DURHAM, N.H. — The Wisconsin Badgers will defend their title as they return to the national championship game to face Ohio State for a rematch of the 2023 final.
They defeated Colgate 3-1 Friday evening at Whittemore Center Arena on the University of New Hampshire campus to advance to their 11th title game in program history.
In a game between two teams known for their offensive prowess, it was Wisconsin’s defense that stood out and carried the program into the championship match. The Badgers blocked 24 shots and killed four power plays, including a massive 5-on-3 near the midpoint of the game. Colgate had just four shots on goal in the middle frame and three of them came during the 5-on-3.
“Especially at this time of the season, these teams are good, they have good players, they’re going to get scoring opportunities. How can you nullify those? If you have a group of players collectively willing to do those things, you can eliminate some of those scoring chances and the puck getting to your goaltender,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said about his team blocking shots.
After a back and forth start to the game, Kirsten Simms opened the scoring with a snipe from off a pass from Casey O’Brien. When there was little free ice throughout the game, Simms found herself with the puck in the slot and no one between her and the net.
“I just think the defense kind of cheated towards KK [Harvey] because she was up there. I did have a lot of time and I just kind of thought ‘shot’ in that moment because I knew the defense was cheating over and it was just me and the goalie,” said Simms.
Rookie goalie Ava Mc Naughton came up big again and again in the game, but in particular on the penalty kill, making a couple of point-blank saves and stopping one with her facemask. Wisconsin turned over the puck a few times in their own end early in the third, but McNaughton made the saves.
Midway through the third, defender Vivian Jungels, who had just four goals on the season coming into the Frozen Four, stepped into an offensive breakout and was open for a cross-ice pass from Britta Curl that she cushioned and then snapped back at the net to put the Badgers up 2-0.
Colgate came up short on a power play with about three to go and immediately pulled goalie Kayle Osborne to the bench. The move was successful as Colgate won the puck on the back boards. Neena Brick’s shot was blocked but the loose puck went to Kalty Kaltoukova on the back post and she cut the lead to 2-1 with 2:10. With Osborne back in net, the Raiders could not find the equalizer and Laila Edwards secured the win with an empty-net goal with 12 seconds left on the clock.
Though there were some miscues that could have led to goals, Johnson felt his team executed the game plan and did what the coaches asked of them so they’d be in a good position to win the game.
“I liked the way we defended. Being active blocking shots, having strong sticks, doing some of the little things that in these types of games can go a long way. When you’re challenged, you have to step up to the plate and do some of those things and for a good chunk of the game, we were able to do that,” he said.
“We got challenged and we accepted the challenges in a lot of different areas and came through strong.”
It was a disappointing end to the season for a Colgate team that has four fifth-year players and five seniors on the roster.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team’s effort tonight and all season long, frankly. I thought tonight’s game was really indicative of how our team has played all year. I think right from the very start, we went for it and I liked the way that we played. It was just a really good college hockey game tonight. And one team had to come out on top,” said Raiders coach Greg Fargo
Wisconsin owns the NCAA record with seven national championships. They have advanced to the title game four of the last five tournaments and won the title in each of their last three appearances in the championship. Ohio State won their first title in 2022. The two teams played five times this season – four regular season games and the WCHA tournament championship. Ohio State swept the Badgers at home with wins of 3-0 and 2-1. On the final weekend of the regular season, the teams split, with OSU winning 3-1 and Wisconsin taking the final game 4-2. The Badgers won their 10th conference tournament title with a 6-3 victory over the Buckeyes.
The national championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday and will air live on ESPNU.
