‘You got to be as free as you can be right in that moment’: Badgers women’s hockey wins 8th NCAA title

The Badger women’s hockey team took home yet another NCAA championship after an overtime victory Sunday against Ohio State University.

In all, the University of Wisconsin-Madison team has won eight National Collegiate Athletic Association titles, the most of any women’s hockey team. 

But, with less than a minute left in the final period, the Badgers victory seemed far from assured with the Buckeyes up 3-2.

Things shifted when a referee awarded a penalty shot to Wisconsin, after determining that an Ohio State player had covered the puck with her glove while it was inside the goal’s crease. 

Badgers coach Mark Johnson searched for a volunteer to take the shot, and junior Kirsten Simms was initially hesitant to raise her hand. 

“I had everyone on the bench screaming, ‘Simms, Simms, you do it! You do it!’” Simms said during a post-game news conference. “So I was like, ‘You know what? Whatever.’”

Johnson, who has led Badgers women’s hockey to all eight of its NCAA titles, said when Simms took that shot, he had to look away. 

The pressure that Simms faced was immense, he said.

“You got to be as free as you can be right in that moment,” Johnson told reporters. “You can’t be thinking about anything other than, ‘I’m going to score.’”

After the game was over, Johnson eventually watched that moment in a video replay on someone else’s cell phone. 

Simms ended up making that shot, leading to a tie that forced overtime.

Minutes later, she scored again, propelling Wisconsin to a 4-3 victory. 

“We’ve got the national championship trophy back in Madtown, so it’s a good day,” Johnson said Sunday.

Fans can celebrate the Badgers’ victory during an event at 6:30 p.m. Monday at LaBahn Arena in Madison. The celebration is free and open to the public with spots available on a first-come first-serve basis.