Tag: UW Hockey

Wisconsin women’s hockey legend to be inducted to USA Hockey Hall of Fame

Wisconsin women’s hockey legend to be inducted to USA Hockey Hall of Fame

Wisconsin women’s hockey legend Brianna Decker will be inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame this year, per an announcement from USA Hockey on Thursday.

Decker will join Matt Cullen, Frederic McLaughlin, Kevin Stevens and the gold medal-winning 2002 Paralympic Sled Hockey Team as 2024 inductees this winter. Her induction will mark the first time a Wisconsin women’s hockey alum will enter the USA Hockey Hall of Fame.

As a Badger, Decker played four seasons in Madison under legendary head coach Mark Johnson from 2009-13. During her collegiate tenure, the Dousman, Wisconsin native helped guide Wisconsin to an NCAA Championship in 2011 and scored 115 goals, enough for No. 2 all-time in program history.

Decker also pocketed the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the highest individual honor across women’s collegiate hockey and Western College Hockey Association Player of the Year nods as a junior in 2012. 

Following her stint in Wisconsin, Decker played professionally in the National Women’s Hockey League and the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. She also earned a gold medal as a member of Team USA in 2018 and two silver medals in 2014 and 2022.

Decker was inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023 and now contributes to bettering the next generation of hockey stars as an associate head coach at her alma mater.

The ceremony will take place on Dec. 4, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

LOOK: Wisconsin women’s hockey announces updates to 2024-25 slate

Wisconsin women’s hockey announces updates to 2024-25 schedule

Wisconsin’s women’s hockey program announced updates to its 2024-25 schedule on Monday.

The crew, captained by dynastic head coach Mark Johnson, will play a total of 34 regular season games before embarking on its quest for an eighth NCAA Tournament championship this winter.

The schedule includes seven home series and 15 total home contests from Sept. 27 through Feb. 22. Wisconsin kick-starts its season against Lindenwood on Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28, a few weeks before they welcome Minnesota Duluth to Madison’s La Bahn Arena.

UW also hosts Bemidji State in October, St. Thomas in November, Ohio State, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State in January and Minnesota in February.

Puck drop times for all of these matches will be released in the next few weeks. For more information about Wisconsin’s home schedule, click here.

The Badgers will also travel to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to play Boston College the weekend of Oct. 4 and Minneapolis, Minnesota to play the Golden Gophers the weekend of Oct. 18.

St Cloud State (Nov. 1-2), Ohio State (Nov. 15-16), Maine (Nov. 29-30), Minnesota State, (Dec. 6-7) St. Thomas (Jan. 17-18), Minnesota Duluth (Jan 31-Feb. 1) and Bemidji State (Feb. 21-22) are included on UW’s away game list as well.

Wisconsin went 35-6 a season ago before falling to Ohio State in the NCAA title game. The program, which embodies consistency on the ice, will aim to reach the pinnacle of college hockey once more in late March.

Wisconsin hockey to compete in outdoor event at Wrigley Field

Wisconsin hockey to compete in outdoor event at Chicago’s Wrigley Field

Wisconsin’s men’s and women’s hockey programs will participate in ‘The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series,’ an outdoor event at Chicago’s Wrigley Field this January, per Thursday’s release.

The two-day event features several Big Ten teams, including Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan. Mark Johnson’s women’s platoon will square off against the Buckeyes while Wisconsin’s men’s team will play the Spartans on Saturday, Jan. 4.

The contests are slated for 4:30 and 8 p.m. with the game order still awaiting a final scheduling.

This marks the first outdoor match for UW’s women’s group in 14 years while the men will showcase their skills for viewers outside for the first time since 2013.

The Badger men enter the 2024-25 campaign fresh off an impressive 26-12-2 overall record in 2023-24. The group secured multiple top-5 victories over both Minnesota and Michigan early in the season, Mike Hastings’ first year as head coach.

UW’s women, who amassed an incredible 35-6-0 mark in 2023-24, cruised to the NCAA Frozen Four title game against Ohio State. The Badgers ultimately dropped the contest 1-0. Nonetheless, Johnson’s cadre will aim to ride its momentum into this winter.

Tickets for January’s doubleheader will become available for public purchase on Friday, Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. CT through Wrigley Field. For more details, visit UWBadgers.com.

Wisconsin men’s hockey legend officially announces retirement from the NHL

Wisconsin men’s hockey legend officially announces retirement from the NHL

Former Wisconsin men’s hockey legend Joe Pavelski has officially announced his retirement, according to the NHL’s recent post on X.

After 18 illustrious seasons representing both the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, Pavelski officially hung up his skates after 1,332 games in the NHL. The Plover, Wisconsin native orchestrated one of the more storied amateur and professional careers of any Badger in program history.

Before representing Wisconsin, an 18-year-old Pavelski earned United States Hockey League Rookie of the Year in 2002-03 with Waterloo on the junior ice hockey scene. The Sharks picked the Wisconsin product at No. 205 in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL draft before he starred in Madison.

During his 2004-05 freshman campaign at UW, Pavelski led NCAA first-years in points with 16 goals and 29 assists. He followed that up with an NCAA championship in 2006 and paced the team in both assists and points.

Pavelski made his professional debut with San Jose on Nov. 22, 2006 and registered his first 20-goal season in the NHL in 2008-09. He reached his peak during the 2013-14 season after recording career-bests in goals (41) and points (79). The output netted him NHL Second All-Star Team and Sharks Player of the Year nods.

As captain of the 2015-16 Sharks, Pavelski earned his first NHL All-Star Game bid and guided San Jose to its first Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks would ultimately lose the series in six games.

The former Badger’s quest for a Stanley Cup, however, would not end there.

A year after signing with the Dallas Stars in July 2019, Pavelski’s Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals but fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Still, the Plover product led Dallas and was second among all players with 13 playoff goals at age 36.

Pavelski played four more seasons with the Stars and scored his 1,000th NHL point on April 10, 2023.

The Badger legend finished his career with 476 goals and 592 assists for 1,068 points in over 1,330 regular-season games for Dallas and San Jose. After the conclusion of the 2023-24 slate, Pavelski also ranked fifth in goals and games among active players.

Pavelski will now turn a chapter on his ice hockey career after cementing his legacy as one of the Badgers’ all-time greats. It’s safe to say the NHL and Badger faithful throughout the nation will miss watching him skate past defenders on a professional stage.