Wausau Pilot & Review
Wisconsin women’s hockey freshman Kirsten Simms’ penalty-shot goal in overtime on Saturday gave the No. 6 Wisconsin Badger women’s hockey team the final lift to take down No. 1 Ohio State.
That was UW’s first made penalty shot since Annie Pankowski’s penalty shot against Minnesota on Feb. 20, 2016.
“It was an exciting opportunity that he (coach) trusted me in that situation, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter who it is,” Simms said, after the contest. “No matter who it was on our team taking that shot, we all would have faith in them. It just happened to be me today.”
This is the second time this season that the Badgers have upset the top-ranked team. UW defeated then-No. 1 Minnesota, 4-1, on Nov. 20, 2022 at LaBahn Arena.
Casey O’Brien, Britta Curl and Sophie Shirley also contributed goals, while Jesse Compher racked up two in Saturday’s game. The Badgers are now 23-8-2, 19-6-2 WCHA.
OSU tied the game up at 5-5 with just over two minutes remaining. Just two minutes into overtime Wisconsin was awarded a penalty shot. Freshman Simms capitalized on the opportunity to give the Badgers the exciting win. Cami Kronish picked up her 15th win of the season, stopping 41 of the shots she faced.
Head coach Mark Johnson said the crowd had a chance to see a lot of good things from the team.
“The players are seeing good things happening… seven last game, you got six this game, playing against a couple of teams as good as anybody in the country,” Johnson said.
The Badgers and Buckeyes wrap up their series on Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest at LaBahn Arena. The game is sold out, but fans can watch the game live on B1G+ or listen to it on 1310 WIBA.
