It all comes down to this.
Check out How to Watch for broadcast information.
(2) Ohio State vs. (1) Wisconsin
Sunday at 3:00 PM Central
There are plenty of people who are well sick of seeing these two teams in the national championship game as this is the third year in a row they've ended up here, but a lot of teams had a chance to knock them off their pedestals and change their seasons and haven't. Ultimately, this is going to be a spectacular hockey game and I can't be mad about two extremely good hockey teams playing on the final day of the season.
The Buckeyes and Badgers have split their national championship series 1-1 so far, with Wisconsin winning 1-0 in 2023 on a goal from Kirsten Simms and Ohio State winning 1-0 in 2024 on a goal from Joy Dunne. While I don't think there's any chance this game ends 1-0, it is interesting to note that both goal scorers were freshman at the time they won everything for their squad. (If we're picking likely freshman difference-makers in this game, it's OSU's Jordyn Petrie and UW's Maggie Scannell).
Wisconsin leads the country in team offense, team defense, power play and penalty kill. The biggest disparity for Ohio State is on special teams, where their penalty kill is 24th in the nation. This is going to be a physical game and penalties are inevitable. That being said, the Badgers were 0-for-3 on the power play in the semifinal, including a five-minute major.
National Goalie of the Year Ava McNaughton was stellar for UW on Friday, smothering the puck and giving up very little in the way of rebounds and second-chance opportunities. With the way Ohio State collapses on the net, the Badgers need her to keep that up today. OSU is great at creating chaos in front of the net and then winning the puck in that chaos before putting it in the back of the net.
On the other end, Amanda Thiele was not as sure with stopping pucks clean and she was overall pressured less in her semifinal. Ohio State needs her to play a pretty flawless game in the title match in order to be able to win. Where OSU is relentless in their pressure, UW comes with wave after wave of world class shooting throughout their line chart. A huge part of the Buckeyes' ability to win this game hinges on how well the defense blocks shots and Thiele makes saves.
Two of the biggest names in this game are yesterday's Patty Kazmaier Award winner Casey O'Brien for the Badgers and fifth-year forward Makenna Webster for the Buckeyes. Webster transferred to OSU from UW to become a two-sport athlete in ice and field hockey and the two players are best friend. They were also both instrumental in their team's semifinals wins. Neither wants to end their college career with a loss and both have the skill and determination to single-handedly change the course of the game.
Ohio State handed Wisconsin their only loss of the season and is responsible for one of their two ties. The Badgers have had the more dominant season overall, but it's clear that the Buckeyes match up with them well and can handle all UW brings.
Saturday's coaches press conferences highlighted how very different Mark Johnson and Nadine Muzerall are, but ultimately, they have been on parallel paths for several seasons, achieved the same results and are now here.
The pressure feels like it's all on Wisconsin to close out this dominant season with a stacked roster with the national championship. That being said, they're not a team that's playing like all that weight is on their shoulders. A large part of their strength down the stretch has been an ability to not get bogged down in the moment. They've had to come from behind in each of their last four games, but they've never looked stressed or concerned. The Badgers have a pretty unflappable belief in one another that gives them the liberty to play free and have fun that is kind of rare to see at this time of the season. If they're going to win, it will be that trust where they're not worried about making mistakes and able to play in a high-stakes game as though it were just another practice.
One of Ohio State's best characteristics is their ability to have a chip on their shoulder and feel like the underdogs even heading into their fourth national championship game in a row as the defending title-holders. That determination to prove themselves is highly successful and adds another layer to their already very high level of play that can be an equalizer between them and the Badgers. They're going to get in Wisconsin's face and interrupt everything UW wants to do. And beyond their own experience in how to do that, they've got the tape of how well Clarkson did it in the national quarterfinal last weekend. Plenty of Badger players struggled to adjust when they couldn't do what they've always done and when Ohio State gets in their passing lanes, poke checks and generally stops the game from having any flow, they're putting themselves in the best possible position to win the game.
I couldn't possibly begin to believe I have any idea what's going to happen in this hockey game, but I do know it's going to be a huge spotlight for what makes NCAA hockey so great.
At the end of her Patty Kaz acceptance speech O'Brien said the following and I can't imagine there's a better way to send you off to watch this national championship game.
“I hope everybody's able to enjoy what's going to happen tomorrow. A bunch of the best players in the world giving everything of themselves for their shared aspirations. It'll be another great day for hockey.”
