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Badger women return to Frozen Four semifinals

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Wisconsin Badgers goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens (Photo by David Stluka)

The top-ranked Wisconsin Badger women’s hockey team is back in the NCAA’s Frozen Four, following their 7-0 win over Robert Morris in Saturday’s quarterfinals at LaBahn Arena.

Freshman MeKenzie Steffan scored two minutes into the game and senior Sarah Nurse added a goal midway through the opening period.

The Badgers then outshot Robert Morris 25-2 in the second period and got goals from Baylee Wellhausen, Maddie Rolfes, Annie Pankowski and Emily Clark.

Clark added a second goal in the third period to cap off the scoring for the Badgers.

Senior Ann-Renee Desbiens earned her 16th shutout of the year and her 10th career postseason shutout for the Badgers (32-2-4).

Wisconsin makes its 10th appearance at the Frozen Four, including their 4th in-a-row.  The Badgers will face Boston College in St. Charles, Missouri on Friday.

 

Badgers claim second straight WCHA regular season title

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Baylee Wellhausen

For the second-straight year, the top-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team wrapped up the WCHA regular season title on Senior Day.  The Badgers wrapped up the 2016-17 league title with a 8-0 shutout win over second-ranked Minnesota-Duluth at LaBahn Arena.

Junior forward Baylee Wellhausen scored her first career collegiate hat trick while fellow junior Annie Pankowski tallied a pair of goals in the win.

Senior An-Renee Desbiens earned her 50th career shutout, making 15 saves to earn her NCAA-leading 12th shutout of the season.

The Badgers (26-2-2, 21-2-2-2 WCHA) also earned a 2-1 shootout victory on Saturday over the Bulldogs (20-4-5, 17-4-4-1 WCHA).

Wisconsin closes out the regular season with a series at fifth-ranked Minnesota this weekend.  Faceoff on both Saturday and Sunday is set for 3 p.m.

AUDIO: Baylee Wellhausen on her first career shutout :14

AUDIO: Coach Mark Johnson says it’s not easy to win a regular season title :17

AUDIO: Mark Johnson on clinching league title on Senior Day :20

 

Badger women break their own NCAA hockey attendance mark (AUDIO)

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Badger Head Coach Mark Johnson (Photo by David Stluka)

The top ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team set a new NCAA single game attendance mark in their 2-0 win over St. Cloud State on Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers blanked the Huskies 9-0 in the series opener the night before at LaBahn Arena.

The program offered fans $1 tickets and the opportunity to donate non-perishable food items to a local charity and 15,359 of them came out to watch the best women’s team in the country do their thing.

The new record broke the one that the Badgers and Minnesota Gophers set in 2014 at the Kohl Center when 13,573 fans were on hand. [Read more…]

Badger women’s hockey team receives a scare (AUDIO)

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Michaela Johnson

The Lindenwood Ice Rink near St. Louis has reopened after more than 19 women’s hockey players were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning Friday night following Wisconsin’s 5-1 victory over Lindenwood.

Officials originally  believed the cause was malfunctioning humidifiers at the arena, but now believe the ice resurfacing equipment may have leaked carbon monoxide.

A high level of carbon monoxide is measured at a level of 10.  The building was measured at a level of 200.

UW senior Michaela Johnson, the daughter of head coach Mark Johnson, was most affected by the carbon monoxide.  She became ill during the game and was taken to an area hospital, where she was treated and released late Friday night. [Read more…]

Badger women win WCHA title

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Courtney Burke - Photo: Courtesy David Stluka

Courtney Burke – Photo: Courtesy David Stluka

The second-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team scored six goals in the third period to crush Minnesota State 8-1 to win their fifth WCHA regular-season title and first since 2012.

Courtney Burke scored a first period goal and added four assists for the Badgers, becoming the third Badger forward to reach 100 points in her career.

Wisconsin (30-1-1, 24-1-1-1) goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 10 shots to earn her NCAA-leading 28th win of the year.

The Badgers close out the regular season with a two-game series at Minnesota this weekend against the Gophers.

AUDIO: Courtney Burke on winning the WCHA title :13

AUDIO: Emily Clark on winning the WCHA title :11

 

UW athletic board puts the heat on a pair of coaches

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Mike Eaves

Mike Eaves

After tough seasons for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team and the women’s basketball team, the UW Athletic board voted to retain coaches Mike Eaves (hockey) and Bobbie Kelsey (women’s hoops), but didn’t extend their contracts.

Eaves contract expires June 30, 2019 and Kelsey’s runs through May 31, 2019.

Under Eaves, the Badger men’s hockey team finished 4-26-5 last season, the worst record in program history.  After winning an NCAA Championship in 2006 and making the title game in 2010, the Badgers have failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons.

In effect, the board couldn’t reward Eaves with a contract extension after a season like last year.  Eaves also fired his two assistants, Gary Shuchuk and Matt Walsh.

Bobbie Kelsey

Bobbie Kelsey

Kelsey’s Badger women’s basketball team finished 5-11 in the Big Ten and 9-20 overall last season.  Since Kelsey joined the program, Wisconsin has failed to qualify for either the NCAA or the WNIT.

It’s safe to say the Athletic Board is looking for improvement from both programs or their jobs could be in jeopardy.

The board did roll over the five-year contracts of men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan and women’s hockey coach Mark Johnson.  It also rolled over the three-year deal for wrestling coach Barry Davis.

Badger women’s hockey team looking to end drought

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Ann-Renee Desbiens

Ann-Renee Desbiens

The Wisconsin Badgers face off against the rival Minnesota Gophers tonight in the women’s Frozen Four semifinals at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.  The Badgers will be trying not only to get into the Frozen Four championship game, but they’ll be trying to end a 17-game winless streak against the Gophers, dating back to 2011.

The Frozen Four berth is the eighth in the last ten seasons for the Badgers (29-6-4), which is ranked 3rd in the country but seeded fourth in the NCAA field.  The Badgers are shooting for their fifth Frozen Four title.

Minnesota beat the Badgers in last season’s semifinals but lost in the championship game to Clarkson.

The Badgers advanced to the Frozen Four with a 5-1 victory over Boston University in the quarterfinals last weekend. [Read more…]

Badger women’s hockey opens NCAA quarterfinals today

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Wisconsin Coach Mark Johnson

Wisconsin Coach Mark Johnson

The Wisconsin Badger women’s hockey team is three wins away from its fifth NCAA National title.  The fourth-seeded Badgers open the NCAA Tournament today at 2:00 p.m. against Boston University at LaBahn Arena.

The Terriers average almost four goals a game, led by National Player of the Year finalist Marie-Philip Poulin, who has 27 goals and 54 points.

It was Poulin, who scored the game winning goal against Mark Johnson’s United States team in the Olympic Gold Medal game in 2010 and scored two more goals in Canada’s Gold Medal victory over the U.S. last year.

Fresh off winning the WCHA Playoff title, Wisconsin is 28-6-4 and leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just over one goal per game.

 

Wisconsin’s Johnson earns 350th coaching victory

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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson

The 4th-ranked Wisconsin Badger women’s hockey team earned its 10th shutout of the season, blanking 7th-ranked Clarkson 4-0 at LaBahn Arena in Madison on Sunday.

The Badgers’ win gave UW head coach Mark Johnson his 350th career victory, making him only the fourth coach in NCAA Division 1 history to earn 350 victories on the bench.

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.

Wisconsin’s (19-4-3) freshman Annie Pankowski recorded her second career hat trick for the Badgers.

The Badgers continue to be sharp on the penalty kill, holding Clarkson down on all four of their opportunities.  Wisconsin ranks No. 1 in the nation in penalty killing and has killed its past 40 penalties, a streak that began on Oct. 25th, 2014 against Bemidji State.

Wisconsin returns to WCHA action this Friday and Saturday when the Badgers travel to Mankato, Minnesota, to take on Minnesota State.  It’s one of four remaining series in the WCHA this season.

Top ranked Badger women hope to turn tables on Gophers (AUDIO)

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Badger coach Mark Johnson

Badger coach Mark Johnson

To say the Minnesota Gophers have had Wisconsin’s number over the last few years would be an understatement.  Over the last three seasons, the Lady Gophers are 12-1-1 against the Badgers, including a 12-game unbeaten streak and 5-straight Minnesota victories in Madison.

During that stretch, the Gophers appeared in three straight NCAA title games, winning two of them.  The Gophers knocked off the Badgers in the championship game in 2012 and in the Frozen Four semifinals last season.

During the last three seasons, Minnesota has accumulated a 113-7-3 overall record.

Prior to that three-year stretch, it was the Badgers that dominated play, going 21-5-5 against Minnesota during a six-year period, including a 6-0 record in WCHA playoff and NCAA tournament games. [Read more…]