Knight, Duggan named Patty Kaz Finalists

Thursday Wisconsin forwards Meghan Duggan (pictured) and Hillary Knight were announced as top 10 finalists for the 2011 Patt Kazmaier Award.

According to the release, "This year marks the 14th annual presentation of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement."

Duggan, a senior forward was also honored on Thursday by the WCHA as it's Player of the Year. Duggan, a member of last years USA Olympic team which picked up a silver medal in Vancouver led the WCHA in scoring with 61 points in 28 games for a 2.18 point per game clip. Duggan won the league scoring race by 10 points over teammate and line mate, Sophomore Brianna Decker. Duggan's 79 total points this season are tied for first nationally.

Knight, a junior forward is putting goals on the board at an insane rate this season. Her 46 goals this season are 11 more than the next highest goal scorer (Duggan). Knight's 46 goals this season are also more than 4 Division-1 women's teams scored the entire season. Knight was also honored by the WCHA on Thursday being announced as a first team All-WCHA forward. This is the second time Knight has been a finalist for the Patty Kaz.

According to UWBadgers.com, 10 UW women's players have been finalists for the award: Sara Bauer (2006, 2007), Duggan (2011), Molly Engstrom (2005), Meghan Hunter (2001), Knight (2009, 2011), Erika Lawler (2009), Carla MacLeod (2005), Meaghan Mikkelson (2007), Bobbi-Jo Slusar (2006) and Jessie Vetter (2009).

Sara Bauer won the award in 2006 and Jessie Vetter won the award in 2009.

Here are the Badges honored by the WCHA on Thursday at the League Awards:

Hilary Knight-First team forward
Meghan Duggan-First team forward
Brianna Decker-First team forward
Brittany Haverstock-Third team defenseman
Brittany Ammerman-All Rookie team forward
Alex Rigsby-All Rookie team goalie
Mark Johnson-Coach of the year

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Women Sign Four for next season

Been awhile since I posted, but I was catching up on the Women's team and realized they signed four top recruits for the 2010/11 season last week. It is a small class, but one of the best in country. I don't follow Women's recruiting much, but I'd guess that Alex Rigsby, Brittany Ammerman and Madison Packer are three of the top 10 recruits in the country. Rigsby, a goalie, could probably earn a scholarship for some DI Men's teams from what I read. Don't know much about Kelly Jaminski, but she is from Wisconsin Rapids, and I didn't know anything Stepanie McKeough either and she has been one of the best defenders as a frosh. Nice work Mark Johnson and company!

This is a worthy cut and paste from uwbaders.com.

Brittany Ammerman, a 5-6 forward out of River Vale, N.J., will join her older sister Brooke, a current sophomore standout for the Badgers. Brittany is currently a senior at the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) in Stowe, Vt. The senior captains the squad and is the current leading scorer for the NAHA White with 12 goals and 10 assists through 23 games. Most notably, she was a member of the 2009 U18 World Champion Team USA, which competed in Fussen, Germany. She scored the first goal in the gold medal game, leading her team to victory over Canada. From 2008-09, she was a member of the U-18 USA Select team that competed in a three-game series against Canada in Lake Placid (2008) and Calgary (2009).

As a junior, Ammerman was the leading scorer on the NAHA for the 2008-09 season, as well as an assistant captain. During her sophomore year, she was the youngest player on the team, ranking fifth on the team in points. This was also the first year she and her sister Brooke played together. Her team won the Junior Women’s Hockey League during her sophomore and junior years of high school. In Ammerman’s freshman year, she played on the U16 New Jersey Colonials team, where she was the leading scorer and, again, the youngest player on the team.

Ammerman is a four-time National Camp attendee. She made the all-star team and scored two goals at the 2009 edition of the camp. She was the leading scorer at the National Camp in 2008.

DeKeyser on Ammerman

"Brittany is a dynamic forward that brings great energy to the game and to those around her on the ice. Brittany should add another dimension to our offensive corps next season with her speed and playmaking ability."

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Alex Rigsby, a 5-7 goaltender from Delafield, Wis., joins the Badgers with an impressive resume. A member of the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals AAA Boys Midget Majors for the past three years, Rigsby was a member of the U18 Women’s National Team. She led the team to gold at the 2009 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships where she won the Top Goaltender award after stopping 38 shots in the 3-2 gold-medal win over Canada and collecting a .947 save percentage and a 1.28 goals-against average. As a member of the national team, she also participated in the 2008 and 2009 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival, as well as the 2008 and 2009 USA U18 Women’s three-game series against Team Canada. Rigsby participated in the USA Hockey National Development Camps from 2006-09 and the 2009 Warren Strelow National Goaltending Camp.

In May 2009 she was drafted by the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), becoming the first female ever drafted into the league. The USHL is one of the top Tier I junior leagues in North America. Its teams identify and select top teenage prospects from the U.S. and Canada, then set them on a developmental course for NCAA Division I programs and, in some cases, the NHL.

DeKeyser on Rigsby

"Playing for the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals in such a competitive hockey league, Alex should be well prepared for the college ranks next season. She is a gifted goaltender and we expect great things for Alex during her career at Wisconsin."

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Kelly Jaminski, a 6-foot defender from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., will join the squad as one of two players from the Girls Under-19 AAA Little Caesars Hockey Team. Jaminski will spend the final duration of her senior year at Grosse Pointe North High School (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and will serve as assistant captain of the Little Caesars team, alongside fellow Wisconsin signee Madison Packer.

Like Ammerman, Jaminski also attended the National Development Camp from 2006-2009. Before moving to Michigan to pursue her hockey career in 2007, Jaminski competed on the Boys Central WI AAA Hockey Team, Wisconsin Rapids Boys AAA Bantam Hockey team (where she was co-captain) and the Girls U-19 Madison Capitals AAA Hockey team.

DeKeyser on Jaminski

"We are excited to have yet another Wisconsinite join the Badger squad in Kelly Jaminski. Kelly has played the last two seasons with the Little Caesars organization alongside fellow incoming freshman Madison Packer. We expect Kelly to be a physical presence on the blue-line, while contributing offensively as well."

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Madison Packer is a 5-9 forward out of Birmingham, Mich., who brings a lot of experience to Wisconsin. In her final season with the Little Caesars U19 girls’ team (Mich.), Packer is the team captain with Jaminski, who serves as an assistant captain.

Packer was part of the first U.S. Women’s National Under-18 squad that won a gold medal in Calgary in 2008, tying for 11th in tournament scoring with nine points (5-4). She attended four USA Hockey Player Development Camps from 2005-08 and was a selection for the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival in Lake Placid, N.Y. Packer went on to help the U.S. pick up two wins in a three-game series against Canada in 2008. During the three-game series Packer notched a goal under head coach Mark Johnson while also skating with current Badgers Alev Kelter and Brianna Decker. UW signees Ammerman and Rigsby were both on the team as well. That same team went on to win gold in her second IIHF World Women’s U18 Championship. Serving as an alternate captain, she tallied 11 points in five games (6-5).


DeKeyser on Packer

"Madison has proven to be a powerful offensive threat, with notable puckhandling skills and a great vision for the game. She is a hard-working hockey player who should make a significant impact at the college level."

Women's U18 Series G3: CAN 3 - US 1

In the final game of the U18 Series, Canada defeated the US 3-1 today to win the series 2 games to 1. Brittany Ammerman had 1 assist; Alex Rigsby made 19 saves.

Game recaps: usahockey, hockeycanada

Women's U18 Series G2: CAN 4 - US 2

Brittany Ammerman picked up as assist in the US U18 team's 4-2 loss to Canada last night. Alex Rigsby did not play, as Kerrin Sperry got the start.

From US head coach Katie King:

"We weren't able to capitalize on our opportunities tonight. Although the outcome wasn't in our favor, the team played very hard, and will able to learn and improve their game moving forward."

Game recaps: usahockey, hockeycanada

Next game: Today at 3:30 CT

Badger Women 2010 recruiting class

I can't believe I missed this last week. Apparently forward Brittany Ammerman has committed to Wisconsin. Her commitment isn't a huge surprise, and I had speculated about it previously, but now it's actually been announced.

And the folks over on the uscho women's fan forum are indicating the goaltender Alex Rigsby has committed as well, but I don't have any links.

Ammerman and Rigsby join forward Madison Packer (again, no links, but listed in the fan forum) for the Badger's 2010 recruiting class. All 3 players won gold with Team USA in the U18 World Championship this January.

Tournament stats
Packer (5 GP) 6-5-11, 27 SOG, +13
Ammerman (5 GP) 5-5-10, 20 SOG, +16
Rigsby (3 GP) 1.28 GAA, .974 SV%

Rigsby split time with Corinne Boyles but got the nod for the championship game, in which she made 38 saves for the 3-2 OT win over Canada. She also received the Directorate Award for Best Goaltender in the tourney.

Rigsby's commitment will give the Badgers 3 goaltender for the 2010-11 season, as Nikki Kaasa will be a junior and Rebecca Ruegsegger will be a sophomore.

WW U18: Johnson leads USA to Gold

(Left photo courtesy of Hux on the uscho fan forum. Right photo by Mika Kylmaniemi, IIHF/HHof Images.)

Team USA, led by the Badger Women's head coach Mark Johnson, has defeated Team Canada 3-2 in overtime to win gold at the World Women's U18 Championship in Fussen, Germany. Captain Alev Kelter, alternate captain Madison Packer, and Brianna Decker have verballed to the Badgers, and I'd imagine that Brittany Ammerman might commit to the Badgers as well. Future Badgers Breann Frykas and Saige Pacholok won silver with Team Canada.

Alev Kelter also received the Directorate Award for Best Defenseman.

Mark Johnson on the game:

"It's an exciting day for USA Hockey," said Team USA Head Coach Mark Johnson, who is also the head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin. "Anytime you get to play for a championship, it's special, but when it's a world championship, it's that much better. The players, support staff and everyone involved with the team played their role and did things very well and the end result is bringing home the trophy."

Box
Recaps: iihf, usahockey, hockeycanada
Photos: iihf, usahockey (game), usahockey (celebration)

Kelter 0-0-0, 1 SOG, -1
Packer 0-0-0, 3 SOG, E
Decker 0-0-0, 5 SOG, +1
Ammerman 1-0-1, 4 SOG, E

Frykas 0-0-0, 0 SOG, E
Pacholok 0-0-0, 2 SOG, E

Tournament stats (5 GP)
Kelter 5-3-8, 20 SOG, +16
Packer 6-5-11, 27 SOG, +13
Decker 8-1-9, 26 SOG, +15
Ammerman 5-5-10, 20 SOG, +16

Frykas 1-2-3, 12 SOG, +7
Pacholok 0-8-8, 2 SOG, +13

WW U18s: USA, CAN win final prelim games

(Alev Kelter scores! Photo from usahockey.com)

Team USA and Team Canada have both won their final preliminary games, going undefeated in the preliminary round. In Friday's semifinals, CAN will face SWE at 9:30 AM CST and USA will face CZE at 1 PM CST. (How on earth did CZE make the semifinals after winning just 1 of their 3 prelim games?)

USA 9 - SWE 2
Box, Recap, Photos
Brianna Decker 2-0-2, 5 SOG, +1
Alev Kelter 1-0-1, 1 SOG, +4
Brittany Ammerman 0-1-1, 3 SOG, +1
Madison Packer 1-0-1, 3 SOG, -1

"We're extremely happy with the outcome of tonight's game," said Team USA Head Coach Mark Johnson, who is also the head women's ice hockey coach at the University of Wisconsin. "Sweden has a very strong team and I certainly give our players credit for coming out with energy. It was a very good way to finish the prelims - now we have a day to recoup and get ready for the next round."

By the way, Gandalf tells me that the folks on the uscho women's fan forum have indicated that Packer has verballed to the Badgers, so I've added her stats above. (Ammerman has not yet verballed as far as I'm aware; I'm just hopeful.)

Also, I neglected to mention that Kelter is serving as captain of Team USA and Packer is an alternate captain. Furthermore, it seems that both girls are contributing to a diary of the WW U18s.

CAN 13 - CZE 0
Box, Recap
Breann Frykas 0-1-1, 4 SOG, +3
Saige Pacholok 0-4-4, 0 SOG, +6

WW U18s: USA, CAN clinch semifinal spots

By defeating Germany 11-0 yesterday, Team USA has clinched a spot in Friday's semifinals of the World Women's U18 Championship.

Box, Recap
Brianna Decker - 1-0-1, 5 SOG, +4
Alev Kelter - 0-0-0, 5 SOG, +4
Brittany Ammerman - 2-0-2, 5 SOG, +4

The preliminary round isn't over yet. At 12:30 pm today, the US will play Sweden, the other team in Group A who has also already clinched a semifinal spot. Sweden defeated Germany 8-1 and Russia 6-1 in their previous prelim games.

“The competition will get tougher starting tomorrow against Sweden – we've played two good games, but now we'll have the opportunity to really make some strides,” U.S. head coach Mark Johnson said.

By defeating Finland 6-0 yesterday, Team Canada has also clinched a spot in Friday's semifinals. They'll play the Czech Republic in their final prelim game today. The Czechs lost to Finland 2-1 and defeated Switzerland 7-3 in their previous prelim games

Box, Recap
Breann Frykas 0-0-0, 2 SOG, E
Saige Pacholok 1-0-1, 3 SOG, +1

Meet the Freshmen: #20 Brooke Ammerman

Brooke Ammerman scored her 1st goal as a Badger last Saturday v. Quinnipiac, and she scored a slew of goals this weekend v. Syracuse -- 4 goals today and 1 goal yesterday -- and so I thought it was time I finally got around to taking a closer look, continuing my "Meet the Freshman" series. (I've previously looked at Brittany Haverstock and Carolyne Prévost.)

Let's start out with a couple of profiles that have already been written:
Uwbadgers.com player bio
Gandalf's preview

Honestly, I don't know who writes the bios for uwbadgers.com, but they seem to have left some things out. Let's see how I do at filling in the gaps!

Ammerman has some nice national and international experience:

Summer 2008
U22 Summer Camp
Ammerman earned a spot for Team USA's U22 summer camp in June/July. She was unable to attend but was still considered for the U22 Select Team that played in the 3 game series v. Canada in August. Unfortunately, she did not make the cut, but I'm wondering if she was still being held back by the wrist injury that kept her off the team that played in Harbin, China in April.

Uwbadgers.com indicates she played for Team USA "back in August" in the series v. Canada, scoring the first goal in game 2. However, that's from over a year ago when she played on the U18 team, not this past August. She was too old to play for the U18 team this August, but her sister Brittany played for the U18 team in the U18 Select Series v. Canada this August.


2007-08
U18 Select Series v. Canada (August 2007)
Ammerman played for the U18 Team in the inaugural U18 Select Series v. Canada in August of 2007, along with future Badgers Brianna Decker and Rebecca Ruegsegger. Canada won all 3 games of the series. Ammeman served as an assistant captain and shared the scoring lead for Team USA for the series with Decker. Ammerman had 1 goal in Game 2 and 2 assists in Game 1 for 3 points. (Decker had 1 goal in each game for 3 points.)

USA Hockey Holiday Camp (December 2007)
Ammerman was attended USA Hockey's Holiday camp as one of the 34 candidates competing for a roster spot on Team USA to compete in IIHF World Women's Championship in Harbin, China in May of 2008. However, she had wrist surgery in March that was expected to sideline her for 3 months, so she did not make the roster.

IIHF U18 World Women's Championships (January 2008)
In January of 2008, Ammerman served as an assistant captain for the U18 Team in the 2008 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in Calgary, Alberta. This was the inaugural U18 World Women's Championship, and Team USA brought home the gold! Also on the team were future Badgers Brianna Decker, Rebecca Ruegsegger, and Alev Kelter.

In 5 games, Ammerman recorded 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points and finished +8. Her 6 goals led Team USA and tied her for 2nd among all skaters in the tourney. Her 10 points tied her for 2nd on Team USA and tied her for 4th among all skaters in the tourney. Additionally, she was named Player of the Game for the gold medal game v. Canada.

Ammerman also wrote a blog during the event with teammate Kendall Coyne.




Ammerman spent the last 2 years playing for the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) of the Junior Women's Hockey League (JWHL). As a senior, she served as captain and led team to the JWHL regular season title, the JWHL playoff championship, the College Limoilou Tournament Championship, and a JWHL Challenge Cup silver medal. I can't find any stats for her senior season, but her junior season she recorded 62 goals and 56 assists for 118 points in 74 games as NAHA won multiple titles en route to a record of 64-3-4-3.

Prior to attending NAHA, Ammerman played for the Princeton Tigerlillies. As a sophomore, she served as an assistant captain and was named Team MVP as she led the team to the district championship. In 62 games, she recorded 77 goals and 40 assists for 117 points.




When Ammerman committed to the Badgers, here's what Head Coach Mark Johnson had to say:

“Brooke has very good hands, is a good playmaker and a natural scorer who will be participating in the Under-18 World Championship. She also presents strong leadership skills on the teams that she’s playing for.”

Here's a really nice article on Ammerman -- even better, it includes a video interview with Brooke and her sister Brittany!