BOSTON, Mass. – The Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) women’s head coaches have unanimously selected four-time defending champion Penn State as the conference favorite in 2026-27, according to the Preseason Poll released ahead of the annual conference Media Day set for Wednesday, September 2.
Nittany Lion junior forward Grace Outwater (Picton, Ontario) headlines the Preseason All-Conference team. Last year’s conference scoring leader with 31 points in 24 Atlantic Hockey America games, Outwater edged RIT senior defenseman Emma Pickering (Fishers, Indiana) in the voting for Preseason Player of the Year honors.
Preseason Poll
1. Penn State (6 first-place votes)
2. Mercyhurst (1)
3. RIT
T-4. Lindenwood
T-4. Syracuse
5. Robert Morris
6. Delaware
Mercyhurst and RIT were picked second and third in the Preseason Poll, while two programs with first-year head coaches – Lindenwood (Max Gavin) and Syracuse (Brian Idalski) – were tied for fourth in the voting.
Preseason Player of the Year
Grace Outwater, Jr., F, Penn State
Also receiving votes: Emma Pickering, Sr., D, RIT
Outwater earned First-Team All-Atlantic Hockey America honors in 2025-26 while leading the conference in scoring with 19 goals and 12 assists in 24 games. She scored goals in eight consecutive conference games from January 16 through February 7 and has compiled 40 goals and 26 assists (66 points) in her first two seasons with Penn State.
Preseason All-Conference Team
F: Jessica MacKinnon, Jr., Robert Morris
F: Grace Outwater, Jr., Penn State
F: Julia Perjus, So., Mercyhurst
D: Danica Maynard, So., Penn State
D: Emma Pickering, Sr., RIT
G: Magdalena Luggin, Jr., Mercyhurst
Also receiving votes: Maja Alenius (So., D, Mercyhurst); Peyton Armstrong (Jr., F, Syracuse); Ava Drabyk (So., G, Syracuse); Alaina Giampietro (Jr., F, Robert Morris); Maggie Hatch (Sr., G, Robert Morris); Mikah Keller (So., F, Penn State); Sofia Nuutinen (Sr., F, Mercyhurst); Abby Stonehouse (Jr., F, Penn State)
Mercyhurst sophomore Julia Perjus (Stockholm, Sweden) and Robert Morris junior Jessica MacKinnon (Clarks Harbour, Nova Scotia) join Outwater among the Preseason All-Conference Team forwards. Perjus finished tied for second in conference scoring in 2025-26 with 29 points in 26 games and was named Second-Team All-Atlantic Hockey America. MacKinnon led Robert Morris in scoring last season and was named Atlantic Hockey America’s Best Defensive Forward and a first-team all-conference selection.
Pickering and Penn State sophomore Danica Maynard (Lake Country, British Columbia) are the defensemen on the Preseason All-Conference Team. Pickering enters her senior season as the only RIT player to be a two-time First-Team All-Atlantic Hockey America selection. She recorded 19 points in 18 conference games and ranked fourth in the league with 58 blocked shots last season. Maynard was honored as the conference’s 2025-26 Nicole Hensley Rookie of the Year after posting 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 24 conference games. Her +36 rating led all conference skaters.
Mercyhurst junior Magdalena Luggin (Vienna, Austria) is the goaltender on the Preseason All-Conference Team after earning Second-Team All-Atlantic Hockey America honors last season. Luggin went 12-4-2 in conference play last season, with a 1.87 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and two shutouts.
Coaches could not vote for their own team or players in the preseason ballots.
ABOUT ATLANTIC HOCKEY AMERICA
Atlantic Hockey America enters its third season in 2026-27 following the merger of the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields nine Division I men’s teams and seven women’s teams representing 14 institutions. For more information, visit atlantichockeyamerica.com or follow the conference on X (@Atlantic_Hockey), Instagram (@atlantichockeyamerica) and Facebook (Atlantic Hockey America).