MADISON, Wis. – Thanks to goals from seven different Badgers, the Wisconsin women's hockey team will advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff after conquering St. Thomas, 9-1, on Saturday night at LaBahn Arena. 

Britta Curl and Casey O'Brien each posted a pair of goals, while Lacey Eden, Anna Wilgren, Vivian Jungels, Laila Edwards and Katie Kotlowski also found the back of the net as the Badgers (31-5-0) took down the Tommies (10-26-1) for a spot in the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff in Minneapolis next weekend. 

Curl opened the scoring for the Badgers halfway through the first period after tipping in a pass from Kirsten Simms. 

Early in the second period, Eden doubled the lead after catching the St. Thomas goaltender off guard, before O'Brien joined in on the fun to give the Badgers a three-goal lead. 

Wilgren tallied her second goal of the year just over a minute later, while fellow blueliner Jungels made it a 5-0 game with 11:11 remaining in the second frame. 

Just six seconds into the third period, Curl lit the lamp for the second time, setting a new school record for the fastest goal scored at the start of a period.

St. Thomas tallied their first of the game just over four minutes into the final frame, but Edwards answered back to make it 7-1 with a one-timer. 

Kotlowski went bar down with under five minutes to go, before O'Brien tipped in a shot from Curl for her second goal of the game to cap off the scoring for the Badgers. 

Ava McNaughton stopped 13 of the shots she faced for her 16th win of the season. 

Notes of the Game
- Wisconsin outshot St. Thomas 60-14, marking the third time this season UW has had 60 or more shots on target in a single game. 
- With her three points on Saturday, Kirsten Simms moved to 10th in program history for points scored in a single season with 67. 
- Wisconsin's 31 wins this season are tied for the ninth most in school history.
- UW will make its 14th-straight appearance at the WCHA Final Faceoff. 

Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Mark Johnson
On the team playing hard throughout the whole game:
"They kept doing what they did in the first period but got rewarded in the second period. They transitioned really quickly and got some nice goals."

On the Badgers' impressive energy:
"We just connected better than them in a lot of different areas, especially with the pass and coming out with some energy."

Senior Captain Britta Curl
On the team improving from Friday:
"Yesterday, I think we maybe expected things to be handed to us at times, and today I think we went out there and took charge and took it upon ourselves to play with integrity, play the right way. People were sharp, people were putting them in, so it's always fun."

On the team's success on Saturday:
"I was happy with the way our team played. Me personally, it was nice to put a few away, but it is always just good to see our team firing on all cylinders."

Up Next: With the series win against St. Thomas, the Badgers advanced to the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis March 8-9. Wisconsin will play either Minnesota or Minnesota Duluth in a semifinal game on Friday, March 8 at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are available for the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff here.