ERIE, Pennsylvania – The Penn State women's hockey team was well represented on the 2021 CHA regular season awards list, with seven student-athletes receiving all conferences accolades including Kiara Zanon (Fairport, New York) winning both the CHA Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year and Josie Bothun (Wyoming, Minnesota) garnering CHA Goaltender of the Year honors.
Both Zanon and Bothun were also selected to the All-CHA first team with Natalie Heising (Wayzata, Minnesota) and Jessica Adolfsson (Linkoping, Sweden). Izzy Heminger (Dublin, Ohio) was chosen to the All-CHA second team and Olivia Wallin (Oakville, Ontario) and Lyndie Lobdell (Aurora, Illinois) joined Bothun and Zanon on the CHA All-Rookie team.
In addition, head coach Jeff Kampersal was selected CHA Coach of the Year and Heising was named the CHA's Individual Sportsmanship Award winner.
The awards were chosen by league coaches. The full list of winners can be found via the CHA's release.
All seven student-athletes selected have been instrumental in Penn State's record-breaking season in 2020-21 and powered the Nittany Lions to its first conference regular season championship in program history. Zanon has exploded on to the women's college hockey scene in just her first season at Penn State with a conference-leading 30 points (10G, 20A), a total that ranks third in the nation and tops all rookies in country.
Last week, Zanon became the first Nittany Lion and was the only underclassmen chosen as a finalist for the 2021 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award given to the nation's top women's hockey player. Zanon has already broken or is on pace to break several Nittany Lion scoring records for a single season despite the shortened 2020-21 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bothun has been a steadying anchor for Penn State's back line in 2020-21 with a program single-season record 16 wins in just her first 20 career starts in goal. Bothun became Penn State's first nominee for the Hockey Commissioners Association Women's Hockey Goaltender of the Year award last week thanks to her stellar play during the season, highlighted by her league-leading 1.36 goals-against average and .947 save percentage.
The team's senior captain, Heising is no stranger to All-CHA accolades with her 2021 first team award being the second of her decorated career. Heising has 20 points (7G, 13A) to her name in 16 games this season and eclipsed the 50-career goal mark Nov. 30, 2020. She has 97 career points (54G, 43A), which ranks third on Penn State's all-time scoring list.
Adolfsson's all-around elite play from the blue line garnered her first team nod. She ranks third among Penn State's defenders with 11 points (4G, 7A) and is often matched up against opposing teams top scoring units. Her vision and playmaking ability make her one of the toughest players to score against and one of the best in the league at springing the transition from offensive to defense.
Heminger's two-way play from her defender spot led to her scoring 12 points (2G, 10A) and picking up her second-straight second team honor after being named All-CHA second team in 2020. Also a great playmaker from the back line, Heminger ranks third in program history in scoring among defenders with 41 points in 88 career games.
Wallin instantly became one of Penn State's pure goal scorers when she first got on the ice for the Blue & White. Her 11 goals are tied for the team lead and rank second in both the conference and among national rookies.
Lobdell has been another great addition to Penn State's defensive corps with 14 points (1G, 13A) to lead Penn State's defensive unit in scoring. A great skater with a knack for making great decisions with the puck, Lobdell is yet another blue-liner who has controlled games for the Nittany Lions this year.
After leading the Nittany Lions to its first CHA regular season title, Kampersal wins his first conference coach of the year award. His 16-2-2 record this season improves his Penn State win total to 52, the most in program history, and his career win total to 579, seventh most all-time in Division I women's hockey.
The Nittany Lions begin their 2021 postseason in the CHA Tournament semifinals March 5 at 2 p.m.
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