Wisconsin women's hockey begins non-conference play this weekend, traveling to No. 7 Clarkson University to take on the Golden Knights. Puck drop on Friday and Saturday are both scheduled for 2 p.m. (CT).Â
Team Notes
This weekend's series at Cheel Arena marks the second ever meeting between UW and CU, as the two teams faced off at LaBahn Arena during the 2014-15 season.Â
The Badgers have a 40-game undefeated streak against opponents outside of the WCHA. UW's last loss against a non-conference opponent was against Robert Morris on Nov. 6, 2009.Â
UW also holds a 21-game undefeated streak against ECAC teams with the program's last loss coming on March 19, 2005 against Dartmouth in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
Player Notes
Annie Pankowski, a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top-10 finalist in 2015-16, leads the offensive charge for UW after notching 22 goals and 36 assists for a team-leading 58 points last season. After assisting the first goal of the Badgers' 6-0 win over Mercyhurst, Pankowski became the 21st UW player to record 100 career points. Pankowski is just the fourth player in program history to reach 100 points as a sophomore, joining Brianna Decker, Meghan Hunter, and Hilary Knight.
Junior Emily Clark looks to build off a successful sophomore campaign, where she recorded 24 goals and 21 assists for 45 points. A member of the 2016 Final Face-off All-Tournament Team, Clark also earned All-WCHA Second Team and WCHA All-Academic Team honors.
Senior Sarah Nurse finished the 2015-16 season with a team-leading 25 goals and 13 assists for 38 points. Nurse led the team with 228 shots on goal, and was named to the All-WCHA Third Team.Â
Ann-Renée Desbiens, a 2015-16 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top-three finalist, had a record-setting junior season, where she rewrote NCAA history after recording a goals-against average of 0.76, a save percentage of .960, and 21 shutouts. Desbiens was named the 2015-16 USCHO.com Player of the Year, as well as the WCHA Player of the Year. In addidtion to these accolades, Desbiens was recently named the 2016-17 WCHA Preseason Player of the Year.
Senior Jenny Ryan will anchor the blueline for Wisconsin this season, ranking 10th all-time in scoring among UW defensemen. In 2015-16, Ryan tallied eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points.Â
Senior Sydney McKibbon will captain the Badgers this year, with Ann-Renée Desbiens, Sarah Nurse, and Jenny Ryan serving as alternates.
Number of the Week
40Â -
Ann-Renée Desbiens enters this weekend with 40 career shutouts, the second-most in NCAA history. Desbiens needs only three blank slates to match Noora Raty's NCAA record.
The Series vs. Clarkson
This weekend's series marks the third and fourth time the Badgers and Golden Knights have met in program history. It also marks the first time Wisconsin has traveled to Potsdam, N.Y., to play a series.
The Badgers lead the all-time series with the Golden Knights 1-0-1.Â
UW hasn't played CU since the 2014-15 season, but outscored the Golden Knights 5-1 in the two games they played.
Annie Pankowski scored three of UW's four goals in the second game against Clarkson on Jan. 25, 2015, during her stellar freshman campaign.
Last time vs. Clarkson: No. 4 Wisconsin 4, No. 7 Clarkson 0 (Jan. 25, 2015)
MADISON, Wis — Wisconsin women's hockey freshman Annie Pankowski recorded her second career hat trick to lift the No. 4 Badgers past No. 7 Clarkson, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon at LaBahn Arena.
The Badgers' win gave UW head coach Mark Johnson his 350th career victory, making Johnson only the fourth coach in NCAA Division I history to earn 350 triumphs on the bench.
Wisconsin (19-4-3) earned its 10th shutout of the season as UW netminder Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped all 24 of Clarkson's (18-5-3) shots. Desbiens earned her eighth shutout of the season, which is tied for second in the nation.
After the scoreless first, Pankowski lit the lamp twice in the second, marking her first goals since scoring against New Hampshire on Nov. 29. Three minutes into the period, Pankowski buried the puck into the top corner of the net to give UW a 1-0 lead. 10 minutes later, Pankowski benefited from a Brittany Ammerman screen, sending a wrister past CU netminder Shea Tiley to double the Wisconsin advantage.
UW increased its lead to 3-0 early in the third as Karley Sylvester knocked in a Blayre Turnbullshot, marking her second goal of the weekend and the 11th on the year for the Badger senior.
A little over two minutes later, Courtney Burke set up Pankowski with a beautiful centering pass to the slot which Pankowski then lasered a shot into the corner of the net, over the shoulder of Tiley.
It marked Pankowski's second-career hat trick, as she tallied a hat trick against Minnesota State on Nov. 13, 2014.
The Badgers held the lead in shots throughout, managing to hold the Golden Knights without a shot on goal for the first 13:55 of the game. UW finished the game with a 38-24 edge in the category.
The nation's leading penalty kill was at it again, shutting down Clarkson's power play on all four opportunities. Wisconsin has killed its past 40 penalties, a streak that began on Oct. 25, 2014 against Bemidji State.
Badgers Tabbed as WCHA Preseason Favorite
The Badgers were picked to win the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, according to a preseason poll of league coaches.
The defending WCHA regular season and tournament champions, UW earned 48 points and six first-place votes, while Minnesota collected 44 points and two first-place votes to finish second in the coaches poll.
North Dakota (36) and Minnesota Duluth (30) were slotted to finished third and fourth, respectively, in the WCHA. Rounding out the poll was Bemidji State (27), St. Cloud State (16), Ohio State (13), and Minnesota State (10). Coaches could not vote for their own teams.Â
Badgers on top in USCHO poll
Wisconsin started the 2016-17 season ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll, and has maintained that ranking through the first two weeks of play.
The Badgers received 149 votes in the poll, along with 14 of the 15 first-place votes.
Along with Wisconsin, fellow WCHA members Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Bemidji State and North Dakota also earned a top-10 ranking in the poll. Two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota sits third, receiving 123 points, Minnesota Duluth slotted in at fourth with 91 points, Bemidji State slid in at eighth with 47 points after being previously unranked, and North Dakota comes in at tenth, earning 25 points.
Five Badgers earn spots on Team USA for Four Nations Cup
Junior Annie Pankowski will join former Badgers Brianna Decker, Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight and Alex Rigsby on USA Hockey's roster for the 2016 Four Nations Cup, the organization announced Wednesday.
Pankowski is one of three collegians on the 23-player roster for the international tournament that takes place in Finland November 1-5.
The five Badgers helped the U.S. win gold earlier this year at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, while the four former Badgers helped Team USA capture the 2015 Four Nations Cup.
Learn more about the Badgers selected here.
Note of the Week
Heading into this weekend's non-conference series at Clarkson, the Badgers have a 40-game undefeated streak against teams outside of the WCHA. UW holds a 38-0-2 record during the run that started on Nov. 7, 2009.
In the News:
The Quest for 400
Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson enters this weekend with a 398-74-36Â record in his 13 years on the UW bench. His 398Â wins are the third-most in NCAA Division I women's hockey history.
Johnson is only two wins away from becoming the third NCAA Division I women's hockey coach ever to win 400 games.
The other three coaches to reach 350 wins at the NCAA Division I level are Katey Stone (Harvard), Michael Sisti (Mercyhurst) and Shannon Miller (Minnesota Duluth).
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