MADISON, Wis. – Senior Lacey Eden's two-goal and one-assist contest helped the top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team to a 6-0 shutout against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday in front of a sellout crowd at LaBahn Arena. 

Apart from Eden's two goals, freshman Scannell recorded a goal on the power play as Laila Edwards, Cassie Hall and Sarah Wozniewicz to secure the Badgers (20-1-0, 14-1-0 WCHA) win over the Buckeyes (13-5-2, 8-5-2-2-0-1 WCHA).

The Badgers opened the scoring just past a minute into the contest. Hall generated an OSU turnover in the offensive zone and Eden capitalized on the pressure, scoring her fourteenth goal of the season. 

Wisconsin's second line with Eden and Hall scored again just over three minutes later. On a two-on-two rush, Eden beat two OSU defenders before sending the pass across the slot to a wide-open Hall to one-time the puck into the back of the net.

Scannell extended the Badgers lead to 3-0 on the power play. Laney Potter took a shot from the point that Buckeye netminder Amanda Thiele saved but couldn't control, giving Scannell the rebound to tap into the back of the net.

Wozniewicz added her fourth goal of the year to open the second-period scoring. Emma Venusio ripped a shot on the OSU net that Thiele saved. Wozniewicz pounced on the rebound and extended Wisconsin's lead to 4-0.

The Badgers closed out the second period with a 5-0 lead as Edwards posted her WCHA-leading 19th goal of the season. Wisconsin all-time assist leader Casey O'Brien added another assist as she passed it across the slot for Edwards to beat Thiele.

Wisconsin added one more in the third period as Eden recorded her second goal and third point of the night.

McNaughton stopped all 18 shots she faced for her seventh shutout and 19th win of the season.

Notes of the Game

• Thursday marked the 15th game of the season where the Badgers have scored five or more goals. Wisconsin has scored four or more goals in 19 of their 21 games this season.
• This marks UW's largest win against Ohio State since Nov. 4, 2017, where the Badgers defeated OSU 7-0 at LaBahn Arena.
• Lacey Eden recorded her fifth multi-goal game this season, most recently accomplishing the feat on Nov. 15, 2024, against Ohio State.
• The Badgers reached 20 wins, tied for the fastest in school history, earning a 20-1-0 record in the 2017-18 season, where they'd go on to be 25-1-0 before tying a game.

Straight from the Rink
UW Head Coach Mark Johnson
On looking forward to the Frozen Confines:
"How we get to the ice is going to be different, and how we get back in between periods are all going to be different. But we can't let that be something that distracts us. We need to enjoy it so when you step on the ice, and everything is in front of you, and have a good time playing the game. The outcome is going to be the outcome."

On the tough opponent in No. 2 Ohio State:
"When they drop the puck, they're going to come and they're going to be aggressive and you got to be ready to embrace that and be part of it. I think for the most of it, we did, and then there's going to be breakdowns. There are going to be opportunities for us; Ava (McNaughton) met the challenge on all of them, especially on the power plays that they had.  I give her a lot of credit because in this business, it's tough to get shutouts."

Senior Lacey Eden
On scoring early:
"We've had a good week of skating at practice. I really wasn't expecting any rust from anyone. We got our feet under us, and it made us all the better out there. It's definitely nice to put one in on the first shift, it gets the momentum going right away."

Sophomore Ava McNaughton
On the strong season thus far:
"It's nice having the confidence of the coaching staff and having the team behind you, that's what brings me the most confidence. I'm trying to work on the little things everyday in order to reach my goals. I try not to look at the statistics, it's easy to get overwhelmed by them and lose sight of what it means to be a part of the team."

Up Next: UW takes on Ohio State on Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago as a part of the The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series. Puck drop is set for 4:30 p.m. CT and the game will air live on Big Ten Network.

Tickets are still available here and fans coming down can attend UW's Pep Rally, presented by UW Credit Union, at Sluggers Bar. Located a two-minute walk from Wrigley Field at 3540 North Clark Street in Chicago, the festivities at Sluggers Bar begin at 1 p.m. There will be Wisconsin swag giveaways and food and drink available to purchase, among other activities.