On Cloud Nine: Wisconsin claims ninth national championship

Sunday, March 22

University Park, PA

3 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

35-4-2

Ohio State

36-5-0

Wisconsin

Ohio St.

On Cloud Nine: Wisconsin claims ninth national championship

March 22, 2026 | Women's Hockey

Box Score

UW defeats Ohio State 3-2 to clinch second-straight NCAA title

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. — Senior forward Claire Enright scored with just seven minutes to go in the third period to lift the Wisconsin women's hockey team to a 3-2 win over Ohio State and the program's ninth NCAA championship.

The Badgers (35-4-2) took an early lead when Kelly Gorbatenko redirected a shot from Adéla Šapovalivová just two minutes into the first period to give UW a 1-0 advantage.

With 12:26 remaining in the first, Laney Potter made it 2-0, slipping the puck between the goaltender's pad and the post after taking a pass from Gorbatenko.

The second period remained scoreless for both teams, but goaltender Ava McNaughton made some incredible saves during the 20 minutes.

The Buckeyes added back-to-back goals in the third period to tie things up.

Enright drove to the net from the right boards after taking a pass from Marianne Picard and finished with less than six minutes remaining to give UW the lead back. It marked Enright's second career game-winning goal.

McNaughton was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after recording 34 saves in the national championship.

Notes of the Game

The Badgers captured their ninth NCAA title, the most of any school in the country. It also marked UW's fifth NCAA title since 2019.
It marks the first time a team has repeated as the NCAA women's hockey national champion since Clarkson won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
It marked Enright's second point on a game-winning goal in an NCAA title game as she assisted on Kirsten Simms' game-winning goal in the 2023 NCAA Championship.
Lacey Eden won her fourth national championship, the most of any player in program history.
McNaughton became the fourth Badger netminder named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament, joining the likes of Jessie Vetter (2009), Kristen Campbell (2019) and Cami Kronish (2023).
McNaughton was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards.
Wisconsin's 35 wins this year are tied for the fourth-most in program history.

Up Next: Wisconsin will host a welcome home event for the nine-time national champions on Monday night at LaBahn Arena. The event is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. and more information will be released later tonight.