UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. − For the fourth straight year it will be Ohio State vs. Wisconsin for the National Championship.
The No. 2 Badgers defeated hosts No. 3 Penn State 4-3 on Friday night in overtime
The game went into the extra frame thanks to a beauty of a goal from Penn State’s Tessa Janecke with 4:59 left in the third that tied things 3-3.
But Kirsten Simms loves a big moment and she scored just :50 seconds into the extra frame and eight seconds into the power play. Adéla Šapovalivová won the faceoff, Laila Edwards picked up the loose puck and fed it back to Caroline Harvey. Harvey found Simms across the blue line and Simms had a lot of open ice in front of her to step up and unleash a shot that went bar down and ended the game.
“She has a knack for being present and making big plays at big moments. She has a wonderful shot. She has a knack for picking corners. One of the messages in the locker room was that in overtime was that there’s no bad shots,” said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson.
Simms said she when she got the puck, she was scanning the ice, looking for options. She saw Šapovalivová at the back door, Lacey Eden in the slot and Edwards out wide. But she also saw a lot of open ice in front of her.
“I did not expect to have the space that I did. When I see something that open, it’s hard not to shoot. With that much space, you have to make the shot, especially in that situation,” Simms said.
The goal was the 100th of Simms’ career, making her just the fifth Badger to reach that mark. Harvey earned her 200th point on the play, becoming the 10th Badger to record 200+ points.
And while most people will remember Simms’ game-winning goal, Johnson pointed out that a lot of small things had to go right for his team to score in that moment. It started with putting Šapovalivová against Tessa Janecke in the faceoff circle. Eden had not been very successful in the role throughout the game, so Johnson made the change. Šapovalivová pulled the puck back and both Eden and Edwards were able to get their stick on the puck and keep Penn State from clearing the zone and sending the puck to the other end of the ice. Wisconsin maintained control and quickly got the puck on Simms’ stick.
“By them trying to ice the puck, a couple of players get out of positioning and it only takes a split second for someone to get into the space and take a shot. That’s the great thng about out game – things happen real quick,” said Johnson.
It was a back and forth fight from start to finish.
Penn State opened the scoring early after UW’s Charlotte Pieckenhagen was called for interference. Tessa Janecke capitalized just 10 seconds into the power play, earning her 200th career point and giving Penn State the 1-0 lead.
The Badgers responded less than four minutes later as Kirsten Simms found Laila Edwards alone and crashing the net. Edwards deked Katie DeSa made it a 1-1 game.
Laney Potter’s high-sticking penalty 7:53 into the game was converted into a Penn State goal just 14 seconds into the advantage as Abby Stonehouse made it a 2-1 game.
The Badgers regrouped at intermission and controlled play in the second, holding PSU to just three shots, including through two power plays. Edwards scored her second of the game, this time on the power play midway through the game. She brought the puck out of the near corner and sent it across the ice to Simms, who quickly sent it back and Edwards one-timed a shot going down to one knee, putting the puck through traffic and making it 2-2. The game was reviewed for offside back on the zone entry, but replay showed that though Lacey Eden was initially offside, she reestablished herself by sticking her foot back over the plane of the blue line and the goal was called good.
With those two goals, Edwards now has 12 in NCAA tournament action, passing Hilary Knight for the most in program history.
As time wound down in the second, Šapovalivová came out of the same near corner as Edwards had with the puck. She circled behind the net and threw the puck on net with a wraparound where it hit off DeSa’s stick and went in the net to give Wisconsin their first lead of the game.
In the third, after giving up two power play goals early, goalie Ava McNaughton bounced back and was outstanding for the Badgers in the third. The Nittany Lions pressed hard after putting just three shots on net in the second and McNaughton withstood the onslaught, making several point-blank saves and keeping her team ahead.
“The second period when you look at the shot chart and look at the way we played, I thought we played really well. We put them on their heels for a chunk of it. And then they reversed it in the third. We were on our heels quite a bit. Usually when you kill a 5 on 3, usually you get energy from that. They energized themselves and we were on our heels. Ava made three remarkable saves to keep the game 3-2,” said Johnson
But Penn State was not about to go down without a fight.
“We can compete with anybody. If we’re willing to out-compete you, that’s what we’re going to do,” said Janecke.
Kampersal said his team gave a “heart and soul” effort.
The Nittany Lions’ Nicole Hall intercepted an attempted centering pass from Wisconsin in her own zone. Janecke had just come off the bench and had nothing but open ice between herself and McNaughton. Badger defender Emma Venusio nearly caught Janecke and tried to poke check, but Janecke held the puck and put it around McNaughton to tie the game with 4:59 left in regulation. With neither team finding a game-winner in regulation, the game headed to overtime.
The game set a new attendance record for the women’s Frozen Four, with 5,178 fans in the house. Johnson was impressed with the atmosphere, saying he hopes that going forward, Penn State gets to play in front of crowds that big and raucous regularly.
Janecke shared the sentiment.
“We don’t just want that in a Frozen Four, we want that at every game. I think we deserve it. I think going forward it would be awesome to see those crowds. You can see how much it helps the team on the ice when you’re there supporting. Going forward we’d love to see this program succeed, but to also have the support,” she said.
Wisconsin will face off for the fourth straight national championship. Wisconsin won in 2023 and 2025. Ohio State took home the title in 2024. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern and will air on ESPNU.