DELAWARE

• Season two of Blue Hen hockey starts next weekend, Sept. 25-26, with a series at Holy Cross, which Delaware beat for its first victory in program history on Oct. 5, 2025.

• Sophomore goaltender Charlotte Payne (Oakville, Ont.) stopped 49 of 50 shots in that win against Holy Cross last year, one of 11 games in which she had 40-plus saves.

• Six freshmen and two transfers join a returning group for Delaware that includes a 14-member sophomore class.

LINDENWOOD

• Lindenwood returns three 20-plus point scorers, led by sophomore Tatiana Blichova (Presov, Slovakia), who became the first freshman to lead the Lions in scoring since they joined the conference in 2012-13.

• Lindenwood’s roster features players from 12 countries. Eleven Lions, including Blichova, have played for their nation’s senior national team.

MERCYHURST

• The Lakers’ 23-11-3 season a year ago marked their best win total in 11 years.

• Mercyhurst went 12-2-1 after January 1 last season, a stretch that included a win and two one-goal losses against Penn State. Two freshmen at the time – Berlin Lolacher (Regina, Sask.; 8 goals) and Julia Perjus (Stockholm, Sweden; 7 goals) – combined to average a goal per game in that stretch.

• The longest tenured member of the conference, Mercyhurst’s AHA opener Oct. 2 will be its 400th league game all-time (296-73-30 record). 

PENN STATE

• Preseason Player of the Year Grace Outwater (Picton, Ont.) scored 19 goals in conference games last season, the fourth-most in conference history and the most by a player in her first two seasons in the league 

• Sophomore defenseman Danica Maynard (Lake Country, B.C.), the Nicole Hensley Rookie of the Year in the league last season, joined Outwater as a unanimous selection to the preseason all-conference team.

• Penn State’s seven selections in the 2026 PWHL Draft were the most of any school.

RIT

• Five Tigers rank among the top 15 active career scorers in AHA conference play; no other school has more than three.

• Senior defenseman Emma Pickering (Fishers, Ind.) is the first Tiger to earn first-team all-conference honors twice in her career, and she was a unanimous selection to the preseason all-conference team as well.

• RIT’s 31.9% power play last season marked the only time in conference history a team has converted on more than 30% of its power plays in all games.

ROBERT MORRIS

• The Colonials boast the conference’s most experienced goaltender in senior Maggie Hatch (Cleveland Heights, Ohio), who has played at least 24 games in each of her first three seasons.

• Senior Thalia D’Elia (West Chester, Pa.) is tied for second among active AHA defensemen in career assists (31) and tied for third in career points (39).

SYRACUSE

• The Orange return each of the top six scorers from last year’s team. Senior Nea Tervonen (Tampere, Finland) ranks sixth among active players with 31 career conference points.

• Sophomore goaltender Ava Drabyk (Saskatoon, Sask.) set a conference record with a shutout streak of 253:24, a span that included three of her five shutouts on the season.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Four schools are represented among the top four returning career scorers.

Most Career Points, Conference Games

65 – Sofia Nuutinen, Mercyhurst
61 – Addie Alvarez, RIT
43 – Grace Outwater, Penn State
38 – Alaina Giampietro, Robert Morris
36 – Emma Pickering, RIT
31 – Nea Tervonen, Syracuse

Most Career Points, All Games

92 – Sofia Nuutinen, Mercyhurst
84 – Addie Alvarez, RIT
66 – Alaina Giampietro, Robert Morris
Grace Outwater, Penn State
60 – Emma Pickering, RIT