No. 10 Penn State women’s hockey has had an electrifying season so far, having just clinched the CHA regular-season title with a 12-1-1 conference record and setting themselves for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

While hockey is a team sport, an argument can be made that Penn State’s jump to elite status is partly due to its standout freshman phenom, Tessa Janecke, who was named to the HCA Rookie of the Year watch list last week.

The lightning-quick 18-year-old doesn’t let her inexperience show when she’s on the ice, routinely dominating much older opponents on her quest to put the biscuit in the net. She leads all rookie skaters in points with 36, evenly split with 18 goals and assists. Her tally is the second-most by Nittany Lions this season, too, only trailing junior Kiara Zanon’s 45.

Janecke has also been a force at the face-off dot for Penn State all season, winning 354 draws for a 63.3% season percentage. The raw total wins puts the Nittany Lion at sixth in the nation, trailing five seniors, all of whom have worse percentages.

Janecke is one of 28 names on the watchlist, and the committee of voters will convene in March during the NCAA Frozen Four to decide on the winner.

About the Author

Jack Scott

Jack was an industrial engineering major from Pittsburgh, PA. Sometimes, he enjoyed the misunderstanding of his friends and family that Penn State Club Ski Racing may have been a D1 sport and usually wouldn't correct them. Jack was way too into Thundercat for his own good. Follow him on Twitter @joscottIV and Instagram @jackscott._iv. Thank you fans!

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