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The team of women's hockey players hug each other on the ice immediately after winning the championship.

The comeback champs

Badger women’s hockey caps historic season with epic overtime win

Story by Preston Schmitt | Photos by Althea Dotzour

“Who wants it?”  

Only the legendary coach of one of the greatest hockey teams in NCAA history could ask such a question. With 18.9 seconds left in the 2025 championship game, the Badgers were trailing the Ohio State Buckeyes by a goal. But they were just awarded an improbable penalty shot after a flurry of power-play opportunities and a coach’s challenge resulted in an Ohio State infraction for covering the puck.  

Coach Mark Johnson turned to his players to let them decide who would take that season-defining opportunity. He could have picked from his three Patty Kazmaier Award finalists. And yes, the best players in the country were all Badgers this year — Casey O’Brien, Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey, the second-ever trio to represent the same school. But they and the rest of their teammates unanimously selected junior forward Kirsten Simms to take the penalty shot.  

An overhead close-up of two computers show the replay review of hockey players scrambling in front of the net.
Mark Johnson won AHCA Coach of the Year for a reason. After his coach's challenge, this replay review led to an Ohio State infraction for covering the puck — and a game-tying penalty shot.
A line of suited hockey players link arms. The camera shows them from behind as they watch Simms take to the ice for a penalty shot.
Embracing each other on the bench, teammates watched Kirsten Simms embark on the season-defining penalty shot.

Simms took to the ice, all eyes fixed on her. She dribbled the puck down the length of the rink and then deked the Ohio State goalie nearly out of her skates, flicking the puck into the net and tying the game 3-3.  

“Everybody on the bench was like, ‘Simms, you’re taking it!’” she said on the ESPNU broadcast after the game. “And I was like, ‘Fine, I’ll do it.’ But I was so nervous. I couldn’t think while I was going, just had to try to be confident with it. It worked out.”  

Three minutes into overtime, Simms played the hero again, contorting her body and stick to catch the puck on a ricochet and slap it into the net.  

GOALLLLLLLL! Pandemonium erupted in Ridder Arena in Minnesota — and at watch parties throughout Wisconsin — as the Badgers came from behind to capture their eighth national championship, the most of any program in the country.   

The team gathered around the bench jump up in celebration and hug Simms who stands on the other side of the barrier. Simms wears a helmet and looks up to the ceiling in disbelief.
Who wanted the penalty shot? Simms did, with a vote of confidence from all her teammates, who then mobbed her in celebration of the improbable comeback.
A crowd of Badger fans jump to their feet to celebrate the tying goal. A man wearing a Badger sweatshirt and hat stands next to a young girl, who also wears Badger attire, yells out in excitement.
Shock. Awe. Relief. Joy. You name it, and Badger fans felt it Sunday evening.
From behind, a group of six hockey players surround Coach Johnson as he walks through game plans with the women on ice.
Johnson drew up the winning plays in the third period and overtime, helping the Badgers overcome what was once a 3-1 deficit.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. It doesn’t feel real,” Simms said.  

It was the third consecutive title matchup between UW and archrival Ohio State. Both prior contests ended 1-0, with the Badgers besting the Buckeyes in 2023 and the reverse last year. This proved to be the ultimate rubber match between the top-ranked teams in the country, with UW trailing throughout most of the frantic, fast-paced game until Simms’s overtime strike.  

Harvey, who scored in the second period and led all NCAA defenders in points this season, confidently predicted the unlikely turn of events in a sideline interview before the final period.  

 “[The game] could change in a matter of seconds. … We’re definitely a third-period team,” she said. “We have the comeback in us.”  

And so they did. The championship comeback marked UW’s 38th win of the season, making this special squad the winningest in school history.    

It was a great day for hockey — and to be a Badger.  

The hockey team, joined by key coaches and mascot Bucky Badger, gather in a group pose on the center of the ice. The team sits behind the NCAA national championship trophy.

Scenes from a championship day

A crowd of fans stand on either side of a red carpet that leads to the entrance of the hockey arena. Members of the Badger women's hockey team done semi-formal attire as they follow the carpet inside, giving high fives to fans that they pass by.

Ridder Arena rolled out the red carpet for Badger players, including goaltender Quinn Kuntz (front) and forward Sarah Wozniewicz. The team earned its star treatment this season after scoring a school-record 221 goals and winning a school-record 38 games.

An overhead photo of a large group of Badger fans filling a local restaurant. The fans wear red and white attire and sing along to the UW Marching Band and Bucky Badger.

Minneapolis? More like Madison North. The Badgers beat the hometown Gophers in the semifinals in a 6-2 rout on Friday. And then Sunday, Badger fans — along with Bucky and the UW Marching Band — packed Blarney Pub & Grill for a pre-game pep rally.

Members of the UW Marching Band make their way through the crowded room of people wearing red and white Wisconsin Badger attire.
The UW Marching Band brought a little piece of Madison to the Badger fans packed into Blarney Pub & Grill.
UW-Madison mascot Bucky Badger kneels on one knee and flashes the camera a "W" sign with his two hands.
Bucky flashed his signature "W" for Wisconsin, and maybe with a hint of winning foresight?
The camera focuses on two women's hockey players on opposing teams, standing at the center of the ice ready for the puck to drop from the referee's hands.

Face-off! With physical play and breakneck action, the championship game between the nation’s two best teams lived up to the hype — and then some.

A crowd of mostly Badger fans encircles the hockey rink. The fans react to the matchup unfolding on the ice on the other side of the protective glass.

Chants of “Let’s go, Badgers” rang out with regularity in a red-filled Ridder Arena, usually home to the Minnesota Gophers.

A man wearing a Wisconsin Badgers hockey jersey sits close to his daughter. His arm is wrapped around her as he flashes a "W" sign that he makes with his two hands. The daughter wears a Wisconsin Badgers bomber hat and flashes a smile at the camera.

Brian Lambrecht and daughter Ollie traveled all the way from Montana to cheer on the Badgers and a home-state hero, freshman forward Finley McCarthy.

A distant photo show the Badger women's hockey team on the ice against the Ohio Buckeyes.
Kazmaier Award finalist Caroline Harvey (right) dropped to a knee for a powerful left-handed shot in the second period, shrinking Ohio State’s lead to 3-2.
O'Brien wears her Badger Women's Hockey uniform while skating around the ice. She focuses on a teammate who is just out of view of the camera.
Casey O’Brien skated in the championship on Sunday after winning the Kazmaier Award on Saturday. The best player in the country said in her acceptance speech: “My time at Wisconsin has exceeded my highest expectations.”
A large crowd throws their arms up in unison as the Badgers score a tying goal against the Ohio Buckeyes.

Sweet, sweet victory: Badger fans watched the title-winning goal hit the back of the net in overtime.

The Wisconsin Women's Hockey Team celebrates on the ice after winning. Some players embrace while others sit on the ice in disbelief.

Ava McNaughton (second from right) had a bit more equipment to shed than her teammates before joining the post-game festivities. The sophomore earned HCA Goaltender of the Year, and with her smothering play Sunday, broke the school record for most wins in a season with 36.

A group of Badger hockey players surround Coach Johnson and dump a large cooler of Gatorade over his head.

The ultimate act of appreciation for a championship coach: a Gatorade shower.

A close up photo shows MacCarthy on the other side of the net, cutting away pieces of the woven material as a keepsake.

The players, including McCarthy, took turns cutting the net and taking home a piece of sports history

Three Badger players wear their uniforms and newly adorned National Champions hat while sitting on the ice together. They look at the phone one of the players holds up for a photo.

How do you immortalize your team’s eighth NCAA championship? With group selfies, of course.

Eden holds up the NCAA National Championship trophy to display to her teammates and the crowd.
Senior forward and national champion Lacey Eden held up the end-goal hardware.
A group of leaders from UW-Madison stand on the ice and pose for a photo with Coach Johnson during the after-game celebrations.
Johnson soaked in the championship scene with UW–Madison leaders, including Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin (fourth from right) and Athletic Director Chris McIntosh (third from right).