(UW ATHLETICS) UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Senior Kirsten Simms scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the No. 2 Wisconsin women’s hockey team to a 4-3 win over No. 3 Penn State on Friday night in the semifinals of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four at Pegula Ice Arena.
Simms scored her 100th career goal just a minute in to lift Wisconsin (34-4-2) to its fourth-straight NCAA championship game.
A couple of Badger penalties in the first period, brought UW to an early deficit. The Nittany Lions scored first on a Penn State power play, but Laila Edwards responded quickly, making things 1-1.
UW was down by one after another Penn State power-play goal to end the first period of play.
UW scored twice in the second period as Edwards and Adéla Šapovalivová lit the lamp.
Edwards scored her second goal of the game thanks to assists from Simms and Šapovalivová before Šapovalivová scored on a wraparound to give UW a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.
The third period of play remained scoreless before Penn State’s Tessa Janecke made things 3-3 with a breakaway goal with 4:59 remaining.
The game went into OT as UW found itself on a power play just a minute in. Simms took a feed from Caroline Harvey and rocketed the puck past the PSU netminder to become the fifth Badger to post 100 career goals. Harvey earned her 200th point on the play, becoming the 10th Badger to record 200+ points.
UW outshot Penn State 35-25, and goaltender Ava McNaughton recorded 22 saves.
Notes of the Game
-
Wisconsin will make its fourth-straight NCAA championship game appearance and its 13th overall. UW is 8-4 in its previous 12 NCAA title appearances.
-
Wisconsin improved to 40-10 all-time in NCAA tournament games.
-
Wisconsin improved to 4-1 all-time against Penn State and are now 2-1 at Pegula Ice Arena.
-
Laila Edwards now has 12 goals in NCAA tournament action, the most of any Badger in school history, passing Hilary Knight for the most in program history.
-
Kirsten Simms has scored her fourth game-winning goal at the NCAA Frozen Four, as she also potted the game-winning tally in the 2023 NCAA Championship, the 2025 NCAA Semifinal, and the 2025 NCAA Championship.
-
Simms became the fifth Badger to record 100 career goals, joining the likes of Hilary Knight (143), Brianna Decker (115), Meghan Duggan (108) and Lacey Eden (105).
-
Caroline Harvey became the 10th Badger to record 200 career points. Her 45 assists this year are tied for the ninth-most in school history.
Up Next: The Badgers will face No. 1 Ohio State in the national championship game on Sunday in a 3 p.m. CT contest at Pegula Ice Arena. The game will air live on ESPNU and can be heard in the Madison area on 1070 AM.
This marks the fourth-straight year that UW and Ohio State will meet in the NCAA title game and the fifth time in six years the two teams will meet in the NCAA postseason. UW is 3-1 against the Buckeyes in the NCAA tournament.
Comments