Freshman Sophia Shaver joins fellow US U-18 Women's National Teammate Mikaela Gardner and Canada U-18 Women's National Team member Sam Cogan in the Badgers' newest class.
Shaver was a finalist for Minnesota’s Ms. Hockey Award. She won gold at the 2015 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championships, ending the tournament with a goal and two assists.
On transitioning to college life:
It was a lot easier for me and Mikaela (Gardner) because we were here over the summer. We got a little taste of a couple of classes and workouts. We had a few captains practices. It was a nice slow transition. You need to learn to manage your classwork as well as the fast pace on the ice, but the summer helped. (One the ice, the biggest difference is) the speed. It’s a lot faster. But also the creativity. I’m not used to playing with girls who are so creative.
On the pressure of being a freshman and needing to have an immediate impact
It’s a lot of pressure when it’s three of us, but the (other classes) do a good job of trying to get us acclimated to the team and used to what they do.
At Wisconsin, Frozen Four and National Championships are always the end game, but what are the other goals for the season?
It’s just playing your best every game. Giving it your all, 100% every game. We’re looking for multiple people to step up this year, so I’m looking for ward to seeing everyone step up and try their best every game.