Connect with us

More Sports

Wisconsin Women’s Hockey Clinches Frozen Four Berth With Late Flurry

Published

1 month ago

on

Wisconsin women's hockey crowd before its regional final game in the NCAA Tournament
Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey and the St. Lawrence Saints line up for the playing of the national anthem before their NCAA Tournament regional final game. Photo Credit: Kedrick Stumbris

Wisconsin women’s hockey will continue its season in New Hampshire. After taking a slim lead late into the game, the Badgers scored a flurry of goals to clinch a berth in the Frozen Four. Wisconsin, seeking its eighth national title, gets a chance to claim back-to-back championships next weekend.

Badgers Open NCAA Tournament Play with a Bang

Wisconsin wasted no time getting the sold-out crowd to its feet. On the first shift of the game, the Badgers sent the puck quickly into the offensive zone. A St. Lawrence turnover forced by Badgers sophomore Laila Edwards created a wide-open opportunity. Edwards’ opposite wing, Kirsten Simms, picked up the loose puck and fed it to center Casey O’Brien. All alone in front of the net, the senior put the puck on her backhand and buried it five-hole.

The line that scored 16 seconds into the game has been a sparkplug for Wisconsin. Head coach Mark Johnson made the adjustment to put the high-scoring Edwards-O’Brien-Simms trio together last Saturday for the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game. To begin NCAA Tournament play, they picked up right where they left off after combining for five goals in last Saturday’s dominant 6-3 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the conference tournament championship.

Wisconsin Women’s Hockey Peppers St. Lawrence in Physical Second Period

 

The St. Lawrence Saints huddle around their goal prior to playing a physical battle in the NCAA Tournament with the Wisconsin Badgers

The St. Lawrence Saints huddle around their goal prior to playing Wisconsin women’s hockey in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Photo Credit: Kedrick Stumbris

Despite a lack of scoring, the middle frame was full of high-stakes action. Four penalties and a bit of controversy highlighted a physical battle. A different officiating crew may have called more penalties on the several collisions between skaters but mostly kept the whistle quiet.

Badgers forward Caroline Harvey was the first sent to the sin bin. The WCHA Defender of the Year took down St. Lawrence’s leading scorer, Abby Hustler, behind the play and was called for roughing. The unnecessary penalty gave the Saints, who boast the nation’s fourth-best power play percentage, the advantage. Even without their best defender, however, Wisconsin held St. Lawrence to one shot on goal before the penalty expired.

St. Lawrence put physicality front and center when game planning for Wisconsin. “We wanted to play vicious all over them,” said Saints captain Julia Gosling in a post-game interview. The center, who went to the penalty box for a holding penalty in the second period, noted the plan to “take away [Wisconsin’s] time and space, use our body against them.”

 

St. Lawrence Saints Get Badgered in Third Period

Saints head coach Chris Wells lauded his team’s physical effort as well. He repeatedly mentioned that his team played “a perfect game.” Admittedly, though, the coach in his 16th year at St. Lawrence knew, “You can only hold them off for so long.” After Wisconsin outshot St. Lawrence 21-7 in the scoreless second period, the dam broke shortly into the final frame.

Sarah Wozniewicz started the Badgers’ barrage. The winger tallied her first goal in over two months with a crafty tip-in. Laney Potter ripped a shot from the point, but it was Wozniewicz who got her stick on the puck, putting it over St. Lawrence goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordstrom and into the net.

For a moment, it appeared the Alberta native got a second goal. Wozniewicz picked up a loose rebound and buried it. Upon review, the junior’s goal was disallowed for goaltender interference, irking coach Johnson. The Badgers coach, who appeared dissatisfied with the official in his discussion with him near the Wisconsin bench, said that he “was just looking for an explanation” from the official on the decision, “and he decided not to give me one.”

Laila Edwards’ Late Heroics

37 seconds after the review was completed, Edwards took matters into her own hands. The Third-Team All-WCHA selection scored on a breakaway thanks to a double move and a backhand flip. Curtousey of a perfect feed from Simms, the Cleveland Heights native put Wisconsin women’s hockey up 3-0, and its offense off to the races.

Edwards picked up her third point of the day just over three minutes later. Again, with an assist from Simms, who had the first shot, Edwards gathered the rebound and ripped it home. St. Lawrence left the WCHA All-Tournament Team honoree undefended on her late zone entry, and Edwards made the Saints pay for the error on the scoreboard. Edwards’ second goal of the game was her 20th of the season, and she became the fifth Badger to reach that mark this season.

Wisconsin Women’s Hockey Advances to Frozen Four

Wisconsin women's hockey will play in the Frozen Four in Durham, New Hampshire on Friday, March 22nd.

Wisconsin women’s hockey celebrates its 4-0 victory over St. Lawrence in the 2024 NCAA Tournament regional final. Photo credit: Kedrick Stumbris

Rookie goaltender Ava McNaughton had a standout performance in her first NCAA Tournament game. With 25 saves, she notched her fifth shutout of the season. O’Brien credited the Pennsylvania native, saying she “kept us in that game.”

Wisconsin women’s hockey plays Colgate in the Frozen Four semifinal in Durham, New Hampshire, on Friday, March 22nd. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 PM Central, and you can stream it on ESPN+.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. For more Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and Big Ten content, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also follow Kedrick Stumbris on Twitter @KedrickStumbris

Also, be sure to check out our shop, subscribe to our newsletter, and the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. Because of your support, we are one of the fastest-growing independent media outlets, giving a voice to fans!

Related Topics:

BadgerNotes' resident college basketball sicko, Kedrick Stumbris covers Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball and women's hockey teams unlike anyone else. He received his B.A. with economics and political science majors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018 and has had his work published on Bleacher Report and Verbal Commits.

Trending