Wisconsin outlasts Ohio State 3-2 to become 2026 National Champions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A late goal from senior Claire Enright proved to be the difference-maker for Wisconsin on Sunday in Pegula Arena at Penn State as the Badgers earned their ninth National Championship with a 3-2 win over rival Ohio State.

The senior classes of these two teams have only ever faced each other when a national championship is on the line. And prior to Sunday, the two teams had faced each other 21 times in their careers. Each team had won ten games and there was one tie - the Frozen Confines game the two played outdoors at Wrigley Field in 2025.

Sunday's career tiebreaker went to the Badgers, who dashed out to an early lead and then survived the onslaught and comeback from Ohio State to earn victory.

As expected, Ohio State pressured from puck drop. Wisconsin fared better than they did in the WCHA tournament title game a few weeks ago, but were still being hemmed into their defensive zone by the Buckeyes and struggling to concistently break out. OSU dominated the Badgers on faceoffs, particularly early and in the Buckeye offensive zone.

However, UW managed a few trips to the other end of the ice and they made them count. Wisconsin scored just 78 seconds into the game as Adéla Šapovalivová let loose with a shot from the top of the zone through traffic. Kelly Gorbatenko, who is 5'11", had staked out a position in the slot and wasn't being easily displaced. With her back to the net, she got her stick to Šapovalivová's, deflecting it past OSU goalie Hailey MacLeod to quickly make it a 1-0 game.

That only made the Buckeyes press harder. They were trying to pepper the net, putting up 18 shot attempts in the first eight minutes of play. But the Badger defense held strong, blocking seven shots and Ava McNaughton made nine of her 12 saves that period in the stretch.

But it was Wisconsin that doubled their lead on just their third shot of the period as Gorbatenko had the puck and looked to circle behind the net before cutting back and reversing course. Defender Laney Potter had crept into the offensive play and when Gorbatenko cut back, Potter drifted to the back post and was ready with a one-timer when Gorbatenko fed her, sneaking the puck between MacLeod's skate and the post to make it a 2-0 game.

Despite the Buckeyes doing everything they wanted to do with their forechecking pressure, Wisconsin had the lead. Coach Mark Johnson knew the beginning of the game would be crucial and may set the tone for how the rest of the game would play out.

“We knew the start was going to be important just because of their capabilities. They're playing at a real high level. We knew they were going to come out with confidence. They had just beaten us [in the WCHA Tournament Championship]. They’re physical, the puck stays on their stick a lot,” he said. 

Ohio State kept coming with their pressure and McNaughton had to answer with save after save, including this one she took off Joy Dunne's stick at the end of the first.

In the second, OSU killed three penalties in the second and didn't allow a power play goal from the number one power play unit in the country. That was something OSU coach Nadine Muzerall said her team was determined to do.

“They were very structured and desired to kill that and not allow a goal to transpire from a power play,” she said.

The Buckeyes couldn't break through in the second. Wisconsin was on their heels in the frame, which has been a statistically successful one for OSU this season, with nearly half their goals coming in the second. Johnson, who regularly talks about bending but not breaking, was proud of how his team withstood the pressure and kept the Buckeyes off the board.

That lasted about three minutes into the third period. If Ohio State had pushed in the second, they came out absolutely renewed and resolved to start the third and quickly flipped the momentum of the game.

Kassidy Carmichael deflected Mira Jungåker's shot up and over McNaughton to put Ohio State on the board 3:32 into the second. Just two minutes later, Jocelyn Amos beat a sprawling McNaughton to tie the game. With 14 minutes left in regulation, it was 2-2 and a brand new game.

Wisconsin captain Caroline Harvey said despite the pushback, the Badger bench was calm.

"There was never a doubt. There's the highs and lows of games, but our team stayed very grounded and I was proud of the group for how we handled that. We faced a lot of adversity this year, and I think that adversity we faced early on, it really prepped us for that moment. We were calm, cool, collected," she said.

Play had been going up and down the ice with both MacLeod and McNaughton making a number of massive saves. As the game wound down, Johnson was using his whole bench, looking for the combination of players that would unlock a goal.

After the game he said he made a point to get all his players into the game in the opening ten minutes or so to get them all acclimated and an opportunity to play in the title game.

"A lot of things go into putting together the group this year, but all the credit goes to the group. They're the ones that have to go on the ice and perform and give us a chance to win. If you go right down the list of players, they all made a contribution. I talked to him this morning. It was like, 'we're going need a team effort today. It's going to take everybody, and everybody's going to get an opportunity to play,'" he said.

In the end, it was fourth-line pair Claire Enright and Marianne Picard that served as heroes for the Badgers. The longtime linemates and close friends connected with Picard feeding Enright off the boards as she started a circle around the faceoff circle and headed towards the net.

"We'd been buzzing all game. So we kind of knew it was coming. Picard just passed right down. I had a chance to go the net. Nobody was forcing me any which way, and I was going to take my chance and just shoot it. We had been saying on the bench, 'let's get all the shots on net we can. No shot is a bad shot.' So I took my lane and I went to net and lucky enough I scored," said Enright.

That's more detail than Picard said she remembers about the game-winning goal. She said she jumped on Enright repeating a mantra of "oh my god" and basked in the moment while trying to catch her breath. The whole thing was a bit of an out-of-body experience while she was going on muscle memory, Picard said.

"I feel like once you get to the third period, the adrenaline is so high you can't feel your body. I just passed it to Claire, and then she she scored it. It's like a electric shock through your body. It's so special. We've been linemates for the last four years and this was the last goal of the season and assisting Claire, it was the best way to go out," she said.

While Wisconsin had the 2-3 lead, there was still more than six minutes left on the clock. The Badgers continued to block shots while McNaughton made some great saves, but the game came to a dramatic and, according to Picard, somewhat traumatic experience. Fans will remember the drama in how last year's national championship game played out, (Click here for a refresher) so it shouldn't be surpsing to hear that experiencing a similar situation from the other side felt horrible.

With under a minute to play, the puck was loose in front of the net, leading to players pushing, shoving, falling and doing everything they could to get to the puck. When the whistle finally blew, a discussion at the OSU bench led to a coach's challenge from Muzerall - for possible hand contact from a player in the crease.

“My hockey operations director thought that there was a touch of the puck, as well. The ref said if there's any kind of touch of the puck and it goes back into the crease, even if [the player who touched it] is out the crease, it’s still a penalty. So we went for it,” Muzerall said. 

After a lengthy review, the challenge was deemed unsuccessful. Muzerall had taken her timeout a minute earlier in preparation for pulling MacLeod for an extra attacker. That meant the failed challenge resulted in a delay of game penalty for the Buckeyes.

A late mistake from Harvey had Johnson internally going a little crazy on the bench.

"We end up getting the puck and Harvey ices. And I'm going, 'that's the last thing you want to do. Of all the things that Ohio State's wants you to do, that was the one thing,' he said after the game.

But Wisconsin survived the push and then earned an additonal power play in the final 10 seconds. That was enough for them to hold on and take the title.

With the win, Lacey Eden becomes the first DI women's hockey player to win four national championships (2021, 2023, 2025, 2026).