Wisconsin women's hockey depth shines in 8-0 win
Injuries to key players have yet to slow down Wisconsin women's hockey; a lopsided victory, featuring 8 goal scorers, proved the Badgers remain a dominant force
An 8-0 victory was the latest in the lopsided recordbook of matchups between the Wisconsin women’s hockey team and the Minnesota State Mavericks. With a shutout on Sunday, the Badgers produced their second-most lopsided result ever against MSU, and improved their record against the WCHA foe to 113-3-3.
Wisconsin came out to a blistering start, scoring four goals in the first period. That fast start did not carry over into the second period, as MSU ultimately outshot UW 29-26 on the day, due to a second period marred with uncharacteristic defensive lapses by the Badgers.
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Mark Johnson acknowledged that, despite the domination implied by the final score, his team has plenty to improve.
“It was a very good start, the second period was the second period. Good learning opportunities for everyone involved within that.”
It was the first time the Badgers had been outshot since January 4th, when they battled the Ohio State Buckeyes to a tie in the Big Ten’s Frozen Confines outdoor game at Wrigley Field.
8 goals, 8 Wisconsin women’s hockey goal scorers
Hannah Halverson, appropriately donning #8, scored the first Badgers goal of the day when the sophomore tipped in defender Caroline Harvey’s shot from the point. Halverson scored her first goal of the season on her birthday, kicking off an offensive barrage led by eight different goal scorers.
Each of Wisconsin’s top six forwards scored a goal, highlighted by a three-on-one rush by the tremendous trio of Cassie Hall, Kelly Gorbatenko, and Maggie Scannell. Hall initially carried the puck into the offensive zone on the right wing. Then, she delivered a highlight reel passing sequence with her linemates.
Hall fed the puck to Scannell in the slot, who, in turn, passed to Gorbatenko on the left wing. Gorbatenko then slid it from left to right across the crease to Hall for a tap-in back-door goal. It was a dizzying play for Minnesota State defender Kianna Roeske.
“I was a little anxious when the puck came from left to right,” Johnson said of the “tic-tac-toe” goal. “But when [Hall] scored, it was like, beautiful play.”
Hall continues her goal-per-game pace and is now up to ten on the season. She currently sits with the third-most goals of any player in the country, with Gorbatenko and Scannell combining for 11 more goals on what is proving to be a dynamic line of forwards.
“We have so much ceiling, and I think that was just a glimpse of it,” Gorbatenko said of the sequence. “We just have, like, so much potential that we’re climbing every day to get to. And that was just like a high-IQ play by Maggie and Cassie as well. So, it was fun to kind of get that goal, and it just is like a glimpse of our potential.”
Down two first-team All-Americans in Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms, plus the most recent addition to the injury report in Laney Potter, Wisconsin impressed with its balanced scoring effort.
“I didn’t realize eight different people had scored,” Johnson said in a post-game interview. “So that’s a really positive sign.”
“I didn’t even realize it was eight different people,” Gorbatenko added. “But it just kind of shows like what our depth is. And we have that next-man-up mentality. And I think, just like, even this past week, I could see how talented we are. It’s tough to lose people, you never want to have people down with injury, but I know that everybody’s ready to go and ready to fill those shoes when injuries do happen. And I think today was a good representation of that.”
3 stars of the game
3rd Star: Ava McNaughton
Goaltender Ava McNaughton handled the majority of the workload in net, making 23 saves, including 14 in the second period. She was replaced in goal after Wisconsin scored its eighth goal, after which time rookie Rhyah Stewart made six saves to close the final 14:33 of play.
After capturing the 2025 National Goaltender of the Year award, McNaughton’s dominance in net continues. McNaughton and Stewart have twice combined for shutout efforts, alongside McNaughton’s national-best five full-game shutouts, for a team total of seven. McNaughton also leads the country with a .967 save percentage and a 0.63 goals-against-average. She is the only goaltender in the nation averaging fewer than one goal against per game.
2nd Star: Kelly Gorbatenko
Gorbatenko finished the day with a goal and two assists. The Badgers’ alternate captain is up to six goals and eight assists on the year. She has tallied five goals and three assists in Wisconsin’s past four games.
“We put together a good first few, ten games,” the Barrington, Illinois native said. “And, you know, we’re ready to kind of build off for the net ten.”
1st Star: Claire Enright
Before the Ice Breaker Tournament championship game, Claire Enright had not recorded a point this season. Now, the senior is up to six points in the past three games, the most productive scoring stretch of her career.
“She’s got a good head on her shoulder. She understands the game; you know, what’s going on with the puck?” Johnson said of Enright after the series-opener. “It was nice to see her score.”
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