With the Atlantic Hockey Women’s season roughly two weeks away, the conference held its annual media day Wednesday morning.

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Coaches from all seven AHA programs spoke with the media, along with commissioner Michelle Morgan. Here are some of the top storylines heading into the 2025-26 season.

High Expectations In Happy Valley

Penn State put together a masterful 2024-25 season, earning an AHA-record 19 wins and program-record 31 wins. The Nittany Lions finished atop the AHA standings with 52 points and won both the regular-season and postseason championships for a third consecutive year.

It’s another big year on tap as Penn State returns much of its roster, led by seniors Tessa Janecke, Katelyn Roberts, Kendall Butze and Katie DeSa. All four were named to the Preseason All-AHA Team. Penn State will also host an outdoor game in January and the 2026 Women's Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena – an event the Nittany Lions hope to be playing in.

PSU was voted atop the AHA Preseason Poll for a fifth consecutive season.

“We have high expectations as a team this year,” said head coach Jeff Kampersal. “We have the privilege of being under a little pressure and we’re going to thrive with that.”

Janecke Leads Penn State As ‘Generational Player’

Kampersal dubbed Janecke a ‘generational player’ during Wednesday’s press conference, and for good reason.

The left-shot forward racked up 24 goals and 53 points over 38 games last season and was named the AHA Player of the Year. She heads into 2025-26 as the AHA Preseason Player of the Year too.

Janecke comes into her senior season with 153 points (63-90-153) through 114 career games, and she was a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist last season. She’ll miss some time this winter as she represents the U.S. at the Olympics, but there’s no denying her impact for PSU.

Tessa Janecke 🤝 @Atlantic_Hockey 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 🔥🙌#WeAre pic.twitter.com/Y5yEkEtvFo

— Penn State Women’s Hockey (@PennStateWHKY) September 2, 2025

Mercyhurst Looks To Continue Momentum

While Mike Sisti’s club was often overshadowed by Penn State’s dominance, Mercyhurst quietly turned in an impressive season of its own. The Lakers went 13-6-1 in AHA play and finished second with 42 points.

Mercyhurst handed PSU its only AHA loss, closed out the regular season on an 11-3-1 run and reached its fourth consecutive championship game. The roster also featured the AHA Rookie of the Year in Julia Schalin, who Sisti is eager to watch in her sophomore campaign.

Mercyhurst was picked second in this week’s poll and received one first-place vote. The Lakers will open the season on home ice against Minnesota Duluth, who closed out the 2024-25 season ranked No. 6 in the country, on Sept. 19.

New Kids On The Block: Delaware Blue Hens

The AHA standings will have a new look this winter as Delaware joins the conference for its inaugural season.

Delaware announced its plans for a Varsity Women’s Program on Dec. 1, 2023, and will play its first game on Sept. 26 against LIU. The Blue Hens will make their AHA debut on Oct. 10 against Penn State.

It’s been a whirlwind 20 months as Allison Coomey was named head coach on March 26, 2024, and went to work from there, putting together a roster and getting everybody up to speed. While Coomey quipped they’d benefit from a few more weeks of practice time, there’s plenty of excitement in Newark.

“Our kids are super excited and super grateful for this experience,”  Coomey said. “We can’t say enough about how excited we are to join the AHA as a new member and our athletic department has done a great job of getting us ready for this moment.”

First official practice! ✅ pic.twitter.com/JFRnQkRJ89

— Delaware Ice Hockey (@Delaware_IH) August 26, 2025

Lindenwood Turns To Youthful Roster

The Lions went 5-26-2 last season and endured a 14-game winless stretch from late November until their final regular-season series. Lindenwood was picked sixth in this week’s poll.

However, they’re hoping to take a step in Taylor Wasylk’s third season. Much of that progress hinges on her underclassmen too, as Wasylk’s roster features nine freshmen and nine sophomores.

“We lost a lot last year,” she said. “Lots of leadership, lots of experience there that we lost, but hopefully we make up for it with that youthful energy.”

Wasylk added that all nine of her freshmen are “contributing in some way” and specifically touted her rookie forwards, highlighted by Slovakian Michaela Paulinyova.

The Lions will open the season on the road against St. Cloud State before returning home for a date against another WCHA foe, St. Thomas. 

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