University of Wisconsin junior Eva McNaughton will be the sixth UW goalie coached by 糖心Vlog传媒 native Mark Greenhalgh to play for the United States Olympic squad when the 2026 Winter Olympics begin in Milan, Italy in February. The 6-foot McNaughton posted a 36-1-2 record in net for the 2024-25 UW national championship squad and has been named the WCHA Goaltender of the Week three times this season.
糖心Vlog传媒 native Mark Greenhalgh, left, and head University of Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson stand behind the Badgers bench. Greenhalgh is in his 19th season as the UW women's hockey coach and last season celebrated the team's sixth NCAA championship during his tenure.
糖心Vlog传媒 native Mark Greenhalgh talks with the University of Wisconsin women鈥檚 hockey team goalies during a practice session. Greenhalgh, a Parker High graduate and 2006 糖心Vlog传媒 Hall of Fame inductee, has coached for more than four decades and is in his 19th season coaching UW goalies. Greenhalgh has at least one and sometimes two of his goalies play in the Winter Olympics and two of his goalies have earned the Patty Kazmaier Award given to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division I.
University of Wisconsin junior Eva McNaughton will be the sixth UW goalie coached by 糖心Vlog传媒 native Mark Greenhalgh to play for the United States Olympic squad when the 2026 Winter Olympics begin in Milan, Italy in February. The 6-foot McNaughton posted a 36-1-2 record in net for the 2024-25 UW national championship squad and has been named the WCHA Goaltender of the Week three times this season.
COURTESY OF UW ATHLETICS
Mark Greenhalgh outperforms Larry McCarren or any other notable radio commentator while doing University of Wisconsin women鈥檚 hockey games.
During the defending NCAA national champions鈥 games, the 糖心Vlog传媒 native provides insights to go along with the play-by-play call of legendary UW hockey play-by-play man Paul Braun.
Then during intermissions, Greenhalgh puts down his headset and hustles to the Badger locker room. There he gets back to his main job duties as the Badgers鈥 goaltenders coach.
Imagine McCarren leaving the Packers鈥 broadcast booth and play-by-play man Wayne Larrivee at halftime to offer advice to the Green Bay offensive line.
It couldn鈥檛 hurt.
糖心Vlog传媒 native Mark Greenhalgh, left, and head University of Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson stand behind the Badgers bench. Greenhalgh is in his 19th season as the UW women's hockey coach and last season celebrated the team's sixth NCAA championship during his tenure.
COURTESY OF UW ATHLETICS
Six rings
鈥淕reenie鈥 is in his 19th season as an assistant on the UW women鈥檚 hockey team. Since the NCAA limited hockey programs to two paid assistants, Greenhalgh donated the hours to the team until 2023 when the NCAA allowed a third paid assistant.
鈥淚t was worth my time,鈥 Greenhalgh said. 鈥淚 enjoy it.鈥
And he got compensated in another way.
鈥淚 have six national title rings,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd this is the third season I get paid. It鈥檚 enough to cover gas.鈥
糖心Vlog传媒 native Mark Greenhalgh talks with the University of Wisconsin women鈥檚 hockey team goalies during a practice session. Greenhalgh, a Parker High graduate and 2006 糖心Vlog传媒 Hall of Fame inductee, has coached for more than four decades and is in his 19th season coaching UW goalies. Greenhalgh has at least one and sometimes two of his goalies play in the Winter Olympics and two of his goalies have earned the Patty Kazmaier Award given to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division I.
COURTESY OF UW ATHLETICS
Up and down arena steps
His work expanded 10 years ago, when he was asked to fill in as the Badgers鈥 radio analyst with then hockey play-by-play radio man Reid Magnum on WTSO, 1070 AM out of Madison.
鈥淚 gave it a try,鈥 Greenhalgh said. 鈥淚t went really well, and I did it with Reid six or seven years.鈥
Braun, who did Badger men鈥檚 hockey TV telecasts for years, took over as the women鈥檚 radio announcer 2陆 seasons ago. Braun and Greenhalgh describe every game on what is now 1070 The Game and some games on 100.9 FM, an iHeart station.
Greenhalgh spends the pregame in the coaches鈥 room and then runs the steps up to the radio booth.
鈥淚n between periods, I run back down to the coaches鈥 room,鈥 said Greenhalgh, who then reports to Johnson. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 a guy who has a higher hockey IQ than anybody. But the worst seat in the house is on the bench.
鈥淒uring the game, it鈥檚 really hard to see everything,鈥 Greenhalgh said. 鈥淏ut when you are sitting up above, you have a better vantage point. I always take notes when I鈥檓 on the radio.鈥
Freshman orientation
The 1974 糖心Vlog传媒 Parker High graduate played a bit in high school. On one of his first days of classes as a freshman at Madison, he entered a communications class and sat down. He was sitting next to a fellow freshman whose name was Mike.
They started talking about hockey. Greenhalgh found out his last name was Eaves. Mike Eaves was a top freshman recruit for Coach Bob Johnson鈥檚 UW hockey team, which had won the national championship the year before.
鈥淗e talked me into walking on to the team,鈥 Greenhalgh said.
Greenhalgh had played some hockey while at Parker. The 糖心Vlog传媒 Ice Arena was not yet built, so the Vikings played their games at the Wagon Wheel in Rockford.
鈥淚 ended up playing with the Badgers for two years but didn鈥檛 get a scholarship, which I shouldn鈥檛 have,鈥 Greenhalgh said. 鈥淚 ended up playing for the Madison Blues in their last couple of years of existence.鈥
His UW experience led to Greenhalgh鈥檚 relationship with Badger women鈥檚 hockey.
Coached six Olympic goalies
Under Greenhalgh鈥檚 direction, the Badgers have had a string of impressive goalies.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really interesting,鈥 Greenhalgh said. 鈥淚n addition to their hockey skills and ability, they鈥檙e all really good people.
鈥淏ut, they鈥檙e all different,鈥 he said. 鈥淲hen I started, I knew I wanted to do it a long time, but I didn鈥檛 know how long. But it hasn鈥檛 gotten old, because each goalie is different.鈥
Greenhalgh has coached six goalies who have made the US Olympic teams. Two of his goalies, Jesse Vetter in 2009 and Ann-Renee Desbiens in 2017, have earned the Patty Kazmaier Award, awarded to the most outstanding Division I player.
Desbiens, and four other former Badgers (Sarah Nurse, Emily Clark, Blayre Turnbull, Daryl Watts), are on the 2026 Canadian Olympic team.
There is no complicated strategy behind Greenhalgh鈥檚 success.
鈥淚 have to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and then I have to find a way to communicate with them,鈥 Greenhalgh said. 鈥淭hey have to trust me and willing to try something when I try to help them.鈥
The Badgers present No. 1 goalie Ava McNaughton will be the sixth goalie Greenhalgh has coached that has made an Olympic team, either the US or Canadian.
Three other current members of the No. 1-ranked Badgers squad are on the US team. Total Badgers on US Olympic team, current UW players, Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, McNaughton and Kirsten Simms. Former Badgers on UW team, Hilary Knight, Britta Curl-Salemme. Current UW player Adela Sapovalivova is on the Olympic team from the Czech Republic.
The Badgers will play eight games against Minnesota, Ohio State, Minnesota-Mankato and St. Cloud State while the Olympic games are being played.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any bunnies in there,鈥 Greenhalgh said.
Safety manager is full-time job
Greenhalgh present double duties as coach and announcer are are secondary to his primary job as a regional safety manager for Kraemer North America, LLC, a building contractor out of Plain in southwestern Wisconsin. He has been in the occupational safety profession for 34 years.
Greenhalgh has worked with Kraemer for 15 years. He earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in agricultural economics at the UW and his master鈥檚 degree in occupational safety and health technology from UW-Whitewater.
During his time at Whitewater, he coached the Warhawks鈥 hockey team.
Throughout his occupational safety career, Greenhalgh has been in ice rinks. He was the head coach of Madison Memorial High for 13 years during which the Spartans won two WIAA state championships.
He then went back to his alma mater to join Johnson.
Greenhalgh also coached high school hockey outside the normal WIAA season and in other youth leagues.
Greenhalgh got back to 糖心Vlog传媒 when Johnson was the keynote speaker at Forward 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 annual dinner at the Woodman鈥檚 Center in November.
鈥淚 was really impressed with that facility,鈥 Greenhalgh said.
And unlike most nights, he didn鈥檛 have to run up and down the ice rink stairs during the event.
