Wisconsin women's hockey forward joins elite 100-goal club

University Park, PA — On September 22nd 2022, Wisconsin women's hockey forward Kirsten Simms scored her first-career goal against the Penn State Nittany Lions in a series at PSU's Pegula Ice Arena during the first weekend of what would become a wildly impressive collegiate career. On March 20th, 2026, Simms again found theback of the net against the Nittany Lions inside Pegula, but, this time, it was in overtime at Frozen Four and the 100th goal of her career.

Simms has cemented her place throughout UW's program record book during her time in Madison, but reaching triple-digit goals may be her most impressive feat yet. The Plymouth, Michigan native joins Team USA captain Hilary Knight (2007-12), Hockey Hall of Famer Brianna Decker (2009-13), UW Athletic Hall of Famer Meghan Duggan (2006-11), and current Wisconsin co-captain Lacey Eden (2020-) as just the fifth Badger to accomplish the feat.

Simms said that it is "an honor" to be on that list, but credited her success to her Wisconsin Badgers teammates that she has played with over the past four seasons.

Perhaps the two-time first team All-American would have reached the mark even sooner if she had not missed the final month of this regular season to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, winning gold with Team USA.

Wisconsin women's hockey advances to national title game with overtime game-winner

"KIRSTEN SIMMS SENDS WISCONSIN TO THE NATIONAL TITLE GAME!" 🗣️#WFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPN+ / @BadgerWHockey pic.twitter.com/WVlVJ6TamL
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 21, 2026

Simms' 100th goal game in dramatic fashion. The prolific scorer completed Wisconsin's comeback bid in overtime in the NCAA Tournament national semifinal with her overtime game-winner on Friday night.

Simms has a plethora of impactful goals from which to choose if she ever wanted to pick a favorite, she has scored a game-winning goal in three-straight Frozen Four contests, but she admitted on Friday night that "this one's pretty special."

Kirsten Simms scores 100th career goal with Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey

Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey winger Kirsten Simms shoots the puck from near the creas — Wisconsin right wing Kirsten Simms scores past Ohio State goaltender Amanda Thiele on a penalty shot with 18.9 seconds left to tie the NCAA women's hockey Frozen Four championship game Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The three-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top ten finalist's 33 goals in the 2023-24 season are the ninth-most in program history. Over the course of her career, Simms racked up five hat tricks, tied with Brooke Ammerman (2008-12) for the fifth-most by a Badger. The three-time All-WCHA honoree ranks in the program's top ten for most points, goals, assists, and game-winning goals in her career.

Among those game-winning goals are some of the most memorable goals in Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey history. Simms has twice scored the game-winning goal in the national title game, including one in overtime. Before scoring that overtime game-winner, the winger scored the game-tying goal with 18.9 seconds remaining in a regulation, volunteering to take the penalty shot after head coach Mark Johnson asked "who wants it?"

That is a one goal that UW goaltender Ava McNaughton, who has seen plenty of Simms' goals from the opposite end of the ice plenty of times, has only ever seen on video replay.

"I didn't look," the goaltender said in a postgame press conference following the 2025 national championship game when asked about her experience watching the game-tying goal. "I felt like I didn't need to look because she already had so many eyes on her and I knew that she has so many moves up her sleeve and it is so difficult to defend her on a shootout. I knew that she had everything that she needed in her toolbox.

"I didn't need to look. All I needed was to hear the crowd and I knew that it was going to go in."

This story has been updated.