MADISON, Wis.  – A week after scoring a pair of goals in UW's 7-5 upset over No. 3 Minnesota, Wisconsin women's hockey freshman Kirsten Simms converted a penalty-shot goal in overtime to lift the No. 6 Badgers to a 6-5 win over No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at LaBahn Arena. 

Casey O'Brien, Britta Curl, Sophie Shirley and Simms each lit the lamp once while Jesse Compher tallied two scores for the Badgers (23-8-2, 19-6-2 WCHA) in the overtime thriller against the Buckeyes (27-4-3, 22-4-1 WCHA).

O'Brien got the Badgers on the board just over seven minutes into the first, before Curl doubled the lead after tipping in a shot from Nicole LaMantia. 

With the Badgers third goal in eight minutes, Compher made it 3-0 with a rocket to the back of the net.

Wisconsin capped off the first period with yet another goal from Compher for her 14th of the season.

Ohio State answered with two to make it 4-2 going into the third period.

The Buckeyes made it a one-goal game early in the third period, but Shirley scored her 11th goal of the season to lift UW to a 5-3 advantage with 12:40 left. 

OSU tied the game up at 5-5 with just over two minutes remaining to send the contest into overtime. 

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 stopped 41 of the shots she faced for her 15th win of the season. It also marked the third-straight game Kronish has made 40 or more saves. 

Three Notes of the Game
- 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.
- That was UW's first made penalty shot since Annie Pankowski's penalty shot against Minnesota on Feb. 20, 2016. 
- The Badgers enjoyed their 12th sellout of the season at LaBahn Arena and will have their 13th sellout of the season on Sunday. 

Straight From The Rink
Head Coach Mark Johnson
On the hard fought battle:
"You're going back and forth the whole game and we just happened to spring out four to nothing, but there's a lot of hockey to be played. It was a good way to end it for us. The crowd got a chance to see a lot of good things."

On the team improving offensively:
"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."

Freshman Kirsten Simms
On taking down the top-ranked Buckeyes:
"It was crazy. Obviously it was super exciting that we got to take down the No. 1 team in the country. It was a hard fought battle, not only them coming back from four goals from us, but we figured it out in the end and finished it."

On being trusted with taking the penalty shot:
"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. 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."

Senior Jesse Compher
On the team's strong showing today:
"I think that we've known on paper all year how good of a team we can be but we haven't shown that. We're starting to play our best hockey. We're coming together as a group and buying into this. We all want the same thing and that's to walk out of here with a National Championship, no matter if you are a freshman or a fifth-year, everybody in that locker room wants to win and we're excited to see what we do down the rest of the season." 

Up Next:
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. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 1:40 p.m. for a special Senior Day ceremony as UW will recognize seniors Natalie Buchbinder, Jesse Compher, Chayla Edwards, Cami Kronish, Nicole LaMantia, Grace Shirley and Sophie Shirley.