Women's Hockey National Championship preview: Ohio State vs Wisconsin
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers will face off for the NCAA Women's Hockey National Championship at 4 PM Eastern on Sunday.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers will battle it out for the women's hockey national championship. Wisconsin won in 2023 and 2025, while the Buckeyes took the title in 2024. Last year, Wisconsin came into the game as a heavy favorite, one of the most dominant teams in history.
The Buckeyes gave them all they could handle, carrying a one-goal lead into the final seconds. Wisconsin scored the equalizer on a controversial penalty shot, and then won it in overtime. The Badgers carried that momentum into this season, with an absurdly talented roster that was dominating the sport.
Wisconsin swept the Buckeyes in a two-game series (as almost all regular season college hockey series are) in Columbus back in December, including winning the second game 6-1. The Buckeyes did take one of the two from the return trip in Madison in February. As the season progressed, though, Ohio State constantly improved.
Other than the three losses to Wisconsin, the Buckeyes haven't lost a game since October. The final battle between the two teams in the WCHA final was the closest of the season, as both teams played incredible defense. Wisconsin got an early goal and carried the 1-0 lead late into the third period, but two Buckeye goals in the final six minutes gave Ohio State the win.