Six Badgers to partake in USA Hockey camp
December 26, 2015 | Women's Hockey
Pankowski joins five UW alums in six-day training camp
MADISON, Wis. -- Six current and former Wisconsin women's hockey players earned invites to the 2015 USA Hockey Winter Women's Training Camp that will be used to select the United States' roster for the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships next March.
Current Wisconsin standout Annie Pankowski will join former Badgers Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Alex Rigsby and Jessie Vetter for the camp that started Sunday and lasts until Friday in Blaine, Minnesota.
A Laguna Hills, California native, Pankowski was a member of the gold-medal winning International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship team in 2015, as well as participating in the 2013 and 2014 Four Nations Cups. She has skated in two Under-22 Series vs. Canada (2014, 2015), as well as two U-18 Series vs. Canada (2010, 2011). Pankowski also won silver with Team USA at the U-18 IIHF World Championships in 2012. Pankwoski is a four-time August Festival participant and a four-time USA Player Development Camp attendee.
Pankowski has made an impressive impact during her two seasons at Wisconsin. The sophomore leads the team with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points during the first half of the Badgers' season, and finished the 2014-15 season with a team-high 21 goals and 43 points, while adding 22 assists. She has received WCHA Offensive Player of the Week nods twice this season after being named the WCHA Rookie of the Week three times during her freshman campaign, as well as finishing that season as the USCHO Rookie of the Year, the National Rookie of the Year, and the WCHA Rookie of the Year.
Decker played on the silver-medal winning 2014 Olympic team, where she notched two goals and four assists in the tournament. She has participated in four IIHF World Championships, serving as alternate captain in 2015, and seven Four Nations Cups. Decker currently co-captains the Boston Pride with Knight, notching five goals and seven assists so far this season.
A native of Dousman, Decker suited up for the Badgers from 2009-2013, tallying 244 points to hold the second-most career points in program history. In 2011, she was named WCHA Playoff Championship MVP and earned Academic All-WCHA accolades en route to winning a NCAA title with the Badgers. In 2012, Decker became the fourth in program history to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and was named the 2012 WCHA Player of the Year.
Duggan, the captain of Team USA, suited up for United States to win silver in both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, captaining the 2014 squad. She has played in eight Four Nations Cups and won gold five of the six times she has participated in the IIHF World Championships, including the 2015 team she captained. Duggan is a five-time National Festival participant and a three-time Player Development Camp attendee. Duggan plays with the Buffalo Beauts of the NWHL, notching eight points in the team's first eight games.
Hailing from Danvers, Massachusetts, Duggan scored 238 points for the Badgers, which ranks third in program history. Additionally, her 130 career assists hold the number two spot in program records. Duggan also holds the record for all-time postseason points (NCAA and WCHA) with 20 goals and 26 assists. Duggan won three national championships with the Badgers (2007, 2009, and 2011), earning NCAA Co-Most Outstanding Player accolades alongside Knight in 2011. Duggan was awarded the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2011 and was named a first-team All-American during her final season in Madison.
Knight was the youngest player on the silver-medal 2010 United States Olympic team. The Sun Valley, Idaho native suited up again for the United States at the 2014 Olympics, helping the team to silver as their leading scorer. Knight has skated in seven IIHF World Championships and nine Four Nations Cups, most recently scoring the overtime goal that won Team USA the 2015 Four Nations Cup. She has amassed a total of 150 points in her career with Team USA. Knight currently plays for the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League, acting as co-captain and leading the team with seven goals and seven assists.
At Wisconsin, Knight holds records for career points (262) and career goals (143), as well as being one of two UW players to record a power-play hat trick, and holding the only five-goal game in program history. She is one of three players to receive first-team All-American accolades twice, recognized in both 2009 and 2011. Knight won two NCAA titles while playing for the Badgers.
A Delafield native, Rigsby has won a gold medal in two IIHF World Championships as well as a silver and a gold medal in two U-18 IIHF World Championships. She skated in the 2012 U-22 series and in three Four Nations Cups. Rigsby became the first goaltender is history to participate with the United States U-18, U-22, and national teams. Rigsby also became the first female to be drafted into the USHL when she was chosen by the Chicago Steel.
Rigsby led the Badgers to the 2011 National Championship title with a 27-1-1 record. A 2014 All-American, Rigsby became the first UW goaltender to be named a captain during the 2013-14 season. A 12-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, her program leading 100 wins is the second-most in the NCAA. A 2012 Patty Kazmaier nominee, Rigsby is tied for the program-best save percentage at .941 as well as holding the second-most career goaltender points and the second-most career shutouts.
Vetter, a Cottage Grove native, participated in the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, earning silver both years. She has played for Team USA in seven IIHF World Championships, as well as eight Four Nations Cups, where she most recently won gold at the 2015 Four Nations Cup, earning a shutout and Player of the Game accolades against Canada. The 2009 Bob Allen Women's Hockey Player of the Year, Vetter was the first ice hockey player to receive the Sportswoman of the Year Award from the Women's Sports Foundation.
An All-American in 2007 and 2009, Vetter broke a then-NCAA record of 91 wins during her time at UW and recorded 39 shutouts. In the 2006-07 season, Vetter became the first goaltender in NCAA women's hockey history to put up a goals-against average below 1.00. The 2009 Patty Kazmaier winner also held a shutout streak that spanned 448 minutes and 32 seconds, a men's and women's NCAA hockey record only just recently broken by Wisconsin netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens. Â
Current Wisconsin standout Annie Pankowski will join former Badgers Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight, Alex Rigsby and Jessie Vetter for the camp that started Sunday and lasts until Friday in Blaine, Minnesota.
A Laguna Hills, California native, Pankowski was a member of the gold-medal winning International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship team in 2015, as well as participating in the 2013 and 2014 Four Nations Cups. She has skated in two Under-22 Series vs. Canada (2014, 2015), as well as two U-18 Series vs. Canada (2010, 2011). Pankowski also won silver with Team USA at the U-18 IIHF World Championships in 2012. Pankwoski is a four-time August Festival participant and a four-time USA Player Development Camp attendee.
Pankowski has made an impressive impact during her two seasons at Wisconsin. The sophomore leads the team with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points during the first half of the Badgers' season, and finished the 2014-15 season with a team-high 21 goals and 43 points, while adding 22 assists. She has received WCHA Offensive Player of the Week nods twice this season after being named the WCHA Rookie of the Week three times during her freshman campaign, as well as finishing that season as the USCHO Rookie of the Year, the National Rookie of the Year, and the WCHA Rookie of the Year.
Decker played on the silver-medal winning 2014 Olympic team, where she notched two goals and four assists in the tournament. She has participated in four IIHF World Championships, serving as alternate captain in 2015, and seven Four Nations Cups. Decker currently co-captains the Boston Pride with Knight, notching five goals and seven assists so far this season.
A native of Dousman, Decker suited up for the Badgers from 2009-2013, tallying 244 points to hold the second-most career points in program history. In 2011, she was named WCHA Playoff Championship MVP and earned Academic All-WCHA accolades en route to winning a NCAA title with the Badgers. In 2012, Decker became the fourth in program history to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and was named the 2012 WCHA Player of the Year.
Duggan, the captain of Team USA, suited up for United States to win silver in both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, captaining the 2014 squad. She has played in eight Four Nations Cups and won gold five of the six times she has participated in the IIHF World Championships, including the 2015 team she captained. Duggan is a five-time National Festival participant and a three-time Player Development Camp attendee. Duggan plays with the Buffalo Beauts of the NWHL, notching eight points in the team's first eight games.
Hailing from Danvers, Massachusetts, Duggan scored 238 points for the Badgers, which ranks third in program history. Additionally, her 130 career assists hold the number two spot in program records. Duggan also holds the record for all-time postseason points (NCAA and WCHA) with 20 goals and 26 assists. Duggan won three national championships with the Badgers (2007, 2009, and 2011), earning NCAA Co-Most Outstanding Player accolades alongside Knight in 2011. Duggan was awarded the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2011 and was named a first-team All-American during her final season in Madison.
Knight was the youngest player on the silver-medal 2010 United States Olympic team. The Sun Valley, Idaho native suited up again for the United States at the 2014 Olympics, helping the team to silver as their leading scorer. Knight has skated in seven IIHF World Championships and nine Four Nations Cups, most recently scoring the overtime goal that won Team USA the 2015 Four Nations Cup. She has amassed a total of 150 points in her career with Team USA. Knight currently plays for the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League, acting as co-captain and leading the team with seven goals and seven assists.
At Wisconsin, Knight holds records for career points (262) and career goals (143), as well as being one of two UW players to record a power-play hat trick, and holding the only five-goal game in program history. She is one of three players to receive first-team All-American accolades twice, recognized in both 2009 and 2011. Knight won two NCAA titles while playing for the Badgers.
A Delafield native, Rigsby has won a gold medal in two IIHF World Championships as well as a silver and a gold medal in two U-18 IIHF World Championships. She skated in the 2012 U-22 series and in three Four Nations Cups. Rigsby became the first goaltender is history to participate with the United States U-18, U-22, and national teams. Rigsby also became the first female to be drafted into the USHL when she was chosen by the Chicago Steel.
Rigsby led the Badgers to the 2011 National Championship title with a 27-1-1 record. A 2014 All-American, Rigsby became the first UW goaltender to be named a captain during the 2013-14 season. A 12-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, her program leading 100 wins is the second-most in the NCAA. A 2012 Patty Kazmaier nominee, Rigsby is tied for the program-best save percentage at .941 as well as holding the second-most career goaltender points and the second-most career shutouts.
Vetter, a Cottage Grove native, participated in the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, earning silver both years. She has played for Team USA in seven IIHF World Championships, as well as eight Four Nations Cups, where she most recently won gold at the 2015 Four Nations Cup, earning a shutout and Player of the Game accolades against Canada. The 2009 Bob Allen Women's Hockey Player of the Year, Vetter was the first ice hockey player to receive the Sportswoman of the Year Award from the Women's Sports Foundation.
An All-American in 2007 and 2009, Vetter broke a then-NCAA record of 91 wins during her time at UW and recorded 39 shutouts. In the 2006-07 season, Vetter became the first goaltender in NCAA women's hockey history to put up a goals-against average below 1.00. The 2009 Patty Kazmaier winner also held a shutout streak that spanned 448 minutes and 32 seconds, a men's and women's NCAA hockey record only just recently broken by Wisconsin netminder Ann-Renée Desbiens. Â
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