By the numbers: Kirsten Simms is 8th member of Wisconsin women's hockey 200-point club
Kirsten Simms joined one of Wisconsin women's hockey's most-exclusive clubs with a dominating career on the power play
The 200-point club is an exclusive one in Wisconsin women’s hockey. Even in the age of seemingly endless eligibility, only two Wisconsin Badgers have reached that threshold since 2020. Kirsten Simms, the most recent addition to and eighth-ever member of the club, has done it the old-fashioned way in only four seasons.
“It’s incredible,” the senior said after reaching that mark with a five-point weekend against the St. Cloud State Huskies. “It’s obviously a huge honor to be a part of that and to be a part of that group.”
That group includes Casey O’Brien (274), Hilary Knight (262), Brianna Decker (244), Meghan Duggan (238), Sara Bauer (218), Brooke Ammerman (215), Annie Pankowski (206), and now, Simms.
After an effective rookie campaign in which Simms contributed with 16 goals and 16 assists, her production took off as a sophomore. She led the country in goals with 33, total points with 75, and her 42 assists were second only to O’Brien, who put together the first-ever 50-assist season in UW’s program history.
Simms followed up with another 72 points as a junior and is on pace for a 70+ point senior year. Despite missing two games and most of a third due to injury, the reigning WCHA Forward of the Week is fifth in the country in scoring with eight goals and 14 assists. Through 12 games, Simms has a team-high 1.83 points per game.
Despite the individual accolades, Simms is eager to credit her teammates for her success on the stat sheet.
“I think it’s a testament to the players I’ve gotten to play with over my last three and a half, going onto my fourth year here now,” she said. “So, I mean, you name all the players like Casey O’Brien, Laila [Edwards], and Britta [Curl], and all these players that I’ve gotten to play with.
“I was literally joking with Laila the other day, and I was like, ‘If you don’t put the puck in the net as much as you do, I don’t even get close to that.’”
The numbers bear out Simms’ thoughts on her contributions from O’Brien and, especially, from Edwards, when all is said and done about her time in Madison.
Kirsten Simms’ 200 points with Wisconsin women’s hockey by the numbers
201 - Her current, and climbing, career point total. If she hits 70 points again, Simms will finish with the third-most points in program history, just edging out Class of 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Decker.
119 - Simms’ career assist total. She is one of only three (O’Brien, Decker) Badgers to amass 40 helpers in a season twice and could be the first to do so three times.
82 - The Plymouth, Michigan native’s career total in goals includes a campaign in which she found the back of the net 33 times, the ninth-most in a season in program history.
80% - In Wisconsin’s past three national title game appearances, Simms has recorded a point on four of the five Badger goals scored.
76.5% - Whether this is a Simms stat or a Lacey Eden stat may be up to interpretation. The pair of Badgers forwards have been together for the past four seasons, during which time Eden has climbed the leaderboard with 22 power-play goals, tied with former UW captain Curl for the seventh-most in program history. Simms has assisted on 17 of Eden’s goals, including 13 (read: 76.5% of the total assists from Simms to Eden) on the advantage.
47.8% - The 2024 WCHA Player of the Year has scored a little under half of her career points at home. Simms has tallied 32 goals and 64 assists inside LaBahn Arena.
39 - A staggering 32.8% of Simms’ assists have come on the power play. The Little Caesars Hockey Club product has dished 39 power-play assists to 12 different goal scorers.
35 - The Bemidji State Beavers hate to see Simms coming. Her 35 points against BSU are her most against any team. Simms’ 19 goals in 16 games, including three hat tricks, are also her most against any opponent UW has faced.
28 - Of O’Brien’s 98 career goals (the fifth-most by any Badger ever), Simms assisted on 28. The former Wisconsin captain turned New York Siren is the current leader on the “who has Kirsten Simms assisted most often” leaderboard.
24 - O’Brien is currently atop that leaderboard, but Edwards may wind up surpassing her. Simms has logged assists on 24 of Edwards’ goals, including Simms’ lone assist on any overtime winner.
19 - The number of different Badger goal scorers who have been recipients of a Simms assist.
18 - Eden and Simms have each scored 18 game-winning goals in their respective careers. Simms, of course, has twice scored decisive goals in national championship games. The duo, along with 2006 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Sara Bauer, sit in a three-way tie with the seventh-most game-winners in Wisconsin women’s hockey history.
14 - Since her sophomore season, Simms has recorded at least one point in all but 14 of her 92 games played.
13 - From mid-October to early December 2024, Simms enjoyed a career-long 13-game point streak. During that stretch, the two-time first-team All-American impacted the score sheet with nine goals and 15 assists.
6 - There are just over a handful of players whom Simms has assisted just once. Current Badgers Hannah Halverson and Adéla Šapovalivová are, for now, members of that club alongside former Wisconsin women’s hockey players Grace Shirley, Sophie Shirley, Maddi Wheeler, Anna Wilgren, and Sarah Wozniewicz.
1 - As a junior, Simms recorded her first, and currently only, point on an empty-netter in her career when hitting an open net against the St. Cloud State Huskies. Center Cassie Hall and goaltender Ava McNaughton assisted on that tally.
0 - Oddly enough, Simms has never recorded a point on a shorthanded goal.
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