Badgers face a road test in Frozen Four against Penn State

Wisconsin right wing Kirsten Simms scores past Ohio State goaltender Amanda Thiele on a penalty shot with 18. 9 seconds left to tie the NCAA women's hockey Frozen Four championship game Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images It’s a big weekend for the Wisconsin Badgers, making their 17th appearance in the Frozen Four on Friday night when they take on the third-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions.

Wisconsin blanked Quinnipiac last weekend to punch their ticket, while Penn State knocked off UConn to advance to their first Frozen Four in program history. Penn State (33-5-0 overall) is traditionally thought of as a Big Ten program, but in women’s hockey they represent Atlantic Hockey America and don’t often cross over into WCHA play. The Badgers and Nittany Lions have only met four times, last splitting a series in 2022.

The last matchup with Penn State marked the debut of a historic class of Badgers that includes Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards, and Caroline Harvey, who will all wrap up their collegiate careers one way or another this weekend. The Badgers (33-4-2 overall) are the higher-seeded team, but Penn State has home ice on their side with the Frozen Four being hosted at Pegula Ice Arena in Happy Valley, all but assuring a strong turnout for the home team. The rankings have been dominated all year by the traditional WCHA juggernauts, but Penn State has held firm in the top five since Thanksgiving following their 16-0 start.

The Nittany Lions split a series earlier this year against Northeastern, who will play Ohio State in the other Frozen Four matchup on Friday. Wisconsin and Penn State don’t have many common opponents this year, though the Nittany Lions did drop two games against the Buckeyes back in January. Wisconsin’s star power is well documented at this point, but Penn State features an All-American talent of their own in forward Tessa Janecke, who joins Caroline Harvey and Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy among the top three finalists for the 2026 Patty Kazmaier award, the winner of which will be announced on Saturday.