(UW ATHLETICS) MINNEAPOLIS – Junior Kirsten Simms scored the game-equalizing penalty shot with 18.9 seconds left in regulation and then the overtime game-winner to lead the Wisconsin women’s hockey team to a 4-3 win over Ohio State to secure the program’s eighth national championship.
Wisconsin (38-1-2) trailed 1-0 in the first period and 3-1 in the second period before rallying to win its fourth NCAA title in the last seven years.
The two powerhouses traded special team goals in the middle of the first period. OSU (29-7-3) got on the board first with a short-handed goal before Laila Edwards scored her fourth of the weekend on the same power play to even things at 1-1.
OSU grabbed a goal late in the first to take a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The Buckeyes took a 3-1 lead with a goal 10 seconds into the second, but UW wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Harvey scored her second of the tournament to bring UW within a goal. Simms tracked down her own rebound and sent a pass from one knee to Caroline Harvey who snapped the puck into the net. The second period ended with a 3-2 OSU lead.
Wisconsin pushed and pushed in the third period and received a power play with 1:50 remaining regulation. It pulled its netminder and got a promising look with the puck trickling through the crease. After a Wisconsin challenge, it was determined that an Ohio State skater closed their hand on the puck in the crease, resulting in a Wisconsin penalty shot. The Badgers elected for Simms to take it and the junior deked out OSU netminder Amanda Thiele and tucked it in past her left pad to tie the game at 3-3 with 18.9 seconds left to send it to overtime.
The Badgers secured the victory 2:39 into extra time. Eden took a shot that Thiele saved but the rebound bounced onto the stick of Simms who nutmegged a Buckeye to put the puck in the back of the net and seal the come-from-behind national championship win.
Ava McNaughton stopped 18 of 21 shots to secure her 36th win of the season, the most of any Wisconsin netminder in school history.
Notes of the Game
- Wisconsin’s eight national championships is the most of any school in the nation.
- Edwards capped off her junior campaign with 35 goals, becoming the first Badger to eclipse 35 goals in a season since Brianna Decker had 37 tallies during the 2011-12 season.
- Harvey matched the school record for most goals scored in a single season by a defender with her 18th tally.
- Wisconsin ended the season with 221 goals, the most in school history.
Comments