Early in the second period of an eventual 4-1 victory over the Boston University Terriers on Friday, Wisconsin women’s hockey captain Kelly Gorbatenko suffered an injury that sidelined her for the remainder of the game. The injury could interrupt what was quickly shaping up to be a promising season for one of the Wisconsin Badgers’ most-important contributors.
Just over five minutes into the second period, Gorbatenko blocked a shot from BU defender Peyton Blaney. After doing so, Gorbatenko appeared to be in pain, grabbing her left arm. The forward returned to the Wisconsin bench under her own power before eventually walking down the Badger tunnel with athletic trainer Stefanie Arndt.
Gorbatenko eventually returned to the bench, but did not return to play the rest of the evening. In a postgame interview, Badgers head coach Mark Johnson provided an update on Gorbatenko’s status.
Wisconsin women’s hockey: Kelly Gorbatenko injury update
By scoring 28 goals in her junior-year campaign, Gorbatenko returned to college hockey as the top returning goal scorer in the WCHA. Already at the start of her senior season, the Barrington, Illinois native had scored four goals in three games. Dating back to last season, she had tallied 10 goals in UW’s last eight contests and 14 goals in Wisconsin’s last 13, including a goal in the 2026 national title game.
This past offseason, three of Wisconsin’s top-ten all-time leading scorers exhausted their eligibility. Because of that, Gorbatenko was expected to shoulder a significant scoring load.
On Friday evening, Johnson seemed unsure whether Gorbatenko would have the opporrunity to continue that hot streak.
“She’ll get examined Sunday, and we’ll see that, but yeah, didn’t need that,” he remarked.
The Chicago Mission product appeared to be grabbing at her left wrist when she returned to the bench. That could prove significant as Gorbatenko previously broke her left wrist in high school.
Although she could not play during the remainder of the game on Friday, Gorbatenko returned to the bench to cheer on her teammates.
“She wasn’t going to play, but she’s that type of leader,” Johnson said. “You know, wanted to be around her teammates. Kept encouraging them, and so that that says a lot about who she is.”
Gorbatenko’s continued presence left an impression on her teammates, including linemate Cassie Hall.
“It just shows what such how such a good captain she is,” said Hall. “Just wanting to be out there, cheer us on, and I mean, it’s the little things. She’s cheering every block shot, every dump into the zone. I mean, it’s huge having her on the bench, and her wanting to be out there is just it says everything about her and just the person she is.”
Kelly Gorbatenko injury could leave Wisconsin Badgers significantly shorthanded
Next weekend, top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey faces a significant challenge as it travels to face the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes. UW and OSU have met in each of the past four national championship games. If Gorbatenko is unable to play, she will join a growing list of players unavailable during the two-game series for the Badgers.
Ahead of the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championships in November, Hockey Canada will host its national team selection camp in Quebec City next week. Hockey Canada invited three current Badgers to the camp: rookie forward Rosalie Tremblay, senior defender Ava Murphy, and junior defender Emma Venusio.
Additionally, UW defender Mackenzie Jones’ status remains uncertain. The sophomore has yet to suit up for a game this season. She skated during Wisconsin’s championship banner raising ceremony on Thursday, but was seen wearing a boot on her left foot inside LaBahn Arena on Friday.
Ohio State forwards Jocelyn Amos and Hayley McDonald also received Hockey Canada camp invites.
In addition to playing on Wisconsin’s top forward line, Gorbatenko plays on UW’s top power-play unit and is a regular penalty killer. On Friday, junior winger Finley McCarthy slotted into Gorbatenko’s spot on UW’s top forward line in the third period, impressing her coach and teammates as Johnson lauded her forecheck.
“She was she was great for us,” Hall added. “She’s always hard on the puck, a really good F1. She can dig the puck out of the corner, so it’s nice to have her on our line. I mean, I’ve never really played with her, but the for the third period, it was fun. I mean, she was great to play with.”
Thank you for visiting BadgerBreakaway.com – With your support, we are quickly becoming a leading independent source for news, analysis, and intel on the Wisconsin Badgers hockey and basketball teams.