MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kirsten Simms scored on a penalty shot to tie it after a successful Wisconsin challenge with 18 seconds left and then delivered the winner 2:49 into sudden-death overtime to rally top-seed Wisconsin to a 4-3 victory over No. 2 seed Ohio State in the championship match of the women’s Frozen Four on Sunday.
It was the third straight season the two schools squared off for the NCAA title. Coach Mark Johnson’s Badgers beat Ohio State 1-0 in 2023 before losing 1-0 to Nadine Muzerall’s Buckeyes last season.
Simms forced OT when she scored after Wisconsin (38-1-2) was successful on a challenge that an Ohio State player put her hand on the puck while in the crease. The Buckeyes were playing shorthanded at the time after being caught with too many players on the ice with 1:50 remaining.
Wisconsin’s Ava McNaughton and Ohio State’s Amanda Thiele both had saves in the first 90 seconds of OT. But Simms used Lacey Eden’s second assist of the match to score the winner and earn the Badgers their record eighth championship.
Joy Dunne scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 11:38 — 13 seconds after teammate Jordyn Petrie was sent off the ice for two minutes for crosschecking — to give Ohio State (29-8-3) the lead.
Laila Edwards scored 12 seconds later as the power play continued to pull Wisconsin even. Eden assisted on the score. Edwards led the nation with 35 goals.
Sloane Matthews scored unassisted with 5:16 remaining and the Buckeyes took a 2-1 lead into the second period.
Ohio State scored 10 seconds in to up its advantage to 3-1 after Emma Peschel used assists from former Badger Makenna Webster and Jocelyn Amos to score.
Wisconsin answered with a goal from Caroline Harvey with 5:27 left in the period to get within a goal heading to the final period. Simms and Edwards set up the score.
Ohio State was the only team to beat Wisconsin in regulation this season. The Buckeyes have played in four straight Frozen Four title matches, also winning in 2022.
