No. 1 Badgers blank Lions 6-0 in season opener

Thursday, September 28

Maryland Heights, MO

7:10 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

1-0-0

Lindenwood

2-1-0

Wisconsin

Lindenwood

Photo by: AJ Harrison

No. 1 Badgers blank Lions 6-0 in season opener

September 28, 2023 | Women's Hockey

Box Score

Wisconsin outshoots Lindenwood 65-5 in shutout

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Five different Badgers lit the lamp as top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey pounced on Lindenwood, 6-0, Thursday night at Centene Community Ice Center.

Lacey Eden paced the UW (1-0-0) attack with a pair of goals in the third period while Laila Edwards, Sarah Wozniewicz, Kirsten Simms and Casey O'Brien also all found the back of the net against the Lions (2-1-0)

Laila Edwards broke the silence, getting the Badgers on the board 14:43 into the first period for the first goal of the season.

Less than a minute later, Wozniewicz tapped in the rebound from Chayla Edwards to double Wisconsin's lead, giving UW a 2-0 lead after the first period.

Simms weaved through a group of Lions to find the back of the net, before O'Brien continued the fun, extending the lead to 4-0 after two frames.

Eden continued the scoring into the third period, scoring her first of the year with less than five minutes remaining before grabbing a short-handed goal with just 44 seconds to go.

Jane Gervais stopped the five shots she faced for her first shutout of the season and her third career blank slate.

Three Notes of the Game
- The Badgers improved to 22-0-0 all time against the Lady Lions, outscoring them 136-16.
- Four Badgers made their collegiate debuts in Ava Murphy, Laney Potter, Cassie Hall and Kelly Gorbatenko. In addition, Anna Wilgren suited up for the first time for the Cardinal and White after spending her previous five years with Minnesota State.
- UW outshot LU 65-5, with 65 now ranking eighth in program history for shots on goal. UW's five shots on goal against were tied for the third-fewest in school history.

Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Mark Johnson
On starting off the season with a 6-0 win:
"It's a good way to start the season. It's a long grind in front of us, but I thought the kids over the course of the summer trained hard and got themselves in good condition. Now it's time to play a game and overall it was a good effort."

On how the freshmen played in their first collegiate game:
"I thought they all did well. Cassie (Hall) had a couple of great scoring opportunities, and the two young defensemen did a great job playing in their first college game. I thought Kelly (Gorbatenko) adjusted well to the tempo and the pace of the game, and had long strong shifts. Very pleased with everybody and it's just a start, now it's time to build and see how good we can become."

Junior Lacey Eden
On UW's start to the season:
"It's a great start and we're just looking to build on that every game. We have a lot of freshmen this year, so getting them a little taste of the pace of college hockey is huge, and I can't wait to keep progressing and building off of the win."

On what she's expecting from both teams tomorrow:
"I'm expecting the same exact thing from our team. We want to come out with the same intensity that we did today. Lindenwood is going to come back wanting revenge and wanting to better than they did today, so we also want to keep building on our performance.

Up Next:
The Badgers will close out the series against the Lions tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo. Fans can listen to the games on WTSO 1070 AM as Noah Clark and Aidan Michaels will have the call on the radio, or watch online through FloHockey.