How Wisconsin women's hockey clinched 4th-straight Frozen 4

Madison, WI — After failing to capture a third-straight WCHA Tournament title, Wisconsin women's hockey rebounded in its NCAA Tournament opener. After enjoying a first-round bye to the regional final, the Wisconsin Badgers earned a decisive victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats and advanced to the Frozen Four.

No. 2 Wisconsin (32-4-2, 23-3-2 WCHA) secured its fourth-straight trip to the national semifinal by defeating ECAC Tournament champion No. 7 Quinnipiac (29-8-3, 14-6-2 ECAC) 6-0. The Badgers got off on the right foot, scoring 2:33 into the game and never relented.

"My big thing was, you know, can we come out and play with some energy, which we were able to do, and then, you know, through that, can you create enough chances maybe score in the first five minutes?," UW head coach Mark Johnson said of his team's performance at the game's outset. "And if you're able to do that, it just, it'll settle the team down that scores, and maybe put the other team on their heels a little bit."

"That's a really strong Wisconsin team," Quinnipiac head coach Cassandra Turner said. "You know, they—I think they put a great game on the ice, and unfortunately, we just couldn't bounce back today."

First Star: Kelly Gorbatenko

A little patience on this pass from Lacey Eden gives the Badgers the first lead of the day!

Assists: Lacey Eden, Cassie Hall

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— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 14, 2026

Badgers winger Kelly Gorbatenko bookended the game with that goal less than three minutes in, and by scoring another with under three minutes remaining in regulation. Between the opening and closing moments of the contest, she added another goal in the second period to record her second hat trick in three weeks.

"I listened to coach. He tells me to shoot the puck, and, you know, good things happen when you do," Gorbatenko said after recording a game-high eight shots on goal. "So it was nice to kind of just get this—get the first one and just kind of help the team get going. But you know, that's not really like the most important thing right now, it's winning games."

With her game-high three-point performance, Gorbatenko has now reached 100 career points. The Barrington, Illinois native is three goals shy of the first 30-goal season of her career and three points shy of the first 47-point season of her career.

Second Star: Kirsten Simms

Get SIMMY 🚨

Kirsten Simms nets the second goal of Period 1, assisted by Edwards and Harvey

... think we've seen this trio in action a few times! 😉#NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPN+ / @BadgerWHockey pic.twitter.com/V6UqJU6BEH
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Johnson added that scoring one early goal and putting the Bobcats on their heels could help the Badgers "maybe sneak a second one through that period." That is exactly what Wisconsin women's hockey did.

When QU defender Zoe Uens went to the penalty box for interference in the closing minutes of the first period, it gave UW a chance to double its lead. Wisconsin quickly converted on that chance by winning a faceoff and with a goal by Kirsten Simms just 13 seconds into the power-play.

The Badgers boast the nation's most-effective power play, converting on 34.71% of opportunities on the advantage, but it was UW winning a timely faceoff that proved crucial in generating its 2-0 lead. One week after Wisconsin struggled on the draw in the conference tournament title game, it won over 60% of its faceoffs against Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Simms added an assist on Adéla Šapovalivová's second-period goal for a two-point outing.

Third Star: Ava McNaughton

Wisconsin women's hockey goalie Ava McNaughton — Wisconsin Badgers goaltender Ava McNaughton (30) pulls in the puck against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second period in a game Thursday, January 2, 2025, at LaBahn Arena in Madison, Wisconsin. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin women's hockey goaltender Ava McNaughton backstopped the 17-save shutout victory. The junior recorded her second shutout performance in the NCAA Tournament of her career.

UW's forecheck prevented QU from earning high-quality scoring chances in front of McNaughton. Quinnipiac boasted the nation's leading goal-scorer in forward Kahlen Lamarche, but the Bobcats' offensive strategy was frustrated by the Badgers throughout the day.

"We wanted to be able to make plays to get in behind their defenseman," Turner said of her team's offensive plans. "You know, they've given up holes like that throughout the season, and we made some plays we just didn't finish."