Brandon’s Campbell makes history

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This article was published 24/03/2019 (2369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THERE was no denying Women’s Frozen Four most outstanding player Kristen Campbell and the University of Wisconsin Badgers Sunday afternoon.

The 21-year-old Brandonite stopped 27 shots and got the offensive support she needed as the No. 1-ranked Badgers upended the second-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-0 in the championship game of NCAA women’s hockey in Hamden, Conn., Sunday afternoon.

It was Campbell’s third consecutive shutout following a 5-0 win over the two-time defending champion Clarkson Golden Knights in Friday’s semifinal at the Women’s Frozen Four and a 4-0 win over Syracuse in the NCAA quarter-final on March 16.

The victory capped an incredible two years for Campbell, who was without a team after the University of North Dakota jettisoned its women’s hockey program as part of cost-cutting in the athletic department during the spring of 2017.

Campbell found a new home in Madison, Wis., where she helped the Badgers to the NCAA semifinals last spring before losing 4-3 in double overtime to Colgate.

On Sunday, she became the first goaltender to go through the NCAA women’s tournament without giving up a goal.

“I couldn’t thank the coaching staff here enough for taking a risk on me and taking a chance to bring me into this program,” Campbell told the Wisconsin State Journal.

“As soon as I got that opportunity, I knew that I was going to make the most of it.”

The heartbreaking loss in the 2018 national semifinal wasn’t something she would easily forget.

“She’s been visualizing this game since they lost last year,” forward Annie Pankowski told the State Journal. “It wasn’t a fluke. She was ready.”

It was the fifth national title in the 20-year history of the Wisconsin women’s hockey program.

Campbell, a redshirt junior, had 11 shutouts and started all 41 games for Wisconsin in 2018-19 after earning second team all-American honours in 2017-18. She entered Sunday’s final with a 1.06 goals-against average and a save percentage of .937.

Sophia Shaver, in the opening period, and Pankowski, while short-handed in the middle frame, scored goals for the Badgers, who finished the season with a 35-4-2 record.

The Gophers, who finished 32-6-1 overall, got a 30-save performance from Alex Gulstene.

It was the sixth meeting between the heated Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals. The Badgers won four of those games with Campbell allowing a total of seven goals in six games.

Campbell was one of six Canadians on the championship squad, which also included forwards Sam Cogan of Ottawa, Saskatoon’s Sophie Shirley, Brette Pettet of Kentville, N.S., Saskatoon’s Emily Clark and Nikki Cece of Oakville, Ont.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14