The No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team (27-10-2) took on the No. 3 Colgate Raiders (36-6-2) to decide who advances to next week’s Frozen Four games. The Badgers took the 4-2 upset win and will move on.
Seven minutes into the first period, Wisconsin scored to take the lead. Nicole LaMantia took care of the goal after she skated down the ice from Badger territory, protecting the puck. She sent it sailing over goalie Hannah Murphy’s shoulder to make it 1-0 Wisconsin.
Shots on goal continued to favor the Badgers throughout the remainder of the period. With just over six minutes left, Wisconsin went to a power play after Kristyna Kaltounkova was called for a penalty. The Badgers were able to get some good looks, but no goal came from the numbers advantage, and the period ended with the Badgers still up by one.
Early into the second period, the Raiders tied it up with a beautiful goal from Ally Simpson. After receiving the puck, she made a move to skirt around a Badgers defender and score, tying it at 1-1.
No scoring occurred in the middle of the period, but the Badgers went on a power play towards the end of the second. Casey O’Brien found the net for a power-play goal to put Wisconsin back in the lead.
The goal was perfectly executed as O’Brien received a pass, repositioned herself and then sent the shot straight past the goalie. The period ended 2-1 Wisconsin.
Halfway through the third, Wisconsin still led 2-1. Then, both teams were called for penalties, resulting in a 4-on-4. Nothing came of the penalties, but seconds after they ended, Vivian Jungels scored.
O’Brien centered a pass for Jungels, who sent the shot blazing past Murphy. With less than two minutes left in the third, Laila Edwards scored an empty-net goal.
Two Raider defenders guarded Edwards, but she still managed to shoot through both of them and score, making it 4-1 Wisconsin.
With nine seconds left, Colgate’s Kaltounkova tallied the final goal of the game, but the Badgers had already secured the win, 4-2.
The victory extended Wisconsin’s undefeated record in the NCAA Tournament. Next up, the Badgers will face off against their biggest rivals — the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This will be the Badgers 14th appearance in the Frozen Four. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. Friday, March 17 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota.
