Penn State’s Tessa Janecke, Team USA to Compete in Olympic Gold Medal Game

Penn State star Tessa Janecke is looking to add some hardware to her collection.

Arguably the most accomplished player in Nittany Lion women’s hockey history, Janecke will compete for an Olympic gold medal with Team USA on Thursday at 1:10 p.m.

The red, white and blue will face off against the winner of the other semifinal between Canada and Switzerland, set to take place at 3:10 p.m. on Monday, available on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com.

To reach the gold medal game, the United States went 4-0 in the preliminary rounds — including lopsided wins over potential final opponents Canada and Switzerland — before defeating Italy in the quarterfinals and Sweden in the semifinals.

En route, Janecke and Co. knocked off other Nittany Lions, including Matilde Fantin with Italy and Nicole Hall and Jess Adolfsson with Sweden.

Janecke has totaled no goals but has five assists through six games, making her one of the team leaders in that category.

Following the conclusion of the Olympic games, the senior forward will return to Penn State, where the Nittany Lions are gearing up for postseason play after finishing the regular season at 29-5 with a fourth-consecutive conference championship.

The AHA tournament begins on Feb. 27 and the NCAA tournament begins on March 12. Pegula Ice Arena. will play host to the women’s Frozen Four March 20 and 22.