MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. – Senior captain Casey O'Brien and sophomore Cassie Hall each scored twice to lead the No. 1 Wisconsin women's hockey team to a 6-1 win over St. Thomas on Friday evening.
The Badgers (23-1-1, 17-1-1 WCHA) also had goals from Ava Murphy and Laila Edwards to improve their unbeaten run to 11 games and remain undefeated all time against the Tommies (5-16-2, 2-14-1 WCHA).
Wisconsin got off to a hot start thanks to a pair of goals by O'Brien in the first period. O'Brien's first goal came on the power play before scoring off a feed from Kirsten Simms to give UW a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. O'Brien's first goal was her 50th point of the season, becoming the first player in the NCAA to reach the milestone this season.
The Badgers came out hot during the second period, scoring two goals in the first five minutes. Hall extended the Badgers' lead to two with assists from Kelly Gorbatenko and Lacey Eden. Murphy scored her second of the year to give UW a 4-1 lead after two periods.
In the third period, Hall scored her second of the night before Edwards capped off the scoring for Wisconsin.
Goalie Ava McNaughton stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced to earn her 22nd win of the season.
Notes to Know
- O'Brien now owns 23 career game winning goals, moving her into sole possession of third place in school history. Only Hilary Knight (30) and Brianna Decker (25) have scored more game-winning goals as a Badger than O'Brien.
- Caroline Harvey chipped in two assists and now has 43 points this season. She is only seven points shy of breaking the school record for most points by a defender in a single season.
- UW outshot St. Thomas 39-26.
Up Next: UW wraps up its series with St. Thomas on Saturday with a 3 p.m. start. Fans can watch on Big Ten Plus or listen to The Game 1070 AM.
