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USA chants echoed throughout the venue. Fans waved their American flags in the air. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s song “Free Bird” blasted over the loudspeakers. That was the scene Friday night at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena — Tessa Janecke’s first game back from the Milan Winter Olympics.

The scene was for good reason — Janecke has cemented herself as a Nittany Lions icon. She’s already Penn State’s all-time goals leader and has led the team to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but her most commendable accomplishment yet came over 4,000 miles away in Italy. She tallied five assists en route to capturing the United States women’s hockey team’s first Olympic gold medal since 2018.

Janecke told B1G+ postgame fans have recognized her in downtown State College, Pennsylvania, since her return from Italy and have congratulated her on the accomplishment.

But it wasn’t just Janecke from Penn State who was at the Olympics. It was also Nicole Hall, who suited up for Team Sweden, and Matilde Fantin with Team Italy.

And in their first game back from Milan in the Atlantic Hockey America Semifinals, Penn State’s Olympians made quick work of a lifeless Syracuse team. SU (15-17-4, 10-11-3 AHA) was obliterated 7-0 by No. 3 PSU (30-5, 22-2 AHA) Friday in Game 1 for its 10th consecutive loss to the Nittany Lions. PSU’s Olympic trio scored five of its seven goals in the victory, putting the Orange on the brink of elimination Saturday.

It’s an all-too-familiar feeling for the Orange. When SU visited Penn State in November, it reached a new nadir, getting outscored 18-2 over two games. Ava Drabyk was pulled and Charlotte Hallett was ejected in the latter game, capping off a disastrous weekend for the Orange.

The series wiped away any ounce of progress SU had shown over the first two months of the season and indicated it had leaps to go before it could compete with the AHA’s cream of the crop in PSU and Mercyhurst.

Syracuse showed progress when it hosted the Nittany Lions for a two-game series in January, but still couldn’t capture an elusive win. It fell 4-1 and 3-2, respectively, though it led Penn State early in the second game.

“Really happy with our weekend, and I thought today we elevated our game from yesterday,” SU head coach Britini Smith said after its Jan. 17 loss to the Nittany Lions.

The Orange returned to square one Friday. While Drabyk gloved multiple Penn State shots early in the first period, her success didn’t last for long, as PSU took a 1-0 lead around the six-minute mark.

Fittingly, it was Janecke with the goal – her 20th of the season. Who else would it be?

Janecke has conquered college hockey overall, but she’s especially had Syracuse’s number this year. In addition to her hat trick Friday, she scored four goals in four games against the Orange in the regular season, including two on Jan. 17.

Less than two minutes later, Penn State doubled its lead. This time, it was Fantin, who fired the puck past Drabyk off an SU turnover. The goal was a microcosm of the Orange’s catastrophic night – filled with sloppiness and defensive lapses.

Italy’s women’s ice hockey team fell to the U.S. in the first round of the Olympic playoffs, but Fantin still starred in the preliminary round, scoring two goals in a win over Japan on Feb. 9. Her Olympic prowess continued to show throughout the remainder of the game, as she added two assists.

Syracuse trailed 2-0 after the first period. But unlike its games against PSU in November, it looked somewhat competent. SU led the faceoff battle 12-11 and looked to be turning the tide with a strong start to the second.

The Orange’s momentum vanished 11 minutes into the period.

Despite losing the faceoff, PSU’s Mya Vaslet muscled her way to the front of the net and scored to make it 3-0. Drabyk instantly looked overmatched, and SU was reeling.

Six minutes after Vaslet’s goal, Janecke struck again on a power play. One-on-one with Drabyk, she fooled the netminder, putting the game out of reach.

A once-promising night for Drabyk continued to unravel.

In the waning minutes of the second period, Drabyk was ejected after a five-minute major roughing penalty. The contest was becoming eerily reminiscent of PSU’s 11-2 thrashing on Nov. 15, 2025.

With Drabyk out, could backup goalie Bella Gould perhaps provide a jolt?

She couldn’t, and Penn State kept pouring it on.

From Milan to State College and everywhere in between, Janecke has checked nearly every box an athlete can this season. But entering Friday, she hadn’t recorded a hat trick yet. She’s come awfully close, tallying two goals on three occasions, but hadn’t notched a third.

That changed early in the third period, as Janecke scored again on a power play. All Gould could do was stare into space as Janecke skated down PSU’s bench, high-fiving each player.

Gould couldn’t stop the bleeding, as Hall tacked on another Nittany Lions goal to make it 6-0. Even in the rare instances where the Orange contained Janecke, Penn State’s other Olympians made them pay.

SU may have an Olympic coach in Smith. As an assistant coach, she helped lead Team Canada to a silver medal last week in Milan.

But the reason Smith couldn’t capture a gold medal was Janecke and the U.S. And in State College Friday night, Janecke continued making a fool of Smith and Syracuse.

With its back against the wall, all SU can do is pray that its season won’t end Saturday. But if Friday was any indication, Syracuse’s prayers probably won’t come true.

Published on February 27, 2026 at 11:08 pm
Contact Spencer: sabrod@syr.edu | @spencerbrod20