Hannah Halverson celebrates a goal with Badger teammates in a game against St. Thomas
Miles Felix

Women's Hockey

Five things to know: Badgers travel to Minnesota to take on Tommies

Wisconsin aims to claim the season series against St. Thomas

MADISON, Wis. – MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women’s hockey team will travel to the Land of 10,000 Lakes on Friday and Saturday to take on the St. Thomas Tommies in Mendota Heights. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. CT on Friday and 3 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Fans can watch the action on B1G+ or listen to Paul Braun on The Game 1070.

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Wisconsin vs. Minnesota State

Casey O'Brien and the Badgers celebrate a goal against the Minnesota State Maverick on Jan 12, 2025.

1. LAST TIME OUT
Three different Badgers scored to help the top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team to a 3-1 victory over Minnesota State to complete the season sweep of the Mavericks.

Lacey Eden, Kelly Gorbatenko and Casey O'Brien scored two goals each during the weekend. The Badgers put together a solid special teams performance, recording a power-play goal in both games and not conceding a goal on the penalty kill. Eden recorded her nation-leading sixth game-winning goal on Sunday. 

Ava McNaughton stopped 17 of 18 shots on Sunday to earn her NCAA-leading 21st win of the season. 

2. SCANNELL SHINES AGAIN
Maggie Scannell received WCHA Rookie of the Week recognition for her contribution to the Badgers sweep of Minnesota State this past weekend.

Scannell earned her third Rookie of the Week award, most recently receiving the honor on Dec. 9, 2024, after UW's road sweep of Minnesota State. Scannell now is tied for the most Rookie of the Week honors in the WCHA alongside Minnesota Duluth's Caitlin Kraemer.

The rookie put together her third multi-point game on Saturday with a goal and an assist, most recently putting up two points with two goals against Minnesota State on Dec. 7, 2024. Scannell has recorded at least one goal in each of Wisconsin's last five two-game series.

The Wynantskill, New York, native leads all of Wisconsin's freshmen with 10 goals and 12 points. She leads the entire roster with a .278 shooting percentage. The forward is tied for third amongst Badgers with four power-play goals.

Ava McNaughton

3. WATCH FOR MCNAUGHTON

After earning her first HCA National Monthly honor of her career in November, sophomore netminder Ava McNaughton was named to the HCA Women's Goalie of the Year Watch List. McNaughton leads the nation with a 0.935 goalie winning percentage. She leads the WCHA and is second in the nation with a goals-against average of 1.105.

The Seven Fields, Pennsylvania, native’s 0.951 save percentage leads the WCHA and is third-best in the NCAA. Her seven shutouts lead the nation.



 

WHKY at St thomas 1.17.25 graphic

4. AGAINST THE TOMMIES

Wisconsin is undefeated against St. Thomas through the 15 times the teams have met, including a perfect 7-0 record. The Badgers defeated the Tommies 6-1 and 5-2 at LaBahn Arena on Nov. 11 and 12, 2024.

Their largest margin of victory was a 9-1 win — a feat they’ve repeated twice, most recently in March of 2024. 

 

Sarah Wozniewicz stick handles out in front of an opponent's net (square)

5. BADGERS LEAD THE WAY

Wisconsin leads the NCAA with 132 goals. They also lead the nation’s special teams with a penalty-killing percentage of 0.933 and a power-play percentage of 0.387. They have both the best scoring offense (5.50) and scoring defense (1.04) in the country. In turn, Wisconsin has the best scoring margin (4.46) in the NCAA.

In the WCHA, Wisconsin players lead the league in goals per game, assists per game, points per game, game-winning goals, power-play goals and short-handed goals.