has earned a monthly AHA honor.

Among league netminders (min. 33% team minutes played), the Vienna, Austria native finished second in both goals-against average (1.69) and save percentage (.937).

Luggin ended the month with a 4-0 shutout victory at Delaware, where she made 21 saves on the road.

ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
For a second consecutive month, Perjus was named AHA’s Rookie of the Month.

The Stockholm, Sweden native led all AHA freshmen with 12 points (5G-7A), the only one to record double digits in January.

Perjus netted three goals on the power play and also struck shorthanded once to open the new year. Against Robert Morris on Jan. 24, the Laker forward netted the goal that would serve as the game-winner in a 5-1 win.

2025-26 HONORS
December
Forward: Jessica MacKinnon, SO, Robert Morris (Clarks Harbour, Nova Scotia)
Defenseman: Payten Evans, SR, Mercyhurst (Calgary, Alberta)
Goaltender: Maggie Hatch, JR, Robert Morris (Cleveland Heights, Ohio)
Rookie: Julia Perjus, R-FR, Mercyhurst (Stockholm, Sweden)

November
Forward: Tessa Janecke, SR, Penn State (Orangeville, Ill.)
Defense: Emma Pickering, JR, RIT (Fishers, Ind.)
Goaltender: Katie DeSa, SR, Penn State (Pawcatuck, Conn.)
Rookie: Tilli Keranen (F), RIT (Kuopio, Finland)

September/October
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: Matilde Fantin (F), FR, Penn State (Como, Italy)

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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