Erie, PA - The Women's Ice Hockey team announced its captains for the 2026-27 season. Makayla Javier (Graduate Student - Defense) will lead the team as captain, with Sofia Nuutinen (Senior - Forward) and Sofia Ljung (Senior - Defense) serving as assistant captains. Until Javier returns to the lineup, Nuutinen will wear the "C" and serve as acting captain on the ice.
Javier enters her fifth year with the program after being an integral piece of the blue line throughout her career. A native of Abingdon, Md., Javier has led the team in blocked shots in three of her four seasons - posting 59 as a freshman, 65 as a sophomore, and a team-high 79 as a junior, a season in which she also potted the game-winning goal in overtime against then-No. 4 Colgate. Over her career, Javier has appeared in 123 games, recording 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points to go with 238 blocked shots. She picked up CHA Defenseman of the Week and AHA Defenseman of the Week honors along the way.
Nuutinen, one of the most dynamic offensive players in the country, steps into her second season wearing a letter after three standout years with the program. The Vantaa, Finland native burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2023-24, finishing second in the nation among all rookies in scoring with 34 points (11G, 23A) and tying a CHA postseason record with four points in a single game against Robert Morris. She followed that with 25 points as a sophomore before turning in a 33-point junior campaign (10G, 23A) that included the team's highest net rating at +20 and the fourth-most assists in the AHA. Over her career, Nuutinen has piled up 92 points (32G, 60A) in 111 games, along with CHA All-Rookie Team, USCHO All-Rookie Team, four CHA Rookie of the Week honors, two CHA Rookie of the Month honors, and two AHA Forward of the Week nods.
Ljung, a steady presence on the Mercyhurst blue line since her freshman season, will wear an assistant captain letter for the first time in her career. The Hudiksvall, Sweden native led the team in blocked shots as a freshman with 65, then followed with 48 as a sophomore and 45 (third on the team) as a junior. Across her three seasons, Ljung has tallied 35 points (7G, 28A) in 113 games while anchoring a defense corps that has consistently ranked among the CHA's best defensively. She earned CHA All-Rookie Team, CHA All-Tournament Team, CHA Rookie of the Week, and AHA Defenseman of the Week honors during her time in Erie, and arrived at Mercyhurst after playing for Brynas IF in Sweden's top professional league, the SDHL.
Together, the trio gives the Lakers a leadership group with more than 340 combined career games of experience, a mix of two-way defensive presence and elite offensive production that the program will lean on as it opens the 2026-27 campaign on Friday, September 18th against RPI at 6 pm.
