October 1, 2026: Badgers captain Kelly Gorbatenko and alternate captain Ava McNaughton hold the 2026 national championship banner before raising it to the rafters. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
A handful of alumnae from UW’s 2025-26 squad returned to LaBahn Arena for the ceremony. Appleton, Wisconsin native McKayla Zilisch, first-round PWHL draft pick Vivian Jungels, Minnesota native Claire Enright, and former alternate captain Marianne Picard were in attendance. Bella Vasseur, who medically retired in the offseason, joined as well.
Current members of Wisconsin’s leadership group led by captain Kelly Gorbatenko and alternates Maggie Scannell, Laney Potter, and Ava McNaughton, carried the banner from the far end of the ice to the opposite blue line where the banner was raised.
In past years when the Badgers have celebrated adding another national championship banner, they have unfurled a banner from the rafters and dropped it below. This year, physically raising it in front of the fans was a special request from Johnson himself, and he has more dreams he would like to see realized.
“The next step is—knock on wood, never know if we’re going to win another one, but if we happen to—get the lights off. Get the spotlight as it goes up,” the winningest coach in the history of women’s college hockey remarked. “We’ve been spoiled around here; we’ve got nine of them. So, it’s like you try to make each one special because they’re hard to do, hard to get.”
October 1, 2026: Ava McNaughton waves to the crowd inside LaBahn Arena before Wisconsin’s home opener. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: McKayla Zilisch, a member of Wisconsin’s 2026 graduating class, is introduced to Badgers fans before UW raises its ninth national championship banner. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: Former Badgers alternate captain Marianne Picard walks to the ice for Wisconsin’s 2026 national championship banner raising ceremony. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: Former Wisconsin women’s hockey defender Vivian Jungels carries the 2026 NCAA national championship trophy. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: Badger women’s hockey forward Claire Enright, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2026 national championship game, walks toward center ice as Wisconsin raises its championship banner. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: (From left) Nicole Gorbatenko, Rachel Gorbatenko, and Mackenzie Jones watch a video recapping Wisconsin’s 2026 national championship. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: (From left) Vivian Jungels, Marianne Picard, Claire Enright, McKayla Zilisch, and Bella Vasseur watch a video montage of the 2026 national chamionship game. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: Badger women’s hockey defender Laney Potter (left) laughs as forward Maggie Scannell celebrates while carrying the 2026 national championship banner across the ice inside LaBahn Arena. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: Wisconsin women’s hockey captains watch as UW’s ninth national championship banner is raised. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
October 1, 2026: Wisconsin’s 2026 national championship banner seen with its other eight. Badger women’s hockey nine national championships are the most in the country. Photo credit: Aaron Frey, AMF Photography
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