Penn State Nittany Lions forward and Picton native Grace Outwater is utilizing her local connections to continue to improve and showcase herself on a big stage in NCAA Women’s hockey.
Outwater is coming off a season during which she built on her freshman year with the Nittany Lions, scoring 24 goals and tallying 16 assists in 36 games during her 2025-26 campaign.
Her play on the ice, as well as her team’s, culminated in an appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four semi-finals.
“It was unreal the amount of people we had at that game, the crowd was insane,” Outwater told Quinte News. “It was just super cool to play in front of them and having such a close game against Wisconsin was awesome to show them how hard we can compete and how great women’s hockey is, and just to show them this is what we can do. So hopefully, you know, they keep coming back and (keep) watching our games.”
The Nittany Lions ultimately fell to the Wisconsin Badgers in overtime, 4-3.
Outwater was on the penalty kill when the Badgers scored the game-winning goal, telling Quinte News that after the OT goal, she was already thinking about how to prepare for the next season.
“Whether it’s next year or the year after, I want our team to keep growing and to become the best,” Outwater said. “It was really hard (to lose), but I think everyone was happy with what we were able to do this past year, but this summer the returning girls especially were shifting gears and we know we were able to compete with the top teams. We are now ready to win.”
Since that appearance in the Frozen Four semi-finals, Outwater has been spending her summer in the Quinte region ahead of returning to Penn State for her junior season.
She says it is nice to get back home for the summer to both train and regroup for the season ahead.
“I know a lot of the coaching instructors and training people here. It’s been great to have them train me throughout the summer,” Outwater explained to Quinte News. “This is a place where I feel at home. There’s Lake Ontario and a bunch of different restaurants and places to go shopping, and this is where my family is. So it’s great to relax here during the summer, but also have a great place to train as well.”
Ultimately, Outwater’s goal is to join other local players like Erinsville native Maddi Wheeler and Belleville’s Zoe Uens, and be drafted into the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).
She says that seeing how the league has grown since its inception is something she wanted to be a part of and helped inspire her to continue pursuing hockey while playing for the Ottawa Lady Jr. Sens.
“I went to the first-ever game in Ottawa back when I was in junior hockey, and that was a really cool experience just to see, like, wow, so many people are paying attention to women’s hockey,” Outwater said.
“So I hope they keep, you know, expanding teams and more girls can get drafted.”
Outwater hopes that one day, she can do the same thing and inspire the next generation of women’s hockey players.
“My job is to keep working hard and keep pushing and inspire the next generation (and show) you can get to the next level, and there’s actually something after college hockey,” Outwater tells Quinte News.
“It’s not like you play college hockey, and then you’re done. There’s actually a job you can go to now and play in the PWHL. So that’s super exciting, and I hope all the younger girls are motivated now to keep going.”
The Penn State Nittany Lions will begin their 2026-27 season at home against their rival, the Ohio State Buckeyes, on September 24.
