MADISON, Wis. – Behind a five-point effort from junior Hilary Knight, the University of Wisconsin women's hockey team defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 6-0, on Saturday at the Kohl Center. The fifth-ranked Badgers improved to 2-0 in the win, while the Engineers dropped to 0-2 on the young season.

Knight (Sun Valley, ID/Choate Rosemary Hall) set the tone early for the homestanding Badgers, netting her second goal of the season just 33 seconds into the contest. She struck again at the 7:48 mark, sending one past RPI netminder Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros) off assists from freshman Brittany Ammerman (River Vale, NJ/NAHA) and sophomore Saige Pacholok (Edmonton, AB/St. Francis Xavier Catholic).

Despite the two goal deficit, the Engineers had several chances in the frame, sending six shots at Badgers goalie Alex Rigsby (Delafield, WI/Arrowhead). Rookie Jordan Smelker (Anchorage, AK/Team Alaska 19U) led the way for RPI with two shots.

Rensselaer's defense unit stepped up following the second goal, keeping Wisconsin off the scoreboard with seven blocked shots and a 12-save effort by van der Bliek.

Heading into the second stanza, Wisconsin broke things open with a pair of goals for a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes of action. Senior Mallory Deluce (London, ON/London Central) pushed the score to 3-0 after she connected off a pass from Knight at 13:08. Sophomore Brianna Decker (Dousman, WI/Shattuck St. Mary's) then made it a four-goal advantage less than four minutes later as Knight picked up her second helper of the evening on the power play at 17:03.

The Badgers offense continued to pepper the Engineers end with shots as van der Bliek made nine saves to Rigsby's two stops in the period.

In the final period, Pacholok pushed the lead to five (5-0) just 4:41 into the stanza as she converted a pass from Knight. Wisconsin's Breann Frykas (E. St. Paul, MB) capped the scoring in the game as she pushed the puck past van der Bliek at 11:00.

Rigsby picked up the win in goal, stopping all 10 of RPI's shots, including six in the opening stanza. For the Engineers, van der Bliek suffered her second straight defeat making 25 saves.

Rensselaer returns to the ice next weekend, opening its regular season home schedule with a two-game set against the University of Vermont at the Houston Field House. Friday night's contest, which begins at 7pm, is Pack the House Night with the first 600 fans receiving free t-shirts. The series will conclude on Saturday at 4pm. The Badgers open their WCHA schedule next weekend, hosting Bemidji State for two games on Friday (7pm) and Saturday (2pm).