Wisconsin claimed a 4-0 win over St. Lawrence on Saturday to secure their 15th Frozen Four appearance in program history.
Forwards Laila Edwards, Casey O’Brein, and Sarah Wozniewscz all got on the scoreboard and goalie Ava McNaughton earned her fifth shutout of the season in front of a sold-out crowd at LaBahn Arena.
O’Brien set the tone early, scoring a goal in the first 15 seconds of the game. After receiving a backwards pass from forward Kirsten Simms, O’Brien’s fancy hands helped guide the puck past St. Lawrence goalie Emma-Sofie Nordstrom for a 1-0 Badgers lead.
O'Brien's goal stood alone for the rest of the first period and the entire second period, where the Badgers’ leaned on strong defense to maintain their lead. Midway through the second period, McNaughton stopped a breakaway attack by the St. Lawrence offense, coming up with a big save.
Wozniewscz doubled the Badger’s’ lead five minutes into the third period when she redirected a long-shot from forward Laney Potter. Three minutes later, Wisconsin took the puck down the rink, and capitalized on their 3-on-1 attack. Simms slotted the puck for Edwards to tap into the net.
One more goal in the third period finished St. Lawrence’s season, and it came from none other than Edwards. After a shot by O’Brien rebounded off of Nordstrom, Edwards blasted the puck into the back of the net.
As a result of their 4-0 win over St. Lawrence, the No. 2 Badgers won their regional final and earned a place in the Frozen Four with three other top contenders in Colgate, Ohio State and Clarkson.
Wisconsin will begin its Frozen Four quest for a second consecutive national title on Friday, March 22 in Durham, New Hampshire against Colgate.
Editors note: A previous version of this article said the Frozen Four would take place in Durham, North Carolina. This was updated to correctly state the Frozen Four will take place in Durham, New Hampshire.
Shane Colpoys is a sports editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written in-depth on the Wisconsin women's hockey team beat.
