Wisconsin Women’s Hockey: Frozen Four Homecoming for Harvey

Wisconsin women’s hockey is headed East in the NCAA Tournament. The Frozen Four in Durham, New Hampshire, is much further from Madison than last year’s national championship in Duluth, Minnesota. The trip to the Granite State is far from a foreign trip for one Badger though.

Wisconsin Women’s Hockey Defender Caroline Harvey Plays Frozen Four in Home State

The Wisconsin women’s hockey players surround Sarah Wozniewicz after she scored a goal early in the third period of the Badgers’ 4-0 victory over St. Lawrence in an NCAA regional final at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, March 16, 2024.

Wisconsin defender Caroline “K.K.” Harvey is capping off an impressive season with a trip to her home state. The Pelham, New Hampshire native grew up roughly one hour away from Durham. After spending so much time playing far away from home in Wisconsin, the sophomore is thrilled to have her hometown behind her.

“Going back home feels awesome,” said the WCHA Defender of the Year. “Having a lot of family and friends there to support the girls is going to feel amazing.”

The 2023 IIHF World Champion with Team USA said her “only concern was getting enough tickets.” With a chance to see her play for the first time since moving to Madison, Harvey said, “A lot of old teachers, skating coaches—I think my driver’s ed. instructor is coming—it’s crazy.”

Badgers’ KK Harvey Having Standout Season

Although Harvey is “excited to get going” back to her home state, the task at hand remains her main focus as she and her teammates “definitely have in mind the goal of winning the title” So far this season, the Patty Kazmaier Award Top-10 Finalist has been dialed in.

In her rookie season, Harvey became the first Wisconsin women’s hockey player since Meghan Hunter in 2001 to earn All-American honors in their first season. She also became the seventh Badger to win the WCHA Rookie of the Year award. Harvey finished strong, scoring the game-winning overtime goal against Minnesota in the Frozen Four national semifinal en route to a national title.

Harvey is having a special sophomore campaign despite missing nine games with an injury. With five goals and 30 assists, her 35 points rank seventh in Wisconsin women’s hockey history among defenders in a single season. Her +53 plus/minus this season currently sits as the best by any defender in program history.

Wisconsin Women’s Hockey vs. Colgate in Frozen Four on Friday

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

With the two biggest games of the season on deck, Badgers head coach Mark Johnson knows the value of having his star defender at 100%. In an interview before his team departed for New Hampshire, Johnson noted Harvey’s “confidence is back” after recovering from injury. “When she’s able to play free, she can impact the game in a lot of different areas that not many players can. So, to have her healthy, have her mind free, knowing she can play at a real high level, that’s good.

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Clarkson Golden Knights begin the first Frozen Four semifinal on ESPN+ at 3:00 PM Central tomorrow, Friday, March 22nd. Wisconsin women’s hockey plays Colgate in the second semifinal at 6:30 PM, and you can stream it on ESPN+. In the words of Johnson, looking ahead to the matchup, “It’s probably gonna be a pretty good hockey game.”

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