Gophers hope to finally break through vs. Wisconsin at the Women’s Frozen Four

Ohio State’s 3-2 home victory over Wisconsin back in November apparently is proof the Badgers women’s hockey team can be beaten.

But just how?

The Gophers came within 25 seconds of forcing Wisconsin to overtime two weeks ago in the WCHA Final Faceoff championship game before losing 4-3 on the late goal.

The Gophers have played Wisconsin five times this season, losing them by a combined 27-9 score. They never came as close as they did by playing the Badgers even until those final 25 seconds in Duluth earlier this month.

“I think our two teams may know each other better than ourselves sometimes,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said.

The top-seeded Badgers arrive at sold-out Ridder Arena on Friday for a Frozen Four semifinal game beaten once and tied twice, facing a fourth-seeded Gophers team that can win a third NCAA national title on its home ice this weekend. They’ve done that twice previously, in 2013 and 2015.

This time, No. 3 Ohio State faces Cornell in Friday’s first semifinal, with the Gophers and Badgers to follow. The semifinal winners will meet Sunday afternoon for the NCAA title.

Wisconsin advanced to the Frozen Four by beating Clarkson 4-1; the Gophers made it by beating Colgate 3-2.

Wisconsin is 36-1-2 overall, bringing a .949 winning percentage and 11-game winning streak to Ridder Arena. The Badgers also have four of this season’s Top 10 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalists while no other school has more than one.

The three finalists, from which the winner will be announced Saturday, are all Badgers: Junior forwards Laila Edwards and Casey O’Brien and junior defender Caroline Harvey.

“They are 5-0 against us, they are the team with one loss on the season and they are certainly the favorites,” Frost said. “But it comes down to 60 minutes on Friday. We all have seen how different things can happen. I love how we’re playing and looking to laying it on the ice there.”

The Gophers counter with the nation’s leading goal-scorer, Abbey Murphy (33 goals), and players whom Frost notes have big-game experience, from high school state tournament games to U18 or U22 international games to the Olympics.

“We’re just relying on what we’ve done all year,” Frost said. “We’re not trying to be anything we’re not.”

So just how do you beat the Badgers?

Frost calls Wisconsin “an extremely offensive-minded team,” “incredible off the rush,” with a packed roster that includes those top three Patty Kazmaier nominees.

“You’ve got to try and keep the puck out of your net first,” Frost said. “They have U.S. Olympian-type players on their team. They’ve got excellent D, a ton of scoring up front and their goaltender [sophomore Ava McNaughton] is one of the best in the country, too.

“It’s hard to outscore them, so the more we can keep the puck out of our net, the better it will be.”

Freshman goaltender Hannah Clark is the Gophers' last defense, still stung by a February series against Wisconsin in which the Gophers lost 8-2 and 6-1.

“I know it wasn’t my game that I was playing that week and obviously that’s a bit of regret,” Clark said. “But it gives me motivation to play my game. You just do your best to stop the puck and play quick.

“… They’re so talented and they play with an edge. You have to play with some fire to keep up with them.”

The Badgers' only blemishes all season was that Ohio State loss and two ties in January, a shootout loss to Ohio State in Wrigley Field and a shootout victory at home over St. Cloud State.

The Gophers lost all four games to the Badgers during the regular season, falling 5-0 and 4-3 at home in October before being routed in Madison — in that February series Clark regrets — when the Gophers were without their top international players.

Then they played the Badgers even until the final 25 seconds in the Final Faceoff.

“We had a breakaway, we had a power play late,” Frost said. “Obviously, the result wasn’t what we wanted, but it certainly gave our team confidence in how we’re playing and how we need to be playing to have success against a really good opponent.”

The Badgers were ranked No. 1 all year and dominant most of the time, but Frost doesn’t consider Friday a long shot by any means.

“You can try to play up the underdog role and some kids might buy into it and some may not, depending who they are,” Frost said. “We know we’re a really good hockey team. We also know they are the favorite. We’ve got an opportunity here to play really well for 60 minutes and give it a shot.”

No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Cornell

4 p.m., Ridder Arena

Streamed on ESPN+

The Buckeyes are back in the Frozen Four, one year after beating Wisconsin 1-0 for the national championship. The year before, Wisconsin beat Ohio State for the title by that same score. … This is Ohio State’s fifth consecutive trip and sixth overall in former Gophers star and assistant coach Nadine Muzerall’s nine years as head coach. The Buckeyes have won two of the past three NCAA titles. The ECAC’s Cornell is back in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2019 after beating Minnesota Duluth 1-0 in Ithaca, N.Y., last Saturday to advance.

No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 Minnesota

7:30 p.m., Ridder Arena

Streamed on ESPN+

The Badgers beat Clarkson 4-1 in a regional final at Madison to reach their 16th Frozen Four, tied with the Gophers for the most appearances in NCAA history. Clarkson was the team that beat the Gophers 3-2 in four overtimes to keep them out of the Frozen Four a year ago. The Gophers are seeking a record eighth national title. Their previous seven: 2000, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. They won the 2013 and 2015 titles at home in Ridder Arena.