UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Kirsten Simms saved Wisconsin again.
The senior forward, who scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the national championship game last season, lifted the Badgers women’s hockey team to a 4-3 overtime win over Penn State on Friday March 20 at Pegula Ice Arena.
Simms scored the game-winner 50 seconds into overtime on a power play that was set up by a boarding penalty on Penn State’s Kendall Butze. The assist came off the stick of Caroline Harvey, whose cross-ice pass set Simms up for a game-winning shot from the right circle.
The goal sends the defending national champion to the championship game for the fourth straight season. There the Badgers will meet a familiar foe, Ohio State.
The matchup, which will be played at 3 p.m. Sunday, will be the fourth straight between the programs in the national championship game.
Check jsonline for more coverage after postgame interviews.
Here is what Kirsten Simms said about the game-winner
Wisconsin scores another close Frozen Four
Add this to the list of close Frozen Four games for the Badgers during the past three-plus seasons. This was their third overtime game during that stretch and they’ve won them all.
Before Friday’s semifinal, the others were the national title win over Ohio State last season and an overtime win over Minnesota in 2023. Here is what Badgers coach Mark Johnson thought in the aftermath Friday.
Tessa Janecke evens score on breakaway
The Badgers’ defense has played well since allowing two goals in the first period, but Penn State got a transition opportunity late in the third period.
And for Wisconsin, it went to the one person you didn’t want with the puck in a one-on-one situation with your goaltender.
Tessa Janecke.
The senior, who won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA, beat Ava McNaugton with 4:59 to play to tie the game.
Wisconsin 3, Penn State 3, 15:01 mark of third period.
Ava McNaughton comes through with clutch saves
Wisconsin goaltender Ava McNaughton allowed two power play goals in the first period and then went long stretches in the second period without being tested.
The junior, however, was on point for a flurry of chances during the fifth and sixth minute of the third period. That included the stop of a point-blank attempt by Matilde Fantin with about 14 minutes to play.
McNaughton has 18 saves with 8:46 to play. Wisconsin leads, 3-2.
UW penalty kill does job
The Badgers opened the final period with 73 seconds of penalty left to kill. They added to their troubles with a holding call on Ava Murphy during the first minute that gave Penn State a 5-3 advantage for 32 seconds.
No problem for UW.
It killed off both penalties while allowing just one shot to preserve the lead
Wisconsin 3, Penn State 2 with 13:56 to play.
Badgers dominates second period, take lead
Wisconsin’s defense really stepped up in the second period. The Badgers possessed the puck, made it tough for Penn State to get out of its zone and allowed just three shots in the period.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s got 13 shots, work that finally paid off during the 17th minute when Adela Sapovalivova gave the Badgers the lead off passes from Lacey Eden and Kelly Gorbatenko.
Wisconsin capped the period by killing 47 seconds of a tripping penalty. The team will have 73 seconds left to kill at the start of the third period.
Wisconsin 3, Penn State 2 after two periods.
Laila Edwards ties game, the play withstands video review
This time it was the Badgers who made Penn State pay for a penalty by scoring their first power play goal of the night. The score, however, was Laila Edwards’ second goal.
The senior finished on a pass from Kirsten Simms for the second time. This time Edwards scored off a one-timer from the left dot.
The Badgers couldn’t breathe easy, however, until a video review showed they weren’t offsides on the possession.
Wisconsin 2, Penn State 2, 8:11 mark of second period.
Wisconsin trails, 2-1, at end of first period
The Badgers were set to open the second period with about 90 seconds of power play left from a late hit on Penn State’s Nicole Hall, but an interference call just before the buzzer on Laila Edwards will leave put both teams with four skaters to start the second period.
The situation will test for the Badgers’ defense, which has struggled when it has been without five skaters on defense. Both of Penn State’s goals came off power plays.
Nittany Lions power play is lethal so far
The early test for the Badgers is to stay out of the box.
Penn State has scored twice off power plays during the first 10 minutes. Tessa Janecke got the first one during the second minute. Abby Stonehouse got the second at the 7:53 mark. It came after a high sticking call on Laney Potter
Stonehouse’s score came about 3 ½ minutes after UW’s Laila Edwards tied the game.
UW has outshot the Nittany Lions, 7-4, but trail.
Penn State 2, Wisconsin 1, 7:53 mark of first period.
Laila Edwards strikes for the Badgers
Tessa Janecke’s early goal on a power play fired up the Penn State faithful, but Laila Edwards tempered that enthusiasm with the Badgers’ first goal of the night.
It came at the 4:31 mark of the first period and was set up by passes from Kirsten Simms and Adela Sapovalivova.
Wisconsin 1, Penn State 1, 4:31 mark of first period.
Early penalty costs Wisconsin
Penn State’s Tessa Janecke is one of the top power play goal scorers in the country. She proved that 2 minutes into the game by scoring the game’s first goal after Wisconsin’s Charlotte Piekenhagen was called for interference
Katelyn Roberts got the primary assist and Kendall Butze got the secondary.
Penn State 1, Wisconsin 0, 1 minute 52 seconds into the first period.
Ohio State cruises into the final
The top-seeded Buckeyes (35-4) earned a return trip to the final with a 5-0 win over Northeastern in the first semifinal of the day.
The fifth-seeded Huskies had a solid start but allowed four goals during the final 10 minutes of the first period. Ohio State held them to 15 shots for the game and senior Hailey MacLeod recorded her sixth shutout of the season.
Five players scored for Ohio State, but junior Joy Dunne got the one that mattered. She finished off passes from Jocelyn Amos and Mira Junaker at the 10:14 mark of the first period for the first score of the game.
Wisconsin Badgers milestones watch
Three Badgers have a chance to achieve significant statistical milestones during the game tonight.
Kirsten Simms needs one ore goal to reach 100 for her career. Only four other Badgers have reached that mark: Hilary Knight 143, Brianna Decker 115, Meghan Duggan 108 and Lacey Eden 105.
Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards can reach 200 points. Harvey is one point away. Edwards is four points away. If/when the pair reach that milestone, they’ll join Eden (244) and Simms (235) in the 200-point club.
Also Eden needs one more point to grab sole possession of third place all-time.
That would give the current roster four 200-point scorers and 11 all-time in program history.
Penn State Nittany Lions: Roster || Statistics || Schedule
Wisconsin Badgers: Roster || Statistics || Schedule
Can the Badgers slow down Penn State’s Tessa Janecke?
A key component of UW’s success in the semifinals will be slowing down the Nittany Lions’ Tessa Janecke.
The senior forward helped Teams USA win the gold medal at the Olympics then returned to campus to help the Nittany Lions reach their first Frozen Four.
Here is the deal on Penn State’s top scorer.
Goals: Third in the country with 0.80 per game
Points: Sixth in the nation at 1.53 points per game
Faceoff percentage: 66.4%, 16th in the country
Eden has played with Janecke on the national team.
“She’s strong, she’s fast, and she’s willing to do what it takes to win and she kind of has her team on her back with that,” Eden said. “We know her number going into this game.”
Patty Kazmaier finalists on the ice
The 2026 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation’s top player will be announced Saturday morning. In Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey a nd Penn State’s Tessa Janecke, the second national semifinal will feature two of the three finalists.
Click the link below to learn more about the finalists.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin advances to title game of women’s Frozen Four with OT victory
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
