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

Wisconsin's Kirsten Simms weaves through Quinnipiac defenders during a NCAA regional final Saturday March 14, 2026 at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wis. Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Kedrick Stumbris | Last updated Mar 20, 2026 10:13 PM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

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 the 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.

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.

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

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 article first appeared on Wisconsin Badgers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: