McNaughton Back To Health, But Rhyah Stewart Has Earned A Bigger Opportunity This Season With Wisconsin

When Ava McNaughton went down in pain midway through the University of Wisconsin's first game of the season, it was not what the back-to-back national champions, nor Team USA wanted to see.

In her absence however, Wisconsin received further confirmation that the other netminder on their roster, Rhyah Stewart, is ready for more.

After Wisconsin fell behind St. Lawrence 2-0 in their opening game of the season, McNaughton left the game midway through the second, with Stewart entering with the game then tied 2-2. Stewart, an Antigonish, Nova Scotia product, calmly stepped in and turned aside each shot she faced as Wisconsin powered back to a 6-2 win.

The following day she turned aside 15 shots for her first career NCAA shutout against St. Lawrence in a 6-0 win.

For the sophomore netminder, it's a sign she's ready for more in the NCAA. Stewart appeared in 12 games last season as well, eight of which came while McNaughton was at the Olympics, posting a 1.79 GAA and .924 save percentage.

“In those eight games during the Olympics, she did everything she could do to help us win,” associate head coach Dan Koch told the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. “She kept us in every game. Big reason why we ended up winning the [WCHA] regular season. so, we definitely want to get her in more games this year. She's going to have more opportunities.”

McNaughton looks ready to return, but Stewart looks ready for more.

Prior to the NCAA, Stewart played men's Junior A hockey in the Maritime league appearing in 10 games in 2024-25 with the West Kent Steamers, coming after spending the entirety of her youth hockey competing in boys' 'AAA' hockey. She also represented Canada at the 2024 U-18 World Championships posting a 0.67 GAA and .950 save percentage along with a 3-0-0 record.

Internationally, Stewart attended Canada's national development team camp this summer, but was left off that roster. Stewart remains one of Canada's top prospects in the NCAA in net following Minnesota-Duluth's Eve Gascon. She's joined by others like Madison Campbell (Penn State), Hannah Clark (Minnesota), Marilou Grenier (Minnesota-Duluth), Kalia Pharand (Clarkson), and Ava Drabyk (Syracuse) who are competing to catch Hockey Canada's eye.