Ava McNaughton (born October 27, 2004) is an American

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and member of the

United States women's national ice hockey team The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in international play, having medaled in every major tournament. In 1998, the women's Olympic ...

Playing career

McNaughton began her

collegiate Collegiate may refer to: * College * Webster's Dictionary, a dictionary with editions referred to as a "Collegiate" * ''Collegiate'' (1926 film), 1926 American silent film directed by Del Andrews * ''Collegiate'' (1936 film), 1936 American musi ...

career for

during the 2023–24 season. During her freshman year she appeared in 23 games, and posted a 20–3–0 record with five shutouts, a 1.45

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA) and .936

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

. She was named the WCHA Rookie of the Month in October 2023, after she posted a perfect 4–0–0 record, with a .953 save percentage and two shutouts. She was one of only three WCHA netminders to post a GAA below 1.00 during the month. Her .953 save percentage ranked third in the league and was the best among all freshmen. She was again named the WCHA Rookie of the Month in February 2024, after she posted a perfect 4–0–0, with a 1.00 GAA and .955 save percentage. She had wins against ranked opponents, including No. 10

St. Cloud State St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...

, No. 5

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and No. 1

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. She became only the second goalie this season to shutout Minnesota. Her two shutouts were also for the league lead during the month. She helped Wisconsin win the

2024 WCHA women's ice hockey tournament The 2024 WCHA Ice Hockey Tournament was the 25th edition of the WCHA Tournament. It was played between March 1 and 9, 2024. It was hosted by the University of Minnesota at Ridder Arena. As the tournament winner, Wisconsin earned the conference' ...

and was named to the WCHA Final Faceoff All-Tournament team. During the 2024–25 season, in her sophomore year, she posted a 36–1–2 record with eight shutouts, a 1.25 GAA and .944 save percentage. She led the nation in GAA and ranked second in save percentage. She was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month in October 2024, after she led the league with eight wins and three shutouts. She ranked second in the WCHA with a 1.05 GAA and .948 save percentage. She was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month and Hockey Commissioners Association Co-National Goaltender of the Month in November 2024. During the month she recorded six wins and two shutouts, with a 1.20 GAA and .956 save percentage. She was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month in January 2025, after she posted a 7–0–2 record, with a 1.45 GAA and .938 save percentage. She was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Month in February 2025, after she recorded five wins. Her five wins were tied for the by any goalie in the month and three of her wins came against ranked opponents. She ranked second in the WCHA with a 1.00 GAA and .948 save percentage. She won the WCHA goaltending championship after she posted a 1.28 GAA and .945 save percentage in conference games. Following the season she was named to the Second Team All-WCHA and a finalist for the WCHA Goaltender of the Year. During the

2025 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament The 2025 NCAA National Collegiate women's ice hockey tournament was a single-elimination tournament by eleven schools to determine the national champion of women's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. This was the fourth year the tournament featur ...

, she helped lead Wisconsin to their eighth national championship and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Her 36 wins were the most by a goaltender in program history.

International play

McNaughton represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship The 2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship was the 14th IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in ice hockey. On December 24, 2021, the tournament was cancelled for the second year in a row by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) due t ...

and won a silver medal. She appeared in one game against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and recorded 11 saves for the shutout win in her first

IIHF U18 Women's World Championship The IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, officially the IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's World Championship, is an annual ice hockey tournament for national women's under-18 (U18) ice hockey teams, administered by the International Ice Hockey Federa ...

game. On March 5, 2025, McNaughton was named to the roster for the

at the

2025 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship was the 24th edition of the IIHF Women's World Championship, an international ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), contested in České Budějovice, Czech Repub ...

, where she made her senior national team debut.

Personal life

McNaughton was born to Robert and Gretchen McNaughton, and has an older sister, Emily.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, Ava 2004 births Living people American women's ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey people from Pennsylvania Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey players 21st-century American sportswomen