College Hockey America

Penn State Looks To Defend CHA Title As Postseason Begins: How To Watch

Penn State Looks To Defend CHA Title As Postseason Begins: How To Watch

The College Hockey America Postseason is set to begin with top-seeded Penn State looking to defend its title led by sophomore sensation Tessa Janecke.

Feb 23, 2024 by Chris Peters
Penn State Looks To Defend CHA Title As Postseason Begins: How To Watch

The 2024 College Hockey America Postseason is about to get rolling with No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Mercyhurst hosting No. 4 RIT and No. 3 Robert Morris, respectively, in the semifinals this weekend. The winner of the CHA tournament earns the Robert DeGregorio cup as postseason champions and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

All games will be streamed live and on demand on FloHockey.

The Nittany Lions enter the tournament as the top seed, beating out Mercyhurst by just two points with a 14-4-2 record in conference play. Penn State has a 19-12-3 record overall. Mercyhurst, meanwhile went 14-6-0 in conference play and had an 18-15-1 overall record.

That 2024 NCAA women’s national tournament spot may be on the line in the CHA championship game, but to get there the four remaining teams will play a best-of-three semifinal series to determine who gets to play for the auto bid in a single championship game the weekend of March 1-2.

Penn State is nationally ranked and sits 15th in the Pairwise after earning their first NCAA bid last season. The Nittany Lions will take on RIT, who has given them some trouble this year. The Tigers just completed a series at Penn State last week, losing the first game before battling to a 1-1 tie in the series finale. RIT also picked up a win over PSU on Jan. 13 in OT. So this is no gimme for the Nittany Lions.

On the other side of the backet, Robert Morris, in the program’s first season back after being on hiatus since 2021, is back in the CHA postseason after winning the tournament title in their final season before the program was briefly discontinued. 

The Colonials will be seeking their fourth CHA playoff championship after finishing third in the league with an 11-8-1 conference record and 14-17-1 overall mark. They have every reason to believe they can compete, too, as they’re on a three-game winning streak including a big victory over Penn State on Feb. 10. On top of that, RMU is 2-2 against Mercyhurst this year.

Players To Watch In The CHA Playoffs

Tessa Janecke, F, Sophomore, Penn State

Penn State will enter the CHA postseason as the favorite, led by top scorer Tessa Janecke, who currently ranks tied for fourth in the country with 52 points bolstered by 36 assists, which is second most in the NCAA. She has seven points over the four games against RIT this season and was just named to the All-CHA first team for the second time.

Sara Boucher, F, Senior, Mercyhurst

Mercyhurst has a top-20 NCAA scorer of their own as Boucher is over a point per game with 38 points in 34 games, including 17 goals which is tied for second-most among CHA players. Boucher, who was named to the All-CHA first team, had a hat trick against Robert Morris earlier in the season and put up six points over the four games of the season series.

Alaina Giampietro, F, Redshirt Freshman, Robert Morris

The Colonials have a balanced offensive attack, but Giampietro has paced the team in goals in her first NCAA season with 17. She’s averaging 5.5 shots on goal per game after transferring as a redshirt freshman from perennial power Ohio State. She has six points in four games against Mercyhurst this season and was an All-CHA second-team and all-rookie team selection.

Sophia Bellina, G, Sophomore, RIT

The Tigers have gone with a platoon in net, but Bellina has gotten the bulk of the starts and has put up some impressive numbers. She’s 10-8-1, but owns a .935 save percentage while seeing an average of more than 30 shots against per game. She allowed just one goal on 44 shots against Penn State in her final regular-season start. She was just named to the All-CHA second team.

College Hockey America Playoffs Schedule

No. 4 RIT at No. 1 Penn State

Friday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m. ET

Saturday, Feb. 24, 1 p.m. ET

Sunday, Feb. 25, 1 p.m. ET (if necessary)

No. 3 Robert Morris at No. 2 Mercyhurst

Friday, Feb. 23, 2 p.m. ET

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m. ET

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m. ET (if necessary)

College Hockey America Championship Game

March 1-2 (TBD)

How To Watch The CHA Playoffs

Every game from the 2024 College Hockey America Postseason will be streamed live and on demand on FloHockey and via the FloSports app. Sign up today for access to the CHA tournament and much more!

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