Friday evening, the 1-seed University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team (37-1-2, 25-1-2 WCHA) and 4-seed Minnesota Golden Gophers (29-12-1, 11-4-1) met in the NCAA Forzen Four semifinal as the Badgers marched to the NCAA National Championship game in a 6-2 victory. The Badgers will play against the Ohio State Buckeyes Sunday.
Wisconsin is all too familiar with the Gophers, who are one of the program’s greatest rivals. They both spent the season fighting for top USCHO rankings, ultimately earning the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds in the NCAA tournament. The border series is now 58-57-16, with the Badgers having won the past 10 games to take the advantage.
These two squads were coming off NCAA regional victories from last Saturday, as Wisconsin defeated Clarkson 4-1, while Minnesota eliminated Colgate, 3-2.
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Wisconsin opened with seven consecutive shots, then, after earning a 5-minute power play at 14:38 in the first period, Minnesota shifted the momentum instantly. Forward Peyton Hemp was knocked down while carrying the puck in transition for the Gophers but got right back up.
Trailing behind the play, she eventually found the puck to score the opening goal at 5:26 in period one.
At 3:24, Minnesota earned a power play when sophomore defender Ava Murphy was penalized for two minutes. But, the Badgers played as if they were still even and equalized at 2:45 via a Laila Edwards cannon. Initially, the forward received the puck in transition, handing it off to forward Casey O’Brien.
Edwards continued to trail behind, receiving a layoff pass and slinging a shot, skimming off the crossbar before any Gophers could react, to level the score 1-1.
Defenseman Caroline Harvey found room for a shot with a little toe drag, scoring with 17:08 left in the second period. O’Brien found her with a pass from behind the net before Harvey placed the puck in the top right corner for a 2-1 lead.
Closing in on the game’s midpoint, the Badgers broke on a 3-on-1 counter as forward Lacey Eden found forward Kirsten Simms on the left wing for a third goal, with 10:18 remaining in the second period. Defenseman Vivian Jungels also recorded an assist. Less than a minute later, Gopher forward Josefin Bouveng weaved through a few defenders to score and bring the Gophers within one. With 9:33 left in the second period, the Badgers led 3-2.
Later, with 0:47 left in the period, Caroline Harvey was handed a two-minute penalty for body checking. At 0:36, Minnesota picked up an interference penalty to even the sides, four-against-four.
Defenseman Laney Potter won the puck behind her goal and spearheaded a rush down the ice, as time wound down. She found a flying O’Brien, who took care of business and slotted a fourth Badger goal with two seconds remaining in the second period.
Edwards netted her second give-and-go finish with 15:38 to go in the third period, this time pairing up with sophomore forward Kelly Gorbatenko. Giving the Badgers a 5-2 lead, Edwards’ 33rd goal tied Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy for most across the current NCAA season.
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With 7:47 remaining, the Gophers went on a two-minute power play, though, the Badgers were able to withstand it.
Edwards secured her hat trick with 1:19 remaining. Attacking an open net, she picked the puck up at half ice and skated it calmly to bump the lead to 6-2. After tying the 2024-25 NCAA goals count earlier, Edwards continued to overtake the scoring title.
Sophomore goaltender Ava McNaughton posted 21 saves, as she remains best in the nation in terms of goals-against-average.
With that, the Badgers skated to their 37th win of the season. The only other time they have won this many games was in 2010-11, when they went 37-2-2 on their way to an NCAA Championship. O’Brien’s goal and two assists bring her to 88 points on the season, surpassing Meghan Duggan (87 in 2010-11) for the most in a single season by a Badger.
In the evening’s other Frozen Four semifinal, two-seed Ohio State defeated three-seed Cornell 4-2, meaning we will see a rematch of the past two NCAA Championships in the 2025 edition.
Wisconsin looks to bring home their eighth NCAA National Championship as they face the Buckeyes, whose two Championships were claimed in 2022 and 2024. The NCAA National Championship game will take place at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Sunday, March 23. The puck drop is set for 3 p.m. CT, and streaming will be available on ESPNU/ESPN+.
The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be announced on Saturday, March 22. Awarded to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States, Harvey, O’Brien and Edwards round up the trio of award finalists. The ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. CT, live on NHL Network.