The Wisconsin women’s hockey program is a well-established national powerhouse. Led by head coach Mark Johnson of the infamous Miracle team, the Badgers are consistently producing international-level competitors. Among the high-scoring offense, notorious head coach and consistent domination, a true talent can sometimes fall beneath the radar of a casual fan.
Junior goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens is doing just that. The Badgers’ modest, top-ranked goaltender currently leads the nation in nearly every statistic tracked for the position, including save percentage, shutouts, goals against average and wins.
Desbiens, who first played hockey at the age of four in Quebec, Canada with her three older brothers and other male peers, made Team Quebec by the age of 15 and Team Canada by the age of 16.
“At that point I realized I could probably do something with it,” Desbiens said of her hockey abilities.
Desbiens has found her home in the net for the entirety of her hockey career, dating back to her first year playing competitively.
“My first year actually playing on a team, we didn’t have a goalie and my coach was like ‘well you play goalie in your basement with your brothers,’ even though I didn’t have a choice, so then he asked me and that’s how it started.”
Undoubtedly, the decision has panned out well. In this season alone, Desbiens has completed 14 shutouts, totaling 31 for her collegiate career and putting her in third place in NCAA history. The current NCAA record stands at 43 shutouts, which was recently set by Minnesota’s Noora Räty from 2010-’13, when she bested ex-Badger Jessie Vetter, who had previously set the record in 2009 with 39 career shutouts. With another year left to play for the Badgers, in addition to games left to play this season, it stands within reason that Desbiens could reclaim that top spot for the Cardinal and White.
Desbiens, however, has already broken Vetter’s NCAA shutout-streak record this season, setting the new NCAA benchmark at 543:53.
When asked about the principal reason for her sustained success, Desbiens’ answer
was simple.
“I would say consistency. Coming to the rink pretty much everyday and working hard. For every game I stay focused,” Desbiens said. “I think that has been the biggest thing for me this season and the past season.”
Desbiens, who is always the first to point to her defensive unit and even her forwards for the Badgers’ defensive success, seldom takes credit for her own efforts.
“Of course it’s awesome being able to put up those numbers, but it’s not something I like talking about,” Desbiens said. “I’ve mentioned it before, a goalie cannot do that by themselves. If you put five players against just me on the ice, that’s not going to happen. There’s a lot of credit that goes to the team and the coaching.”
She’s not wrong. The Badgers’ offense averages four goals per contest while the defensive unit as a whole only allows 0.6 goals per match. However, it would be foolish to think the Quebec native hasn’t played a large part in the success of the team.
Team captain and senior defender Courtney Burke tried to capture just what the elite goaltender means to the Badgers.
“She’s our eyes. She’s always ready to play the puck and get the puck up. She’s even part of our offense I would say, she’s not just back there as a defense,” Burke said. “She moves the puck and that’s the main thing that keeps this team going, is half the time we don’t even have to go into our ‘D’ zone because she’s already pulling the puck up. She’s athletic, she’s very athletic, she gets up and down very fast. She just has a good head on her shoulders.”
Desbiens’ roommate and closest friend, senior forward Rachel Jones, shares a close connection with Desbiens and expressed what the standout goaltender has meant to the team as well.
“On and off the ice she has taken on a leadership role. She’s obviously a leader on the ice, and even off the ice she is someone that the younger players can look up to and [everyone] can
trust to talk to. The way she sees the ice and knows the plays and everything, she’s not your typical goalie by any means. She’s just Ann. She’s got a personality not a lot of people get to see. She has a funny side to her. Most people think she is really stern and not very fun to hang out with but she has a tad bit of a crazy side too,” Jones said. “When she came here freshman year everyone knew she was a good goalie. Freshman year she got a couple games she did well in, last she played really well, but this year … I’m not surprised by any means. How well she’s doing, or the records she’s breaking or anything.”
In addition to her consistency, Desbiens has shown the ability to thrive when the defense collapses. Despite the talent that surrounds her, the Wisconsin defense will occasionally break down, as is the case with any team. It’s in these moments Desbiens has shown extraordinary composure and creativity. Desbiens confessed earlier this season that “it may not always be pretty, but as long as puck doesn’t go in the net, that’s what matters.”
For Desbiens, the experience of playing for Wisconsin at Labahn has been a remarkable experience.
“I think this year the biggest thing for me is I’m having so much fun on the ice. Just seeing the little fans in the corner, I know it’s always the same one that sits there. Just seeing their smile is something that helps me. Even when I’m bored I just think how amazing it is that I get to do what I do, play hockey in front of fans like this. So that’s what I focus on, and when I see the puck coming, I just clear my mind,” Desbiens said.
Desbiens, who had her UW graduate school interview Wednesday, will hopefully be in Madison for a few more years, but she succinctly expressed clear goals for the immediate future:
“We want to win the National Championship.”
