Wisconsin women’s hockey dismantles No. 1 Ohio State, wins WCHA tournament title

The WCHA regular-season title eluded Wisconsin, but the tournament championship didn’t come close to getting away.

In a matchup of the nation’s top-ranked teams, the Badgers’ second-ranked women’s hockey team led from start to finish and posted a 6-3 victory over Ohio State in the championship of the WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon.

The title is UW’s first since 2021 and 10th overall.

The victory was Wisconsin’s second straight over the Buckeyes and it gave UW the conference’s automatic berth of the NCAA Tournament. It also gave the Badgers back-to-back wins over top-five teams, after UW came back to beat Minnesota in the semifinals Friday.

The NCAA bracket will be announced at 11 a.m. Sunday on ESPNews. The Badgers’ season resume puts them in line to host the first weekend of the tournament.

Saturday marked the fifth time Ohio State and Wisconsin faced off this season. The Buckeyes (32-4) were 3-1 in the first four meetings, though the Badgers came back from a two-goal deficit to win Feb. 24.

Saturday, the Badgers scored off their power play and penalty kill in addition to three even strength goals.

Senior Casey O’Brien and sophomore Laila Edwards finished with two goals and two assists. Senior Britta Curl and sophomore Kirsten Simms scored one goal and one assist.

Goals by Simms and Edwards in the first period set the tone for the afternoon, but it was scores by Edwards and O’Brien during a 2 1/2-minute span during the second period that provided a better sign the day would be Wisconsin’s.

Those latter goals, which came at the 5:16 and 7:46 marks, respectively, allowed the Badgers to reclaim momentum after Ohio State’s Jocelyn Amos scored at the 1:17 mark of the second period to cut the Badgers’ lead in half.

Curl’s short-handed goal just before the end of the second period gave UW a 5-1 edge and O’Brien’s power play goal pushed the Badgers’ lead to 6-1 90 seconds into the final period.

The six goals are the most Ohio State has allowed this season.

Despite the loss the Buckeyes had a 33-22 edge in shots on goal. Freshman goalie Ava McNaughton, who started the semifinals and finals after previously rotating at the position, had 30 saves and a .909 save percentage.

More: Wisconsin’s Kirsten Simms named WCHA player of the year, joins Caroline Harvey, Casey O’Brien as Kazmaier finalists