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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WCHA ALUMNAE STAR IN WOMEN’S ELITE 3-ON-3 COMPETITION AT NHL ALL-STAR SKILLS Desbiens and Cavallini duel in net; Knight and Pankowski team up for U.S. in 2-1 Canada win

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Jan. 24, 2020 – A quartet of Wisconsin Badgers headlined the Western Collegiate Hockey Association alumnae who took the ice in the Elite Women’s 3-on-3 Competition during the NHL All-Star Skills at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo., Friday evening.

Canada defeated the , 2-1, in the contest but the highlights had a decided WCHA and Wisconsin flavor as former Badger netminders Ann-Renée Desbiens (Canada) and (United States) stopped 15 and 14 shots, respectively, in the two-period, 20-minute contest and fellow Badger alums accounted for the lone U.S. goal as Annie Pankowski fed Hilary Knight for a second-period American score. Desbiens withstood a late U.S. attack and sealed the win for Canada with a glove save on a from former Minnesota star as time expired.

Knight pulled double-duty on Friday evening as she and Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin were selected in fan voting to compete in the NHL Shooting Stars competition alongside eight NHL All-Stars later in the evening. Knight tied for fifth in the event, which was won by Chicago’s Patrick Kane.

While elite women’s players have participated in previous NHL All-Star Skills events, Friday’s 3-on-3 contest marked the first time the NHL All-Star Skills night has included a competition solely dedicated to women’s hockey.

Other WCHA alumnae who were in action in Friday’s game were Wisconsin’s (USA), (Canada) and (Canada); Minnesota’s Lee Stecklein (USA); State’s Natalie Spooner (Canada) and North Dakota’s Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson (USA)

About the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s League The Women’s League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is marking its 21st season in 2019-20. The nation’s premier women’s hockey conference, WCHA member institutions have won a record 17 national championships since the league’s inception in 1999 (including 16 of a possible 19 NCAA titles), while producing seven Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners, 101 All-Americans and numerous Olympic and national team members. The seven-team, NCAA Division I conference consists of: Bemidji State University (Beavers), the University of Minnesota (Golden Gophers), the University of Minnesota Duluth (Bulldogs), Minnesota State University (Mavericks), Ohio State University (Buckeyes), St. Cloud State University (Huskies) and the University of Wisconsin (Badgers). For more information, visit wcha.com.

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