No. 1 Badgers bounce again in opposition to No. 3 Gophers, 7-2

MADISON, Wis — The No. 1 Wisconsin ladies’s hockey group rebounded in opposition to the No. 3 Gophers, 7-2, throughout its collection finale on Sunday at LaBahn. Six Badgers scored to enhance UW’s document to 11-1-0 this season, and reclaim the perfect document within the WCHA.

The Badgers emphasised fast scoring within the sport, discovering the web inside the first three minutes of every interval. Kelly Gorbatenko led the sport with two targets on the day.

It took Sophomore Maggie Scannell simply 14 seconds to offer the Badgers the lead, securing her sixth purpose. Wisconsin did cease there with Kirsten Simms scoring a purpose simply two minutes later to make it 2-0.

Alternate-captain Kelly Gorbatenko responded to a Gopher purpose by placing in her first rating of the day within the second interval, making it 3-1. Senior alternate-captain Laila Edwards obtained a move from captain Caroline Harvey to gather Wisconsin’s fourth purpose not too lengthy after.

Harvey tipped one in via a corral of Gophers and Badgers and made the rating 5-1, reversing yesterday’s last rating. 

Minnesota added yet another purpose earlier than sophomore Emma Venusio garnered her first purpose of the season and upped the Badgers rating to 6-2. Gorbatenko punctuated the victory together with her second purpose of the sport, placing the ultimate rating at 7-2.

Wisconsin contained the Gopher assault, outshooting them 40-21, goaltender Ava McNaughton made 19 saves.

Head Coach Mark Johnson

On how the group responded tonight:

“It was huge. When you score, people get excited, and when you score at home, people get really excited on the bench.”

“We talked about what kind of response we wanted after we got challenged after last night’s game, and we accepted the challenge and obviously got off to a good start. The effort, the commitment, the things that we had talked about after last night’s game in the morning, we went out and executed.”

On having a bye week

“It’s been a good six weeks, 12 games. You certainly find out a lot about the team after these two games, especially last night. We were able to make adjustments and did some things today better than we did yesterday, and ended up really nice.”

Kirsten Simms

On extra disciplined play

“Tonight we were more disciplined in the zone, about getting the puck in deeps and on the track as well as the backtrack. Overall, we were more consistent throughout the entire game.”

On altering traces

“You can trust anybody on the roster, no matter who goes down, how many go down. You know somebody is about to step up and create opportunities that are needed. It is a testament to the depth of our team.”

 

Notes of the Game

• Emma Venusio scored her first purpose of the 2025-26 season

• The final time Wisconsin scored seven targets on the Gophers was Feb. 8, 2025 throughout an  8-2 win at house. It’s the fourth time the Badgers have ever scored 7+ targets in opposition to Minnesota.

• Five Badgers recorded three-point video games. Kelly Gorbatenko (2 Goals, 1 Assist), Kirsten Simms (1 purpose, 2 assists), Caroline Harvey (1 purpose, 2 assists), Cassie Hall (3 assists) and Vivian Jungels (3 assists).

 

Up Next: After every week off, the No.1 Badgers go on the street to face St. Cloud State on Nov. 14 and 15. The video games stream on Big Ten Plus.