The United States women's hockey team became Olympic gold medalists on Thursday, Feb. 19 after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime.
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Forward Tessa Janecke was one of four Penn State women's hockey players representing their home countries in the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games. Sophomore forward Nicole Hall and former Nittany Lion defenseman Jessica Adolfsson played for Sweden, which came in fourth at the Olympics. Freshman forward Matilde Fantin also played in the games, joining Team Italy.
For Team USA, Janecke slotted in at center on the fourth line. While she did not tally an assist or goal in the gold medal match versus Team Canada, both goals happened when she was out on the ice.
Forward Hilary Knight tallied the first goal for the United States, tying the game late in the third period and ultimately sending the contest into overtime. An extra attacker gave Knight this opportunity with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.
This neutralized Canada's goal from the beginning of the second period, which happened on a short-handed breakaway by forward Kristin O'Neill. This was the only time throughout Team USA's tournament, start to finish, that it trailed behind its opponent.
In overtime, defenseman Megan Keller slotted the game-winning and gold-securing goal.
Not only did Janecke come home with a gold medal around her neck, but she did so with an undefeated record. She registered five assists throughout her Olympics journey, which was tied for fourth on the team and sixth overall among women's hockey players in Milan.
This is the first time Team USA went through the Olympic Games without a loss since 1998. It beat Czechia, Finalnd, Switzerland, and Canada in the preliminary rounds before going on a run to the finals. The United States beat Italy and Sweden to get to the Gold-Medal Game. Team USA also beat its opponents 33-2 from start to finish, allowing one goal in the preliminary round versus Team Czechia and one goal in the finals.
Janecke returns to Penn State as her team prepares for the Atlantic Hockey America Tournament. The best-of-three matchups begin Friday, Feb. 27 at Pegula Ice Arena with the AHA Championship Game slated for Saturday, March 7. The NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament begins Thursday, March 12.