MADISON, Wis. – The No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team is heading back to the NCAA Frozen Four after defeating Syracuse, 4-0, Saturday at LaBahn Arena.
 
Senior Annie Pankowski scored twice while juniors Abby Roque and Presley Norby each tacked on a goal for Wisconsin (33-4-2) in Saturday's' contest in front of 2,423 fans at LaBahn. The attendance matched the largest crowd in rink history.
 
After a quiet opening period, the Badgers got rolling in the second thanks to Pankowski. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top-three finalist rifled in two goals in the frame, the first coming on a blast 2:33 into the period and the second coming nearly 10 minutes later to put UW up 2-0 heading into the final frame.
 
The Badgers extended that lead with 7:44 left in the third when Roque stole the puck, looped around the Syracuse (13-22-3) net and snuck in Wisconsin's third goal of the game.
 
Norby put the exclamation point on the win, scoring with just over a minute remaining to ice the game for the Badgers.
 
Wisconsin outshot the Orange, 47-15 in the victory. The Badgers are now 17-0-1 in games when they tally 40-49 shots on goal.
 
Junior Kristen Campbell made 15 saves to earn her NCAA-leading ninth shutout of the year. In addition, she earned her 33rd win, which matches the school record for most wins in a single season by a goaltender.
 
Three Notes of the Game

• Annie Pankowski's two goals in today's victory gives the senior co-captain eight goals in the five postseason games this season. The Laguna Hills, California, native now has 18 postseason goals, which rank third in school history behind Meghan Duggan (20) and Hilary Knight (19).
• The Badgers are heading back to the NCAA Frozen Four for the sixth-consecutive season, which matches the longest streak in NCAA history with Minnesota (2012-17).
• Wisconsin is now 23-8 in NCAA tournament games and has won its last 12 NCAA quarterfinal games. UW improved to 6-0 in NCAA quarterfinals at LaBahn Arena and has outscored its opponents 28-2. 

Straight From the Rink
Head Coach Mark Johnson
On the team's performance:
"We were certainly pleased with the outcome and the effort for the entire 60 minutes. We played the puck possession, the puck time, all the way through the second period to really take charge of the game. Come back in the third period and continue to do what we had done for 40 minutes. From start to finish our effort was good. The first goal, I don't know if it relaxed everybody, or what it did, but from that point on we were pretty good."

On his message to the team at first intermission:
"I think the mood was okay. You do your prep work and you don't know how they are going to react to a different type of game than we were accustomed too, as a playoff game compared to a regular season game. The setup is different, the arena is different, the introductions are different, so how are you going to react? We wanted to get a fast start but weren't able to capitalize. It seemed like we were playing without the pace we wanted too, and it was just a matter of settling down. I talked about how this was where we needed to take over the game at the start of the second. Let's get a fast start in the second, keep the puck moving, put some pressure on them and get some second and third shots. 

On the seniors leading the way:
"That's what you look for from your leaders. They are seniors, they've been around the block and in big games before. If some of our young players are nervous that's part of the process, but if you have upperclassmen that have that experience and have been around, hopefully they can get things going, and we were able to do that with Annie Pankowski scoring the first two goals."

Senior Annie Pankowski
On the impact of the first goal:
"I think the strength of this team is when everyone is rolling and everyone gets to contribute. Especially when we aren't holding our sticks too tight, so when we get that first one it's a little bit of a breath for everyone. I felt it on the bench for sure, especially when you get Soupy [Kristin Campbell] at the end of that you can see she gets excited and you know she has our back so it's a good one for everyone." 

On her last game at LaBahn Arena:
"We knew we wanted to have a special moment and we really just wanted to thank the fans. If you get a chance to play at this arena in front of these fans, it's really just an incredible opportunity. I'd be lying if I said I didn't just stop crying right before this. It's hard to take that jersey off for the last time in this arena but I'm so proud of this group and this senior class has been so much fun to be a part of."

Junior Kristin Campbell
On her breakaway save:
"Syracuse started strong and I think for our team we usually get pretty quick starts and I think that it's just important to be ready when you're called upon, and in that moment you aren't really thinking, you're just reacting to the situation and it was good momentum for me to get into the game." 

On looking ahead to Clarkson:
"I think just watching them play this year and seeing those top players who are putting up a lot of points, you're excited for that challenge and I know this team is more than ready to take on those players. I know that we can shut them down and reach our final goal of getting to and winning the championship."

Senior Emily Clark
On the second goal:
"I think the first period we were fighting the puck a bit and maybe us holding onto our sticks a little too tight, so for us to get that first one and be able to settle down was important. And then moving into the next couple shifts, I was able to find Annie [Pankowski] in a spot that we like to be in. We've gone through this process for the last four years and to be able to finish off our last game at LaBahn in that fashion was great.

On her last game at LaBahn Arena:
"I think there was a lot of emotions in this game, especially after the game with our excitement of reaching our goal to move onto the Frozen Four, but then also it tugs on the heartstrings a bit knowing that was our last time on the ice at LaBahn with our fans. It certainly makes the experience of being a Badger that much more special with the support we have day-in and day-out from the fans, and I have no doubt we will see a lot of red in the stands at the Frozen Four."

Syracuse Head Coach Paul Flanagan
Opening Statement:
"First of all, congratulations to Mark [Johnson], his staff and his team. There's a reason they are number one. Today we battled them pretty hard, and I'm proud of our team. We really competed. As I said to the team in the locker room we knew this was a tall order, and we had experienced a two-game set out here in December so we knew what to expect. But I thought our kids did a real good job. They dug down deep and played hard, and at the end of the day Wisconsin just had a bit more. Our kids can hold their heads high, the legacy for our seniors is that we won a CHA championship, which we haven't done previously. They got us here. For our younger players its inspiring to come to a place like this where our sport is so well embraced, and it was fun to be a part of it." 

Up Next
The Badgers advanced to the 2019 NCAA Frozen Four, March 22-24, in Hamden, Connecticut. Wisconsin will take on Clarkson on Friday in a 6 p.m. CT game that can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.