Coming off a record-breaking 38-1-2 season and 8th NCAA title, Wisconsin’s women’s hockey is looking to replicate their winning ways, adding six freshmen while retaining much of the team’s veteran core.
Before the puck drops in 2025, here are the new faces taking the ice this year.
Between the pipes
Hailing from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, goaltender Rhyah Stewart comes to Wisconsin with a .903 save percentage and 3.17 goals against average in 10 games last season with the West Kent Steamers. Stewart played one season in the Maritime Junior Hockey League, becoming one of the first women to do so.
Stewart is most likely to sit behind junior Ava McNaughton and senior Chloe Baker this year.
On the blue line
Right defenseman Mackenzie Jones crosses state-lines from Andover, Minnesota to join the Badgers. Jones played four years for the Andover High School Huskies, scoring 10 goals and 39 points in 31 games. Andover lost to Hill-Murray School in the Minnesota State High School League tournament quarterfinals last season, but Jones finished the year tied for first in points on her team.
Defender Rachel Gorbatenko joins her sister Kelly Gorbatenko, coming from the Chicago Mission. Gorbatenko had 104 goals and 298 points in 199 games in Chicago and took home gold with Team USA’s Women’s World Championship U18 team.
Forward power
A third Gorbatenko — Nicole — joins the Badgers this year after spending the same amount of time with the Chicago Mission as her sister. In her four year tenure with the Mission, Gorbatenko scored 158 goals and 146 assists.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Pieckenhagen’s experience on the U-22 Mississauga Hurricanes will surely bolster the Badgers’ offense. Scoring 39 goals and 61 points in 37 games with the Hurricanes, Pieckenhagen can move the puck with pace and make plays.
Czechia-born Adéla Šapovalivová spent the last two seasons with the MoDo Hockey Team in Sweden. Growing from 11 goals and 29 points in 32 games in her first year to 15 goals and 36 points in 34 games in her second, Šapovalivová is a reliable forward Badgers fans can get excited about.
Members of the core remain
Alongside a young batch of Badgers, key members of their championship squad still remain. Veteran forwards Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms and defenders Caroline Harvey and Vivian Jungels are all returning this season. They will be looked to as leaders this season.
Women’s hockey starts their season this Friday in Bemidji, Minnesota, where Wisconsin is looking to make a statement early on in the season, beginning their push for a second straight NCAA title.
