No. 12/12 MERCYHURST (23-10-3, 17-5-2 AHA) vs No. 3/3 PENN STATE (31-5-0, 22-2-0 AHA)
Saturday, March 7
University Park, Pa.    
TV: Flo Hockey/B1G+
 
The Mercyhurst women's hockey team has reached the AHA Championship for the fifth consecutive season. They just swept Lindenwood in the AHA Semifinals and received a No. 12 ranking in the USCHO and USA Hockey polls for the second week in-a-row. 

The Lakers now face No. 3/3 Penn State, a familiar foe they will encounter in the championship for the fourth year in-a-row. The most recent matchup between these two occurred on Jan. 10, where Mercyhurst won 4-3 in OT. 

Puck drop for the AHA Championship is set for 2 p.m. at the Pegula Ice Arena. Viewers can find live coverage on Flo Hockey and B1G+. 
 
2025-26 Laker Stat Lines (including postseason)

• The Lakers are ranked 12th in the nation for the second consecutive week.
• They are 23-10-3 overall and 17-5-2 in the AHA. 
• They're also 20-4-2 since the start of November and 12-1-1 since Jan 1. 
• They secured their 21st 20-win season and their 25th season with a winning record in their 27-year history. 
• Mike Sisti has been behind the bench the whole time, securing his 600th career win in November in a 6-1 win vs. Stonehill. 
• Statistically, the Lakers are among the best. 
• Here are their national rankings in the top categories: .295 powerplay percentage (4th in nation, 1st AHA), 33 powerplay goals (4th nationally), 115 goals (8th in nation), .876 penalty kill percentage (5th in nation, 1st in AHA), 320 team points (6th nationally), and in combined special teams they are 2nd in the country behind No. 1/1 Wisconsin. 
• The Lakers have secured 27 AHA weekly, monthly, and all-season awards. 
• They have had five or more goalscorers in eight-different games. 
• 13 players have two-figure point tallies and the 14 new players have 156 out of the 320 total points. 
• Julia Perjus (17G, 21A, 38 PTS) currently is sixth in the nation among all freshman in points and she leads the team. She was also named to the All-AHA Rookie and Second Team.
• Sofia Nuutinen (10G, 23A, 33 PTS), Julia Schalin (9G, 21A, 30 PTS), Payten Evans (8G, 12A, 20 PTS, 61 BLKS) and Abby Poitras (5G, 11A, 16 PTS, 65 BLKS) are among the Laker's top contributors. 
• Schalin also recorded an assist against Czechia in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. 

 
Season Results
The Lakers are 23-10-3 this season and 17-5-2 in AHA play. They hosted No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth in their first series. Game one ended 4-3 in overtime and game two ended 5-3. The second series was on the road at New Hampshire where they swept the Wildcats. Game one ended 3-2 and game two finished in a 4-0 shutout. The Lakers then hosted No. 10 St. Lawrence in a series split. The Lakers picked up their second shutout of the season in game one, 1-0, and dropped game two 3-0. Mercyhurst then played No. 6 Penn State on the road. The Nittany Lions proved to the toughest opponent yet as they took the series 3-0 and 6-1. The Lakers then hosted No. 8/9 UConn. The two sides played to a 1-1 draw in game one. The second game featured seven goals, with the Huskies prevailing 4-3. 
 
Mercyhurst then swept Delaware. The Lakers won the first game 3-2 in OT and blanked the Blue Hens 4-0 in game two. They then swept RMU 5-1 and 7-2, earning a pair of AHA Player of the Week nominations in the process. The Lakers then split their series with RIT at home as both games ended 1-0. At Syracuse, game one ended in a 2-2 tie where the Orange took the shootout. The Lakers edged them in game two, 3-2. Over Thanksgiving, Mercyhurst traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Smashville Showcase. They beat Stonehill 6-1 in Michael Sisti's 600th career win. They fell 5-1 to No. 1 Wisconsin in their second game. In the beginning of December, the Lakers split a series with Lindenwood. They took game one with a commanding, 10-1 victory before falling 5-2 in game two. 
 
The Lakers began 2026 with a series sweep over Lindenwood. They won 5-1 in game one and Abby Poitras scored with 1.6 seconds left on the clock in overtime to secure a 2-1 victory in game two. Mercyhurst then split their series with No. 4 Penn State. The Nittany Lions took game one 3-0. In game two, the Lakers scored three powerplay goals and took PSU to OT. Payten Evans scored the game-winning goal to secure the upset. The Lakers then swept RIT in a series between No. 2 and No. 3 in the AHA. They won 5-3 in game one and Poitras scored her second OT winner of the month in the 2-1 win in game two. This was the third consecutive series where a Laker blueliner has scored an game-winner in OT of game two. Mercyhurst swept RMU at home 5-1 in each game before they swept Delaware for their sixth and seventh-straight win. To close the regular season, MU tied Syracuse 2-2 and then beat them 7-0 in their regular-season finale. The Lakers are unbeaten in their last nine games heading into the playoffs. 

Most recently, Mercyhurst swept Lindenwood in the AHA semifinals. They beat them 2-1 in game one and then won 3-2 in double OT in game two. Berlin Lolacher (10G, 8A, 18 PTS) scored the game-winning goal midway through the fifth period in double overtime. 
 
Matchup Insights
Mercyhurst is 27-25-9 all time versus Penn State. In the postseason, they are 2-3. The Lakers first exhibition game in the 1999-2000 season was against the Nittany Lions. However, Penn State was a club team at the time which is why the Lakers won 17-0. The first official matchup between the two was in 2012 when Penn State officially added its DI hockey programs. The Lakers won every series in the Nittany Lion's first three seasons, outscoring them 44-5. In the 2014-15 season, the rivalry was truly born. Penn State hosted Mercyhurst at the Pegula, which had only been a season old at the time. The Nittany Lions swept the Lakers 2-1 and 5-3. Since then, there have only been seven series sweeps in the last 16 series. In the 2021-22 season, the Lakers knocked the Nittany Lions out of the CHA tournament in the semifinals. Since then, the final two CHA championships in 2022-23 and 2023-24 as well as the first- ever women's AHA championship in 2024-25 have featured an MU vs. PSU matchup. The Nittany Lions have won the past three. This season, PSU won 3-0 and 6-1 in October at home. In Erie, they beat MU 3-0 and then the Lakers beat them 4-3 in OT in game two. This is the fourth consecutive AHA Championship meeting between the two. Mercyhurst is hoping to turn the tide in their favor. 
 
Lakers to Look Out for
Perjus (17G, 21A, 38 PTS) leads the Laker's goals and points column. Perjus has two multi-goal games this season, nine multi-point games, a .570 faceoff win percentage, and has the fourth-highest net rating on the team with +11. The Stockholm native scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win against No. 10 St. Lawrence in the Laker's second home series. Perjus had a three-point game against Stonehill, scoring one and assisting two others. She also had a five-point weekend against Lindenwood in December. She recorded a career-high four assists in game one and netted a powerplay goal in game two. She earned AHA Rookie of the Week and Month honors for this performance. 

In January, Perjus scored a game-tying powerplay goal in the dying minute of play against No. 4 Penn State to force overtime. She had three points in a series sweep vs. RMU and then another big showing against Delaware, featuring a goal and a hat trick of assists. Perjus was then named the AHA Rookie of the Month for the second consecutive month. She recorded another three-assist game in the team's 7-0 rout of Syracuse. 

Most recently, Perjus scored both goals in the team's 2-1 win over Lindenwood in game one of the AHA semifinals. This featured the game-winning goal on the powerplay in the third frame. She was named to the All-AHA Second Team and Rookie Team.
 
Nuutinen (10G, 23A, 33 PTS) is on a hot streak as well. She leads the team in assists (23) and is second on points (33). Since Jan. 1, Nuutinen has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points. This includes six multi-point games. Notably, Nuuts assisted the then game-tying powerplay goal with just over a minute remaining against the then No. 4/4 Penn State. 
 
Schalin (9G, 21A, 30 PTS) is back from the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics. The Reigning AHA Rookie of the Year has had a tremendous sophomore campaign. She is third on the team in points, despite missing four games due to the Olympics. She recorded her first assist in the team's win vs. Czechia.   
 
Defensively, Poitras and Evans have been all over the ice. Poitras recorded four assists in the series against RMU, and her 11 total assists are seventh on the team. The Whitby, Ontario native also has a team-high 65 blocks. Poitras netted the game-winning goal in the Laker's 2-1 overtime win at Lindenwood with 1.6 seconds on the clock. She netted the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win at RIT to earn AHA Defenseman of the Week honors. She has four game-winning goals since Jan. 1. She recently netted the game-tying goal late in the third against Lindenwood in the AHA Semifinals.  
 
Evans had a great series against Lindenwood when the two sides played in Erie in December. The Calgary, Alberta native scored a powerplay goal and registered a hat trick of assists in the 10-1 win in game one. She also scored and assisted in game two. For these efforts, Evans was named the AHA Defenseman of the Month for December. Evans also scored the game-winning goal in overtime to secure a 4-3 upset victory over No. 4 Penn State. This goal and her eight blocks on the weekend led to her being named AHA Defenseman of the Week. Evans (8G, 12A, 20 PTS, 61 BLKS) is second on the team in blocks and leads all Laker blueliners in points. She is actually fifth on the team in points. Evans was also named to the All-AHA Second team. 
 
Maja Alenius and Holly VanNetten are two freshman blue liners who have contributed to the Laker's success this season. VanNetten was named the AHA Defender of the Week in November after assisting the game-winning goal in overtime against Delaware and recording a multi-point game in the 4-0 win in game two. She had a three-point weekend at Delaware and had a three-point weekend against Syracuse where she was named AHA Rookie of the Week. The Simcoe, Ontario native has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points this season. Alenius has four goals and is fourth on the team with 15 assists. Two of those assists came in the 4-3 OT win over No. 4/4 Penn State in January.
 
Magdalena Luggin has been the Lakers main goaltender this season. She started between the pipes against No. 5/6 Minnesota Duluth and recorded a then career-high 47 saves in the first game and another 28 saves in the second game. The Austrian native then posted 25 saves and a shutout victory against No. 10 St. Lawrence, which led to her being named the AHA Goaltender of the Week. 
 
Luggin made 37 saves in a 1-1 draw against No. 8/9 UConn and 30 saves in the 4-3 loss. She recorded a league-high 59 saves against RMU. This helped her earn her second AHA Goaltender of the Week award. She made 24 saves and recorded her second shutout of the season in the Laker's 1-0 win against RIT. After Thanksgiving, she registered a new career-high 56 saves against No. 1/1 Wisconsin. Luggin was named AHA Goaltender of the Week after she made 41 saves in the series sweep over RIT. She was then named AHA GOTW again after posting 54 saves and a 1.000 goals allowed average throughout the Laker's sweep of RMU. She picked up her first Goaltender of the Month for January. She has a 2.08 goals against average, a save percentage of .927, 797 total saves and a record of 17-9-3 (63.8 win percentage). Nationally, she is top-25 in all four of those stat categories. She was named to the All-AHA Second Team, only behind Penn State's Katie Desa. 
 
Scouting No. 3/3 Penn State 

• The Nittany Lions started this season undefeated for their first 16 games. 
• Overall, they are 31-5-0 on the year and locked in the No. 1 seed in the AHA long before the regular season ended. 
• Their No. 3 ranking is the highest in program history.
• They swept No. 9 St Lawrence, Vermont, Delaware, Mercyhurst, Lindenwood, Robert Morris, Syracuse, and RIT in their first 16 games. 
• Their first loss of the season came on the road in a series split at No. 7 Northeastern.
•  They lost 3-2 in the first game and won 4-1 in the second. 
• They closed 2025 with a home victory vs. No. 10 Cornell. 
• To start 2026, the Nittany Lions were swept 5-1 and 4-1 at No. 2 Ohio State. 
• They beat the Lakers 3-0 and then lost their first AHA contest in game two at MU, 4-3 in OT. 
• They then swept Syracuse and then topped No. 12 Cornell, 5-1.
• They swept Delaware, RMU, and Lindenwood before losing only their second conference game, 3-2 in overtime vs. RIT. 
• They beat them 4-2 in game two, but this result and the Laker's 4-3 OT win showed that in some cases, these Nittany Lions are beatable.
• In the AHA semifinals, Tessa Janecke came back from the Olympics with a gold medal and scored a hat trick in PSU's 7-0 rout of Syracuse. 
• They only beat them 2-1 in game two, but the series sweep was another statement. 
• Grace Outwater (24G, 16A, 40 PTS), Tessa Janecke (23G, 21A, 44 PTS), Kendall Butze (5G, 27A, 32 PTS) are three of their stat leaders. 
• Katie Desa leads the nation with 11 shutouts in net for the Nittany Lions.