Top-ranked Wisconsin went into the NCAA Frozen Four in Minnesota’s Ridder Arena this weekend with lofty expectations, seeking their 8th national championship. For many, it was championship or bust. The Badgers had to come from behind in both games, but emerged as national champions.
Wisconsin advances to the national championship
The Badgers met the Gophers for the sixth time this season on Friday.
With a rivalry as storied as Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, things were bound to get chippy, but that came surprisingly early when Minnesota captain Abbey Murphy leveled junior defender Caroline Harvey with a late elbow to the head just over five minutes into the game. The referees didn’t initially call anything but assessed Murphy a major penalty after a review.
The Badgers weren’t able to score on the five minute power play. With five minutes left in the first period, Minnesota forward Ava Lindsay whipped a pass to captain Peyton Hemp, who buried it to give the Gophers a one-goal lead.
After sophomore defender Ava Murphy took a hooking penalty, junior forward Laila Edwards potted an absolute snipe to tie the game 1-1 going into the first intermission. Head coach Mark Johnson saw the goal as pivotal.
“I think Laila’s [Edwards'] goal, shorthanded, really turned around the early part of the game,” he said after the game.
To start the second, Harvey received the puck from fifth-year forward Casey O’Brien at the top of the circle, took about two paces towards the net and buried it to retake the lead. O’Brien’s assist represented her 87th point of the year, tying the school single-season record.
Minnesota nearly tied the game up three minutes later, but captain Ella Huber lost her stick and couldn’t capitalize on a wide open net.
Then, an overly aggressive Gopher forecheck gifted the Badgers a three-on-one, and senior forward Lacey Eden found junior forward Kirsten Simms for the Badgers’ third goal of the game.
That two-goal advantage wouldn’t last for long, though, as Minnesota forward Josefin Bouveng split the Badgers defense open and cut the lead in half before the Wisconsin fans could complete their famous “We want more” chant.
At the end of the second, seemingly seeking revenge for the dirty hit that nearly knocked her out of the game, Harvey stapled Abbey Murphy to the boards from behind, which was shockingly ruled to be just a minor penalty even after a Minnesota challenge. However, the Gophers still had an opportunity — which melted away only 11 seconds later when Minnesota freshman phenom Chloe Primerano committed interference, sending the game to a 4-on-4.
As time began to expire in the second, O’Brien whistled a shot in from the high slot, beating Clark and the buzzer with two seconds left on the clock to put Wisconsin up 4-2.
Edwards scored twice in the third period to give herself a hat trick and the national lead in goals scored.
Sophomore goaltender Ava McNaughton stopped 21 of 23 shots in the Badgers’ 6-2 win, and Wisconsin took an all-time series lead over Minnesota for the first time ever at 58-57-16.
Sweet, sweet revenge
The Badgers faced the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes for the national title on Sunday.
Early in the game the two sides traded high-danger chance after high-danger chance, but both netminders stood strong.
Eight minutes in, Eden failed to capitalize on a point blank chance, and after the whistle blew, Ohio State freshman Jordan Petrie cross-checked Simms to the face and received a two-minute minor for cross-checking.
Wisconsin hoped to take an early lead, but Ohio State won the proceeding faceoff. Superstar Joy Dunne then took the puck from behind her own net, evaded all five Badger skaters and the goaltender and scored a shorthanded goal just seconds into the penalty kill, giving the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
For the fifth time in five elimination games, Wisconsin would have to play from behind.
They wouldn’t be playing from behind for long, however, as fewer than 10 seconds later, Edwards drew Buckeye netminder Amanda Thiele out of her crease to score her 35th goal of the season, tying the game up.
Later in the first, Edwards nearly tacked on a second goal to take the lead, but instead Ohio State forward Sloane Matthews took the puck down the ice to retake the lead.
The first period ended and Wisconsin led in shots 10-8, but Ohio State led in goals 2-1.
Only 10 seconds into the second period, Buckeyes All-American defender Emma Peschel buried a point-blank shot to extend the lead to two goals.
The Badgers nearly went down by three goals twice early in the second, but a pair of backchecks from the Badgers’ co-captains prevented what could’ve been two incredible chances.
With 14:33 left in the second, Simms laid out to get the puck to Harvey in the circle who sniped the puck past Thiele’s glove side to bring Wisconsin within one.
After this, Wisconsin’s entire team had to play goalie. The Badgers tallied multiple blocked shots, one of which required sophomore defender Laney Potter to enter the goal, but didn’t allow the Buckeyes to retake their two-goal lead.
The Buckeyes continued playing tough. Freshman defender Emma Venusio committed a roughing penalty with seven minutes left in the period, but the Badgers locked down the high-powered Buckeyes offense to kill off the advantage.
Down one at the second intermission, Harvey said, “We have the comeback in us.” The Badgers trailed in their last five games, and to that point, they hadn’t lost a single one, but it looked like the magic might’ve been running out.
The Badgers tried and failed to penetrate OSU’s brick wall until two minutes left in the game when Buckeye bench boss Nadine Muzzerall committed a rare error, sending six skaters and the goalie out onto the ice. The referees blew the whistle for too many players and gave the Badgers a golden opportunity to send the national championship game to overtime.
With 40 seconds left, Wisconsin got what very well could have been their final chance, but Thiele sprawled across her crease, preventing Edwards from tying the game with her skate blade. Johnson thought the game was over.
“When the young lady made a save on Laila on the power play with the goalie pulled, I said, ‘That was our one chance, probably,’” Johnson said.
But, with 19 seconds left, Thiele, surrounded by chaos, covered the puck, earning a stoppage in play, but the Badgers were interested in something else. Moments before, Maddi Wheeler, a former Badger who had transferred to Ohio State after the Buckeyes defeated the Badgers in the championship game last year, had made a save of her own but covered the puck in the crease in the process. After a lengthy review process, the referees awarded a penalty shot to Wisconsin.
On the bench, Johnson asked his team, “Who wants it?” Simms raised her hand.
But the decision wasn’t entirely hers.
“I had everyone on the bench screaming, ‘Simms, Simms! You do it! You do it!’” Simms said after the game.
Simms performed about a dozen dekes, eventually getting Theile to hug her right post, and buried the game-tying shot to send the national championship game to overtime.
Three minutes into overtime, Lacey Eden went streaming towards the net and took a shot that rebounded towards Simms. Simms buried it.
Wisconsin won their eighth national championship 4-3 in OT.
“I’ve always said, ‘Monday always comes.’ Well, Monday’s coming tomorrow, and we’ve got the national championship trophy back in Madtown, so it’s a good day,” Johnson said in his opening statement of the press conference.
The national championship trophy has returned to Madtown, and it’s a good day.
