Wisconsin Badgers
Ohio State
Five things to know: No. 1 Badgers take on No. 2 Buckeyes in third-straight national championship
March 22, 2025 | Women's Hockey
Badgers and Buckeyes matchup in NCAA championship in third-straight year
MINNEAPOLIS. – The No.1 Wisconsin women's hockey team will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 NCAA Women's Hockey National Championship at 3:00 p.m. CT at Ridder Arena Sunday.
Tickets are sold out. Fans who can't make the game can watch the final game on TV on ESPNU. Fans can also listen to Paul Braun, Mark Greenhalgh and Zach Sielaff on The Game 1070.
1. LAST TIME OUT
Junior Laila Edwards recorded a hat trick to lead the Wisconsin women's hockey to a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 2025 NCAA Women's Frozen Four semifinal game on Friday, sending the Badgers to their 12th championship game appearance on Sunday.
It marked Edwards' second hat trick of the year while Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms and Casey O'Brien also scored for the Badgers (37-1-2).
UW's 37 wins are tied for the most in school history with the 2010-11 team.
Wisconsin owns 10-straight wins against the Golden Gophers, including all six matchups this season. It is the first time UW has gone 6-0 against UM in a single season. UW also now leads the all-time series 58-57-16, marking the first time UW has led the all-time series.
2. MINNEAPOLIS FAN EVENT
The Wisconsin women's hockey team is heading back to the NCAA Women's Frozen Four, and Badger fans are invited to make the trip to Minneapolis.
Before the Badgers face Ohio State on Sunday in the NCAA title game, join us for a NCAA Frozen Four Pep Rally presented by UW Credit Union at Blarney Pub and Grill.
The pep rally will kick off at 12:00 p.m., and there will be Wisconsin giveaway items and appearances by Bucky Badger and the UW Band.
Admission is free and all Badger fans are welcome! The event will be first come first serve.
Wisconsin will also have a Red Carpet Arrival on Friday at 12:55 p.m. CT at Ridder Arena.
The best in @NCAAIceHockey.
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 22, 2025
Congrats Casey O’Brien on becoming the sixth Badger to win the Patty Kaz! #Badgers || #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/TvgvGEToR8
3. CASEY O'BRIEN WINS PATTY KAZ
Wisconsin women's hockey captain Casey O'Brien added another honor to her impressive resume as the senior was named the recipient of the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award on Saturday.
O'Brien became the sixth Badger to win the award, joining the likes of Sara Bauer (2006), Jessie Vetter (2009), Meghan Duggan (2011), Brianna Decker (2012) and Ann-Renee Desbiens (2017). UW's six honorees are the most of any program in the country as Harvard has had five individuals who have won the honor six times.
This year marked only the second time in the 28 years of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the highest individual honor in women's college hockey, that the top-three finalists were from the same school. Juniors Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards joined O'Brien as top-three finalists.
4. THE BUCKEYES AND BADGERS MEET AGAIN
Wisconsin is 2-1-1 against Ohio State this season. The two teams met at Ridder Arena in 2024 at the WCHA Final Championship game. The Badgers won that game 6-3. Wisconsin and Ohio State have been in the last two national championship games winning 1-0 in 2023 and falling 1-0 in 2024. Wisconsin's best margin against the Buckeyes this season was when they shut them out 6-0 at home on Jan. 2.
Kirsten Simms posted the only and game-winning goal in Wisconsin's 2023 National Championship game.
The two teams met twice in the postseason in the 2023-24 season, in the National Championship, which the Buckeyes won and in the WCHA Final Faceoff Championship where UW was victorious 6-3. Simms and O'Brien recorded goals in that game.
Four of the best in the country!
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 22, 2025
Congrats to Kirsten, Laila, Caroline and Casey on earning first-team All-America honors #Badgers || #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/SoqESNxkzG
5. FOUR BADGERS NAMED ALL-AMERICANS
Casey O'Brien, Kirsten Simms, Caroline Harvey and Laila Edwards of the Wisconsin women's hockey team were named First-Team All-Americans, the American Hockey Coaches Association announced on Saturday.
O'Brien, Simms, and Harvey received the honor for the second straight year. Edwards joined them, earning her first First-Team All-American honor.
