Brandon's Kristen Campbell dominates U.S. hockey en route to NCAA title
1st woman in Frozen Four history to win championship without giving up a goal
She's soft spoken during interviews but inside a goalie crease Kristen Campbell is as hard as a brick wall.
It's through that latter quality the 21-year-old from Brandon, Man., speaks volumes. And this past week she was absolutely roaring.
On Sunday, Campbell backstopped her University of Wisconsin Badgers hockey team to the national championship, shutting out the Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-0 in the NCAA Frozen Four final.
"It's kind of everything we've ever been working towards our whole hockey career. It's a pretty big deal to each and every one of us on this team," Campbell told CBC News on Monday, never allowing the spotlight to focus in herself, but rather directing it on her teammates.
"I've never been part of a team with such great chemistry. We just have so much love and support for each other on and off the ice."
The title is Wisconsin's first national championship since 2011.
The blanking of Minnesota was Campbell's third-consecutive shutout of the Frozen Four after the Badgers downed Syracuse 4-0 in the quarter final and two-time defending champion Clarkson 5-0 in the semi-final.
With that, she became the first woman in the tournament's history to win without giving up a single goal. The dominating performance earned her the nod as the championship's most outstanding player.
The trio of shutouts gave Campbell a total of 11 for the season, her second in Wisconsin. In 13 other games, she allowed just one goal.
She wrapped up the season with a record of 35-4-2 and made school history for the most wins in a year by a goaltender.
The previous year she played 38 games and recorded 12 shutouts, finishing with a 31-5-2 record.
The 2019 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WFrozenFour?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WFrozenFour</a> Most Outstanding Player - Kristen Campbell of <a href="https://twitter.com/BadgerWHockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BadgerWHockey</a>. <a href="https://t.co/33Q3wmumGy">pic.twitter.com/33Q3wmumGy</a>
—@NCAAIceHockey"I've always had my sights set on playing hockey at the highest possible level," said Campbell, who credits her upbringing in Brandon, a small Prairie city of just 48,800 people, with carving out her determination.
With a smaller pool of female players, Campbell faced off against the boys at her community rinks. That competition established a mark that she needed to reach — and gave her something to surpass.
She went on to play for the Westman Wildcats of the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League in 2012-13, where she helped the team to a 25-game winning streak, logging nine consecutive shutouts, and was named to the all-star team.
She then played two seasons for Shaftesbury Titans, where she posted a 25-3-1 record as the team claimed the 2014 World Sport School Championship National title.
"Set your goals high and know that if you take steps every day towards them you can accomplish anything you set your mind to," she said of her advice for young athletes.
The most important thing you can do for yourself is set your goals high.- Kristen Campbell
"The most important thing you can do for yourself is set your goals high. I've always had my sights set on playing hockey at the highest possible level."
She has already represented Canada with both the under-18 and under-22 national teams.
"So next step for me would be getting an opportunity with the Team Canada senior team," Campbell said of the squad whose success has resulted in 10 gold medals at international world championships, and four Olympic gold.
But for now, her sights are set on defending the NCAA title with the Badgers in 2019-20.
"We're going to enjoy every moment we can in the next few weeks and months to come but we're going to get back to work for next season," Campbell said.