University Park, Pa. - For the second year in a row, the Mercyhurst Lakers and the Penn State Nittany Lions will meet in the CHA Championship game. After both teams took care of business in the semifinals, the two teams will meet for the fifth time this season.
CHA Championship History
The Lakers will make their 18th appearance in the CHA Championship and are seeking their 13th tournament title. Standing in the way of the Lakers are the CHA regular season champions, and the defending CHA tournament champions, the Penn State Nittany Lions. That title for the Nittany Lions was their first in program history. The Lakers last won the title in 2020, when Summer-Rae Dobson scored the OT winner against Robert Morris. The Lakers have lost in the CHA Championship the past two years. The winningest coach in CHA tournament history, Mike Sisti, is looking to add another title to his resume.
Matchup History
This is the second straight year that the Lakers and Nittany Lions will meet in the CHA Championship. The Nittany Lions won in overtime and clinched the CHA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Lakers won the first meeting of the year 4-0, but the Nittany Lions won the next three games, including an OT win in the final regular season matchup. The Lakers lead the all-time series 25-17-9, including eight-straight wins by the Lakers to open the matchups history.
Last Time Out
This past weekend the Lakers hosted Robert Morris in the CHA Semifinals. After dropping game one 5-0, the Lakers won the next two games 5-2 and 6-1. In game two, Vanessa Upson and Sofia Nuutinen both had record tying performances to help the Lakers tie the series. Upson has two goals and three assists for five points. Those five points tied a CHA postseason record for points in a game. Nuutinen recorded four assists, which tied a CHA single-game record for assists in a game. In game three, the Lakers came out flying, taking a 5-0 lead through two periods. The Colonials scored once in the third period, but the Lakers added an empty-netter courtesy of Vanessa Upson.
Stats Leaders
With three goals this past weekend, Thea Johansson now leads the Lakers in goals with 19. After Sofia Nuutinen's record performance on Saturday, she now leads the Lakers in assists with 23. Sara Boucher leads the Lakers in points with 40. Ena Nystrøm is 20-15-1 in net with a .926 save percentage, 2.22 GAA, 1003 saves, and six shutouts.
A Look at the Opponent
The Penn State Nittany Lions finished the regular season with a record of 21-12-3 overall and a 14-4-2 record in conference play. The Nittany Lions won the CHA regular season title. In the CHA Semifinals, the Nittany Lions swept RIT to advance to the championship. All-CHA First Team selection Tessa Janecke led the Nittany Lions in goals (17), assists (36), and points (53). All-CHA Second Team selection Brianna Brooks finished third on team in goals (14), second in assists (18), and second in points (32). Josie Bothun led the Nittany Lions in games played in net with 22 and wins with 10. After going down with an injury, Katie DeSa stepped in and led the team in save percentage at .925 and GAA at 1.55. DeSa also went 8-2-2 with three shutouts.
Puck-drop for the game on Saturday is set for 2 PM in State College.
