Badgers players and coach Mark Johnson get the NCAA championship trophy after defeating Ohio State 1-0 on Sunday in Duluth, Minnesota.
The University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team has played important games that didn’t happen when the calendar page is on March.
But the Badgers’ most important, most memorable contests have been in the final weeks of the season. That’s why a list of the team’s biggest games in the last 25 years leans heavily into the NCAA Tournament.
Polzin: Mark Johnson is humble, folksy and a winner. But is the Wisconsin icon underappreciated?
Here’s our countdown of the the top five games since the fall of 2000.
Jinelle Zaugg, left, and Cyndy Kenyon celebrate Zaugg’s first-period goal int the 2006 NCAA championship game in Minneapolis.
Date: March 26, 2006
Opponent: Minnesota
Fans show out to celebrate Wisconsin women’s hockey NCAA championship
Why it matters: Wisconsin had to go to Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena to win its first NCAA championship, which it claimed with a 3-0 victory. Jinelle Zaugg provided power-play goals in the first and second periods, and Grace Hutchins made it 2-0 just 30 seconds after Zaugg opened the scoring. Jessie Vetter stopped all 31 shots she faced for the Badgers. Dynasties start somewhere, and this was it for Mark Johnson and Co.
Badgers players, from left, Daryl Watts, Lacey Eden, Nicole LaMantia and Casey O’Brien celebrate Watts’ overtime goal in the 2021 NCAA championship game in Erie, Pa.
Date: March 20, 2021
Opponent: Northeastern
Wisconsin women’s hockey has to work overtime to add to its record NCAA title haul
Why it matters: An NCAA championship game never had ended like this before. Daryl Watts had the puck behind the net in overtime and thought she could bank it into the net off Huskies goalie Aerin Frankel. She got it in the net, but off defender Megan Carter instead for a 2-1 victory in Erie, Pennsylvania. The episode became fodder for a trade of verbal barbs between Frankel and Watts at news conferences before the teams played in the regional final the next season. The 2021 win gave the Badgers consecutive national titles after the 2020 tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
Badgers center Jesse Compher, center, celebrates after Caroline Harvey scored in overtime to defeat Minnesota in the 2023 Frozen Four semifinals.
Date: March 17, 2023
Opponent: Minnesota
Why it matters: Johnson has called this one of the best games he has been a part of as Badgers coach, and it delivered a good mixture of adversity on both sides. The Badgers fell behind early but rallied with two goals less than a minute apart in the third period. The Gophers scored with an extra attacker late to force overtime. Caroline Harvey won it after nearly 17 minutes of extra time — during which Badgers goalie Cami Kronish made 10 saves — to send Wisconsin to the championship game with a 3-2 victory in Duluth, Minnesota. It defeated Ohio State 1-0 two days later to win its seventh — and most improbable — title.
The Badgers celebrate a fourth-overtime goal to get past Harvard in the 2007 NCAA quarterfinals at the Kohl Center.
Date: March 10, 2007
Opponent: Harvard
2 championship overtimes, 2 formats: Which do Wisconsin women’s hockey players prefer?
Why it matters: A game that started at 7:07 p.m. ended with just one goal, scored by Wisconsin’s Jinelle Zaugg at 11:42 p.m. The tape-delayed broadcast of the game already had started, leading to the unusual scene of Johnson watching an earlier part of the game on the TV in the Kohl Center coaches’ room during one of the overtime intermissions. It’s the only Badgers game that has gone to four overtimes. And add this to the game’s lore: The coach on the Harvard bench, Katey Stone, turned down the Badgers job in 2002 and Johnson eventually was offered the spot.
Badgers forward Kirsten Simms tucks the puck around Ohio State goalie Amanda Thiele on a penalty shot with 18.9 seconds left in the third period of the 2025 NCAA championship game in Minneapolis.
Date: March 23, 2025
Opponent: Ohio State
Why it matters: There are so many things to remember from this game, but it really comes down to this: Kirsten Simms made two unforgettable plays to give the Badgers their record-setting eighth national championship, 4-3 in overtime against the Buckeyes in Minneapolis. Wisconsin, trailing by a goal in the final minute of regulation, challenged an unobserved hand on the puck in the crease by a Buckeyes player to earn a penalty shot. Johnson asked his players who wanted to take it; Simms threw her right hand in the air, then scored to tie the game. She then put home the rebound of a Lacey Eden shot three minutes into the extra session. It was the finale (to date, anyway) in a series of fantastic games between the Badgers and Buckeyes. That group includes the 2023 and 2024 NCAA finals and a January 2025 outdoor game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field that ended in a tie and an Ohio State shootout victory.
Now it’s your turn to vote for the game you think was the biggest for the Wisconsin women’s hockey program over the past 25 years.
Ohio State defenseman Riley Brengman, left, joins forward Joy Dunne to celebrate after Dunne scored against Badgers goaltender Ava McNaughton in the first period Sunday.
The Wisconsin team gathers for a group portrait with the National Championship trophy following the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament against Ohio State, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
The Wisconsin team gathers for a group portrait with the National Championship trophy following the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament against Ohio State, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Wisconsin players give head coach Mark Johnson an ice water bath following the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament against Ohio State, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Wisconsin forward Kirsten Simms (27) is mobbed by her teammates after scoring the winning goal in overtime of the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament against Ohio State, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
The Wisconsin team gathers for a group portrait with the National Championship trophy following the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament against Ohio State, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Wisconsin forward Kirsten Simms (27) slips the puck past Ohio State goaltender Amanda Thiele (30) on a penalty shot in the third period of the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Wisconsin forward Kirsten Simms (27) celebrates after scoring on Ohio State goaltender Amanda Thiele (30) on a penalty shot in the third period of the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Ohio State forward Sloane Matthews, third from right, is congratulated by forward Jenna Buglioni (10) and defenseman Mira Jungåker (14) after she scored against Wisconsin in the first period of the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis.
Ohio State forward Joy Dunne scores against Wisconsin goaltender Ava McNaughton in the first period of the championship game of the Women’s Frozen Four NCAA college hockey tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Minneapolis.
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Badgers players and coach Mark Johnson get the NCAA championship trophy after defeating Ohio State 1-0 on Sunday in Duluth, Minnesota.
A collection of photos from the Wisconsin women’s hockey team’s overtime win over Ohio State to capture the program’s eighth national championship.
Badgers forward Kirsten Simms tucks the puck around Ohio State goalie Amanda Thiele on a penalty shot with 18.9 seconds left in the third period of the 2025 NCAA championship game in Minneapolis.
Badgers center Jesse Compher, center, celebrates after Caroline Harvey scored in overtime to defeat Minnesota in the 2023 Frozen Four semifinals.
Badgers players, from left, Daryl Watts, Lacey Eden, Nicole LaMantia and Casey O’Brien celebrate Watts’ overtime goal in the 2021 NCAA championship game in Erie, Pa.
Jinelle Zaugg, left, and Cyndy Kenyon celebrate Zaugg’s first-period goal int the 2006 NCAA championship game in Minneapolis.
The Badgers celebrate a fourth-overtime goal to get past Harvard in the 2007 NCAA quarterfinals at the Kohl Center.
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