CHICAGO – The top-ranked Wisconsin women's hockey team earned a hard-fought 3-3 tie against No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday as a part of the The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series at history Wrigley Field. 

The Badgers (20-1-1, 14-1-1 WCHA) won the WCHA regular-season series against the Buckeyes (13-5-3, 8-5-2-2-0-2 WCHA), as UW picked up two regulation wins and a tie against OSU. 

Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms and Illinois native Kelly Gorbatenko recorded the Badgers three goals. Simms added an assist for her 10th multi-point game this season.

The Buckeyes opened the scoring in the first minute but Wisconsin equalized five minutes later. Casey O'Brien stripped the puck from a Buckeye defender in the offensive zone and got the puck over to Simms. OSU netminder Amanda Thiele saved Simms' shot, but Harvey pounced on the rebound and buried the equalizer.

The Badgers generated a 2-1 lead before heading into the first intermission. With 10 minutes to play in the first first, Simms stole the puck at half-ice and skated with it toward the OSU net. Simms was knocked down to the ice right in front but still managed to tuck the puck on a full stretch into the net through Thiele's five-hole.

Ohio State equalized late in the second period to send the game into the second intermission stretch tied at two. 

The Buckeyes scored early in the third period to take a 3-2 lead. Wisconsin's penalty killers ferociously defended the net on three OSU power plays to keep the Badgers within reach. With just over five minutes to play, Wisconsin found the equalizer. Sophomore blueliner Laney Potter took a shot from the point, which Gorbatenko tipped past Thiele to level the game at 3-3

Neither team could find the back of the net in 3-on-3 overtime, which ended the game as a tie with the extra point being determined by a shootout that went seven rounds that OSU ultimately won 1-0. 

McNaughton stopped 36 of the 39 shots she saved for a 0.923 save percentage. 

Notes of the Game

• This marks Wisconsin's first game to go into overtime this season.
• Ava McNaughton posted a season-high 36 saves.
• The Badgers have not allowed more than three goals in a game this season. 
• Saturday was the Badgers first shootout since ​​Feb. 10, 2023, against Minnesota, where they won the shootout 1-0.

Straight from the Confines
UW Head Coach Mark Johnson
On reflecting on the special venue:
"The game's going to be the game and it's gonna end in a certain way. We back away from it and reflect on the whole day's experience. I mean, there's going to be a smile on everybody's face. Hopefully everybody had fun, enjoyed what they saw."

Senior Casey O'Brien
On Ava McNaughton's playing great all game:
"I can't count how many times Ava (McNaughton) kept us in the game where probably any other goalie wouldn't. It's  unfortunate when she's giving it all she can and we can't get a win out of it in the end."

Sophomore Kelly Gorbatenko:
On what the team learned:
"I think the biggest takeaway is that when we play Badger hockey, and we've talked about it all year, then they can't beat us. I think the next time we play them would probably be playoffs and so I think as long as we stick to our identity, we help (Ava) McNaughton out, help in the d-zone, then the results will come."

Up Next: Wisconsin returns home to host Minnesota State on Saturday and Sunday at LaBahn Arena. Puck drop on Saturday is set for 5 p.m. and Sunday's series finale begins at 2 p.m. Both games are sold out but fans can purchase tickets on SeatGeek.