Badgers are back-to-back champs

How does back-to-back and nine-time national champions sound? On Sunday, the Badger women's hockey team continued its dynastic run by outlasting the Ohio State Buckeyes in an evenly matched title game that came down to the final frantic seconds.

It was the fourth straight championship matchup between the rival Badgers and Buckeyes, with UW winning by one score in 2023 and 2025 and Ohio State by the same in 2024. Sunday's 3-2 win followed a familiar script and marked the Badgers' ninth national title under head coach Mark Johnson - the most of any program in the country.

On a team with no shortage of star power, not to mention five Olympians, it was an unsung senior forward who played the unlikely hero. With just over six minutes to go and the score tied 2-2, the defensive-minded Claire Enright skated by several Buckeyes from the right boards and snuck in the go-ahead goal between the goalie and left post.

"I believed in my teammates. I believed in myself. To be a defensive force, to score a goal - I don't score many goals, but it feels amazing," Enright said on the ESPNU broadcast after the game.

After a relatively quiet two periods, the third was an action-packed affair. Down 2-0, Ohio State attacked with urgency, scoring a pair of goals in under six minutes to tie the game and temporarily stun the Badgers. After Enright's clutch answer, the Buckeyes pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with a minute and half remaining. The Badger defense, led by senior Caroline Harvey, swarmed and survived a flurry of shot attempts to secure the championship victory.

For Harvey, the win completed an unthinkable trifecta in the span of a month: an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA national championship, and the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which she won on Saturday as the top player in college women's hockey.

"It's been quite the ride. I'm trying to enjoy every moment," Harvey said after the game. "I'm so proud of my team. It came together when it all mattered."

Through the first two periods of the championship game, it was UW goaltender Ava McNaughton who stole the show. The junior made a remarkable save late in the first, fully extending her left arm behind her back to snatch a point-blank attempt by an undefended Joy Dunne. The superhuman reach prompted ESPN announcer John Buccigross to declare it the "save of the tournament." McNaughton recorded 23 saves through two shutout periods, and 34 in all. The performance earned her chants of "A-va! A-va! A-va!" from Badger faithful - and the award for the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

The Badgers got the scoring started quickly. In just over a minute of play, junior forward Kelly Gorbatenko scored her 50th career goal after getting a stick on a long shot from freshman Adéla Šapovalivová and redirecting it into the net.

Six minutes later, junior defender Laney Potter scored on a behind-the-net assist from Gorbatenko to give the Badgers a 2-0 lead.

The back-to-back national titles are a fitting endnote for a legendary senior class, which includes Harvey, Enright, Lacey Eden, Vivian Jungels, Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards. Simms and Edwards shared the familiar spotlight in the semifinal game against Penn State, combining for three goals in the 4-3 overtime win. Edwards passed Hilary Knight for the most NCAA tournament goals in school history with 12. Simms scored her fourth game-winning goal at the Frozen Four, which includes last year's championship clincher in overtime. The semifinal game-winner from Harvey to Simms gave the latter her 100th career goal and the former her 200th career point.

As Harvey told her teammates at the Kazmaier Award ceremony: "Being able to compete against one another in practice, pushing each other to our absolute limits always, has been a blessing. I am forever grateful for the amazing relationships you have all provided along the way."

And Badger fans are forever grateful for the amazing memories they've provided, too.

Scenes from a championship weekend