AHA Monthly Recap: December 2025

There were only five series in December, which saw the return of Penn State after a month off, Robert Morris putting together some great games, and Mercyhurst not allowing a single goal against in three of their four games this month. Let's dive in!

Featured Game

After a month without a game, Penn State returned the day before New Year's Eve to face 10th-ranked Cornell. They split their last series against Northeastern and suffered their first loss. Spending a month practicing and seeing no opponents isn't easy, which is probably why there was no offense the first 55 minutes of the game. But with five minutes to go, Matilde Fantin scored on the power play, and the Nittany Lions shut down Cornell to record another shutout on the season. Like plenty of games this season, Katie DeSa was fantastic in net. She made a season-high 35 saves and is tied for the most shutouts in program history.

The defense put up big blocks this game and you have to give them as much credit as DeSa for the win that night. Penn State had been allowed three goals in three of their four games before facing Cornell and had won those three games by just one goal. The tide had turned for a bit in November against RIT when they gave PSU a scare by keeping the second game of their series on Nov. 22 close until the final minutes of the game.

This time around, though, defender Maddy Christian recorded six blocks and and assist too. Danica Maynard had four blocks, while Kendall Butze finished with three. That's 13 blocks by three players of the 22 in total for PSU. DeSa and the defenders shut things down when needed.

This win was the their sixth win over a ranked opponent for the most wins in a single season.

Awards Season🏆

Best player: Maggie Hatch - Robert Morris

Maggie Hatch appeared in four games for the Colonials and posted three shutouts. Yes, three! It began with a shutout of Syracuse in game one of the series, then back-to-back shutouts against Long Island University the following week. Hatch also stopped all the shots she faced in the shootout against Syracuse to give her a 3-0-1 record and undefeated month for RMU. She made a total of 134 saves in four games and had a .985 save percentage during the month. She also reached 2,000 career saves. Hatch was recognized as the AHA Goaltender of the Month and was recently named Co-Goalie of the Month by the Women’s Hockey Commissioners Association. She now has eight career shutouts, good for second-most in RMU program history.

Best Team of December: RMU

RMU went 3-0-1 during the month of December. They recorded three shutouts, which can't be accomplished without great defense and great goaltending as well. Even when they finished tied with Syracuse, they found a way to win in the shootout. Jessica MacKinnon finished with seven points in four games, the most by any forward in the conference. That led to her winning Forward of the Month in the AHA. Everything went well for the Colonials and they put together a great month!

Interesting Storyline

For a slower month, I thought it would be cool to showcase some of the interesting stats from the first half of the season.

Jessica MacKinnon of RMU (there's a lot of RMU here this month!) ranked first overall in the NCAA in faceoff wins with 321. She ranked ninth in the NCAA with 28 points and first in the AHA in goals with 13 by the end of 2025.

Penn State had a historic first half of their season when they finished with only one loss. They have never gone to overtime, they earned their highest ranking when they reached number four in the USCHO rankings, and they have some incredibly talented players, including goaltender Katie DeSa and forward and national team member Tessa Janecke.

Note: I did a deep dive into the Nittany Lions' first half below.

Checking In on Penn State’s Season So Far

A check-in on Penn State’s season at the holiday break.

The Ice GardenGiselle Velazquez

Some of the most interesting stats are the fact PSU allows an average of 1.11 goals per game which is first overall in all the NCAA. They also have seven shorthanded goals, eight combined shutouts, and Katelyn Roberts leads the nation with six game-winning goals! Those are my select favorite stats but there are so many more that are impressive. Penn State's first half saw them finish with a 18-1-0 record by the end of December and these numbers show how that all fell into place.

Notable Moments

Tessa Janecke took part in The Rivalry Series in December representing Team USA. The forward played alongside Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight on the top line in games three and four of the series. She scored a goal in the U.S.'s 10-4 win over Canada on Dec. 10. Janecke finished with three points in four games to help the Stars and Stripes to a Rivalry Series sweep.

Danica Mark scored her first goal as a member of the Delaware Blue Hens.

Morgan Giannone of RMU recorded her first career hat trick against LIU on Dec. 13.

Mercyhurst's Julia Perjus and Julia Schalin recorded five point weekends.

Something You May Have Missed

This is how the Julias were able to record a five point weekend each. Mercyhurst scored 10 goals in one game against Lindenwood on Dec. 6. That offensive output resulted in three players finishing that game with four points each.

Schalin had a hat trick, the second of her career, and an assist. Payten Evans finished with one goal and three assists while Perjus recorded four assists.

Three players also recorded three-point games as well. All around, it was a huge showing for the Lakers going into the holiday break.

Looking Ahead

It's a big month in the AHA as Penn State plays a non-conference game against Cornell once again on Jan. 20 in Ithaca in a rematch of the Dec. 30 game mentioned at the start of this recap. PSU also plays a cool outdoor game against Robert Morris on Jan. 30 at Beaver Stadium. That should be a super fun game to attend and to watch as well. RMU had a great December so they'll be able to keep up with Penn State and perhaps even upset them. I see a split that weekend.

You can check out the full AHA schedule here.