Analysis | How Penn State women’s hockey coach Jeff Kampersal's tenure has gone so far

Five seasons, five CHA semifinal appearances, but five semifinal losses.

Penn State coach Jeff Kampersal’s tenure with the blue and white could be characterized by regular-season success, chaos in the locker room and a failure to win in the big moments.

The Beverly, Massachusetts, native has compiled a record of 70-57-35 during his time in Happy Valley.

Hockey has been a major part of Kampersal’s life, playing in high school at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, leading to his induction into the school’s hall of fame in 2009.

The defenseman’s play caught the eyes of many NHL teams, and he was selected in the 10th round of the 1988 entry draft by the New York Islanders.

Kampersal opted to play college hockey before heading to the pros, attending Princeton.

Throughout his four seasons with the Tigers, he played in 107 games, tallying 15 goals and 42 points.

The defenseman made a major impact on the program, being named team captain in his senior season while also selected to the All-Ivy League and All-ECAC teams.

After graduating from Princeton in 1992, Kampersal made the jump to the professional game, playing for the Capital District Islanders of the AHL in the 1992-93 season.

His AHL career was limited to just eight games, but he made the most of it, scoring a goal and tacking on three assists.

He finished out the year playing in the ECHL for the Richmond Renegades and in 57 games scored six goals and recorded 24 points.

Kampersal returned to his alma mater in the 1996-97 campaign to lead the women’s hockey program and, just like in his playing days, transformed the program.

Kampersal led the program for 21 seasons and guided the Tigers to two Ivy League Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Over that span, he took home ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year honors three times and Ivy League Coach of the Year accolades twice.

In his final two years with the program, he finished with a 42-19-5 record, which included a 2016 Ivy League Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.

Despite loads of success at Princeton, Kampersal knew it was time to move on and take on a new challenge.

Kampersal was hired in June 2017 to become the head coach of Penn State women’s hockey.

The season prior, the Nittany Lions had a record of 9-21-5 and Kampersal knew it was going to be a challenge — but he was ready for it.

“What made Penn State attractive is the academics are really important and the sports are big time,” Kampersal said in an interview with Penn State Athletics in 2017. “It was difficult to leave Princeton.”

Kampersal wasn’t the only big name to head to Happy Valley in the 2017-18 campaign — current fifth-year senior forward Natalie Heising also joined the program.

The duo formed an immediate connection, and it helped the blue and white improve mightily in Kampersal’s inaugural season.

Penn State finished with a 10-15-11 record and allowed a CHA-best 1.92 goals per game, which was an improvement of more than a goal per game from the prior year.

The blue and white finished fourth in the conference and after defeating Lindenwood 2-1 in the quarterfinals, but its run at a title was cut short after losing 7-2 against top-seeded Robert Morris in the semifinals.

The Nittany continued to improve under the guidance of Kampersal in 2018-19, compiling a record of 13-14-9.

Kampersal’s squad began competing with some of the top teams in the nation, tying No. 4 Cornell 3-3 and defeating No. 5 Colgate 4-2, which was the highest-ranked win in team history.

Despite its success against ranked teams, Penn State still couldn’t get the better of Robert Morris, losing 2-1 in the CHA Tournament semifinals.

Kampersal prides himself on having a strong defensive structure, and that was evident in the 2019-20 season.

The blue and white had a similar season the year prior, finishing with a record of 13-15-8, shutting out opponents seven times, a single-season record.

Even though the Nittany Lions hadn’t become the powerhouse Princeton was under Kampersal, help was on the way.

Penn State recruited elite talent in forward Kiara Zanon, defender Lyndie Lobdell and goalie Josie Bothun to pair with Heising and defender Jessica Adolfsson.

This blend of young talent and experienced veterans led the Nittany Lions to new heights.

The blue and white finished with a program-best 16-3-2 record in 2020-21 and its first-ever CHA regular-season championship.

Several Nittany Lions received national recognition for their play, with Kiara Zanon winning the WHCA National Rookie of the Year and Josie Bothun being named the USCHO.com National Rookie of the Year.

Kampersal took home CHA Coach of the Year and was an AHCA National Coach of the Year finalist.

Penn State cracked the top 10 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls for the first time ever.

The Nittany Lions entered the CHA Tournament as the No. 1 seed and the clear favorite to win the championship.

However, things didn’t go as planned for Kampersal’s squad, losing 3-2 in the semifinals to Syracuse.

The blue and white had lofty expectations for the 2021-22 campaign, and the team finished second in the conference with an 18-10-5 record.

There were several bumps along the way in Penn State’s pursuit of a title, including an 0-3-1 start, three players transferring and two ties against RIT, who finished with a 2-27-2 record.

The players who transferred were freshman defenders Erika and Audrey Shirer and junior forward Mikayla Lantto.

Lantto played her last game as a Nittany Lion on Dec. 10 and posted a TikTok just two weeks later detailing her frustrations with the program and her decision to leave it.

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdxWYfr4/

After the blue and white tied RIT for a second time on Feb. 18, just one game away from the tournament, Kampersal commented on his future.

“As a coach, I haven't done a good job because I know when it's coming and I can't fix it,” Kampersal said. “They need somebody else to come in here and figure that stuff out.”

He continued to detail the issues going on in the Nittany Lion locker room.

“I think I’m demanding, but they’ll think I'm demeaning,” Kampersal said. “That’s the issue we're having right now.”

The Nittany Lions went on to win their last game of the regular season against RIT and were looking to snap the streak of losing in the semifinals.

Unfortunately for Kampersal and his team, Penn State was overmatched by Mercyhurst losing 4-2 in a game where Mercyhurst had full control from the opening faceoff.

The loss also marked the end of Heising’s illustrious career, who broke several program records and also took home CHA Player of the Year for the 2021-22 campaign.

When Kampersal was asked about what Heising meant to him, he continued the trend of making comments about his future.

Now that Heising is graduating in May, Kampersal’s future is up in the air.

“If it wasn’t for Natalie, I may not be here in the fifth year at Penn State,” Kampersal said.