The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is celebrating its 25th season of women’s hockey competition in 2023-24 and as part of this year-long salute to the rich history of the league, the WCHA announced its second group of five members of the conference’s 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team on Wednesday, Nov. 15.
This month’s group Top 25 Team members include the University of Wisconsin’s Sara Bauer and Jessie Vetter, the University of Minnesota’s Natalie Darwitz, the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Kim Martin Hasson and Ohio State University’s Tessa Bonhomme. The WCHA will continue to announce its Top 25 team throughout the season with five new members introduced each month through February.
The WCHA 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team was chosen by a selection committee comprised of former players, coaches and league officials along with input from a recently conducted WCHA fan poll. The following is a rundown of this month's five team members’ career highlights and impact on the WCHA.
Sara Bauer
SARA BAUER
Years Played in the WCHA: 2003-07
School: University of Wisconsin
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: The first player from Wisconsin to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in 2006, Sara Bauer was a four-year WCHA leader during her collegiate playing career from 2003-07. Bauer made an immediated impact in the league during her first year with the Badgers as she was named the league’s Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All-WCHA Rookie Team and the All-WCHA Second Team in 2003-04 after she posted eight goals and 25 assists.
She continued to build her college hockey resume as a sophomore with 26 goals and 29 assists while being named to the All-WCHA Second team in 2004-05. As a junior, Bauer helped lead the Badgers to their first-ever NCAA championship in 2006. She scored 22 goals and 36 assists that season and was named the 2006 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient along with earning the first of two WCHA Player of the Year and USCHO.com Player of the Year awards. To cap her senior season, Bauer was named the MVP at the NCAA Frozen Four in 2007.
She completed her college career with 80 goals, 138 assists and 218 points. In addition, Bauer gained All-America First Team honors in 2006 and 2007 along with being a 4X All-WCHA Award recipient and a two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top three finalist (2006 and 2007).
A native of St. Catherines, Ontario, Bauer was named the Most Outstanding Player of the WCHA Final Faceofff in 2006 and 2007 and helped Wisconsin win its first WCHA regular season and WCHA tournament championships during her junior and senior campaigns. A 3X WCHA All-Academic team selection, Bauer was named as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete in 2007 and was also selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large team in 2007.
Bauer went on to play one season of hockey in the CWHL with the Burlington Barracudas and also served as a graduate assistant coach with the Badgers in 2007-08.
Tessa Bonhomme
TESSA BONHOMME
Years Played in the WCHA: 2003-08
School: Ohio State University
Position: Defender
Career Highlights: The WCHA Player of the Year in 2007-08, Tessa Bonhomme was a standout defender for Ohio State University from 2003 to 2008. She recorded 42 goals, 86 assists and 128 points during her collegiate career and capped her time in Columbus with 16 goals and 29 assists during her senior year in 2007-08.
A two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist in 2007 and 2008, Bonhomme gained All-America first team accolades as a senior and All-America second team honors as a junior at OSU. She was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year in 2007-08 and was selected as a first team All-WCHA performer during her final two seasons of college hockey. In her first season with the Buckeyes, Bonhomme was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2003-04.
A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Bonhomme played in the 2010 Winter Olympics for Team Canada and was part of Canada’s national team at the IIHF World Championships in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. After her college playing career, Bonhomme went on to play in the CWHL with the Toronot Aeros and Toronto Furries from 2010 to 2015. Off the ice, Bonhomme has worked as a reporter and anchor for TSN’s SportsCentre, Canada’s most-watched sports and news information show.
Natalie Darwitz
NATALIE DARWITZ
Years Played in the WCHA: 2002-05
School: University of Minnesota
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: The WCHA season record holder for most points in a season with 114 (42g/72a) in 2004-05, Natalie Darwitz was a three-year standout for the University of Minnesota from 2002 to 2005. Darwitz scored 102 goals, 144 assists and 246 points in 99 career games played with the Gophers.
Darwitz gained multiple honors during her collegiate playing career as she led Minnesota to NCAA and WCHA titles in 2004 and 2005. A two-time first team All-America selection in 2003 and 2005, Darwitz also gained second team All-America honors in 2004. She was named the WCHA Rookie of the Year for 2002-03 and earned All-WCHA first team accolades during all three seasons at Minnesota. She was also selected as Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist in 2003 and 2004 and was named a top three finalist for the prestigious award in 2005.
A top rated high school player at Eagan High School in Eagan, Minn., Darwitz enjoyed a long tenure with the U.S. National team that included trips to the Winter Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010. She also competed with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Darwitz returned to Minnesota in 2008 and served as an assistant coach for the Gophers through 2011. She then served as the head coach at Lakeville South High School from 2011-13 and later was named the head coach at Hamline University. Darwitz guided the Hamline program from 2015 to 2021 before rejoining the staff as an assistant coach at Minnesota in 2021. Earlier this year, Darwitz was named as the new General Manager for the PWHL’s Minnesota franchise.
Kim Martin Hasson
KIM MARTIN HASSON
Years Played in the WCHA: 2006-11
School: University of Minnesota Duluth
Position: Goaltender
Career Highlights: Kim Martin Hasson was named to the All-WCHA team four times during her college playing career with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs from 2006-11. In four seasons of play at UMD, Martin Hasson charted a 67-23-6 record and helped lead the Bulldogs to NCAA and WCHA championships in 2008.
She finished her career with 16 shutouts and a 1.52 goals against average in 99 games played. Martin Hasson made 2307 saves for the Bulldogs that featured a .943 save rate in 5477:05 minutes played. Martin Hasson finished her senior season in the Twin Ports with eight shutouts and a 1.38 goals against average. In her sophomore season, Martin Hasson owned a 31-4-1 record with a 1.45 goals against average in 36 games played.
An All-America selection in 2008, Martin Hasson was also a top three Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist that season for UMD. She was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2006-07 and earned the WCHA Goaltending Champion award in 2010-11.
On the international stage, Martin Hasson played for her home country of Sweden at the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. She also played for Team Sweden at the IIHF World Championships in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012. After college, Martin Hasson played for the Swedish teams in Linkoping and Frolunda and went on to serve as a general manager and assistant coach at Linkoping. She currently serves as the General Manager for Linkoping HC.
Jessie Vetter
JESSIE VETTER
Years Played in the WCHA: 2005-09
School: University of Wisconsin
Position: Goaltender
Career Highlights: The 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient, Jessie Vetter completed four seasons of play in goal at the University of Wisconsin with a 91-12-10 record and 39 career shutouts. Her goals against average at Wisconsin was 1.19 and she owned a career save rate of 94.1 percent. In 6911:44 minutes of play for the Badgers, Vetter made 2175 saves in 115 games played.
A two-time All-America pick in 2007 and 2009, Vetter was a three-time All-WCHA award winner and was the WCHA’s Goaltending Champion during the 2007-08 season. In her senior season, Vetter posted a 33-2-5 overall record that included 14 shutouts and a 1.26 GAA. She helped lead the Badgers to NCAA and WCHA playoffs titles in 2006, 2007 and 2009 along with regular season WCHA crowns in 2006 and 2007.
Her international playing resume includes playing for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in 2010 an d 2014. A native of Cottage Grove, Wisc., Vetter was with the United States national team at the IIHF World Championships in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. She was selected as the Sportswoman of the Year in 2009 by the Women’s Sports Foundation and was the first ice hockey player to receive this award.
ABOUT THE WCHA
Founded in 1999, the women’s league of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has positioned itself as the top conference in all of women’s collegiate hockey and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023-24. The WCHA has won an unprecedented 20 national championships while finishing as the national runner-up nine times since 1999. The league has produced nine Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners as well an additional 24 student-athletes who were among the Top-3 finalists for the award. In addition, WCHA student-athletes have been recognized as All-Americans 121 times in league history.
WCHA 25TH ANNIVERSARY TOP 25 TEAM
October:
Molly Engstrom, Wisconsin (2001-05)
Caroline Ouellette, UMD (2002-05)
Jenny Schmidgall-Potter, UMD (1999-04)
Maria Rooth, UMD (1999-03)
Krissy Wendell, Minnesota (2002-05)
November:
Sara Bauer, Wisconsin (2003-07)
Tessa Bonhomme, OSU (2004-08)
Natalie Darwitz, Minnesota (2002-05)
Kim Martin Hasson, UMD (2006-11)
Jessie Vetter, Wisconsin (2005-09)