Wisconsin Badgers
St. Lawrence
Five Things to Know: No. 2 Badgers host No. 7 St. Lawrence in NCAA Regional Final
March 14, 2024 | Women's Hockey
UW looks to earn trip to Frozen Four with win over the Saints
MADISON, Wis. – The No. 2 Wisconsin women’s hockey team is back at LaBahn Arena this weekend and will host St. Lawrence in the NCAA Regional Final game. Puck drop for the regional final on Saturday is set for 2 p.m., and the winner will advance to the Frozen Four in Durham, New Hampshire.
Saturday’s game sold out within minutes on Monday morning, but fans can watch a free stream on Big Ten Plus or listen to the action on The Game 1070 AM as Paul Braun and Mark Greenhalgh will have the call.
1. LAST TIME OUT
The Badgers faced the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in the WCHA Final Faceoff championship and upset the No. 1 team, 6-3, to grab their 10th tournament title.
Laila Edwards and Casey O’Brien each tallied a pair of goals, while Kirsten Simms and Britta Curl each added a score on breakaways. Freshman netminder Ava McNaughton stopped 30 of the shots she faced for her 17th win of the season.
Wisconsin’s tournament win gave them an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
2. ANOTHER TROPHY IN MADISON
With its win at the WCHA Final Faceoff, the Badgers claimed their 10th tournament title, the most of any school in the league.
Wisconsin also owns nine WCHA regular-season titles, which ranks second in league history, to go along with its NCAA-record seven NCAA championships.
Down to three!
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) March 13, 2024
Get to know this year’s top-3 finalists for the #PattyKaz Award ??
3. DUO NAMED TO PATTY KAZ TOP-THREE
For the first time in program history, a pair of Badgers have been named top-three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in the same season as linemates Casey O’Brien and Kirsten Simms received the honors on Wednesday morning.
Simms leads the country in scoring with 71 points, while O’Brien ranks close behind in second with 69 points. This year’s Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which is the highest individual honor in women’s college hockey, will be handed out at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durhan, New Hampshire on Saturday, March 23. The announcement will take place at 11:30 a.m. CT live on NHL Network.
4. AGAINT THE SAINTS
The Badgers are 3-1-0 all-time against St. Lawrence, with their last meeting coming on March 16, 2007, in the Frozen Four semifinal game, resulting in a 4-0 victory for UW.
Wisconsin also took down the Saints, 1-0, to win the 2006 Frozen Four semifinal game. The Badgers then went on to win the national championship in both of those seasons.
St. Lawrence earned a spot in the NCAA Regional Final after taking down the Penn State Nittany Lions, 1-0, in overtime on Thursday night.
5. UP NEXT
The winner of the Wisconsin Regional will punch its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four, March 22-24, in Durham, New Hampshire. The reigning NCAA champions, Wisconsin eyes its 15th NCAA Frozen Four appearance.
The Women’s Frozen Four begins on Friday, March 22 at the Whittemore Center Arena as the first semifinal to start at 3 p.m. with the second to follow at 6:30 p.m. The championship tilt will take place on Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. CT.
