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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 (February 2026)

RIT’S Keranen, Penn State’s Butze and Syracuse’s Drabyk were honored with AHA awards for February’s performance.

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

Three programs were represented with two first-time honorees.

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Forward/Rookie: Tilli Keranen, FR, RIT (Kuopio, Finland)
Defenseman: Kendall Butze, SR, Penn State (Cleveland, Ohio)
Goaltender: Ava Drabyk, FR, Syracuse (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

FORWARD/ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Keranen finished with the second-most points in AHA (led freshmen) to close out the regular season with eight (1G-7A) in four games played.The Kuopio, Finland native also netted the game-winning goal against Syracuse, and collected her second monthly honor of the campaign. Keranen also recorded three multi-point games during February, tied for the AHA lead.

DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH
Butze was named AHA’s Defenseman of the Month for a second consecutive honor cycle.The Cleveland, Ohio, native skated in four games and recorded five points (1G-4A). Butze also potted her only game-winning goal of the season in a 4-2 win against RIT on Feb. 14.

Feb. 14 was also Butze’s only multi-goal effort of the month as she recorded

GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
Drabyk appeared in four games between the pipes to close out the regular season and collect her first career monthly AHA honor. In four games, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native posted a 1-2-1 record and recorded a 3.38 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage.

During February, Drabyk collected a win over RIT and was one of five freshmen in the nation to record 100+ saves (104).

2025-26 HONORS
January
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)

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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