03/20/26 10:01:00
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03/20 21:56 CDT Ohio State and Wisconsin each win at the women's Frozen Four to
set up 4th straight title meeting
Ohio State and Wisconsin each win at the women's Frozen Four to set up 4th
straight title meeting
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) --- Ohio State scored four goals in the final 10
minutes of the first period, and the No. 1 overall seed Buckeyes beat
fifth-seeded Northeastern 5-0 on Friday in the first of two semifinals Friday
night at Pegula Ice Arena.
Ohio State (36-4-0), which set the program's single-season wins record with 36,
advanced to its fifth straight national title game and improved to 14-4 in the
NCAA Tournament and 7-4 in the Frozen Four.
Northeastern (29-9-1) was making its fourth Frozen Four appearance in program
history and first since 2023 when Ohio State defeated the Huskies 3-0. The
Huskies dropped to 5-7-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
Five different players scored for the Buckeyes and 10 players recorded a point.
Joy Dunne, a Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist, scored on a rebound 10 minutes
into the game for her 27th goal of the season. Then Kaia Malachino and Sanni
Vanhanen scored a minute apart for a 3-0 lead.
Emma Peschel beat the first-period buzzer with a slap shot to make it 4-0 and
Sara Swiderski sent a shot from the blue line that deflected into the goal in
the third.
Hailey MacLeod recorded her fifth shutout this season with 15 saves --- five
coming in the first 10 minutes. She ended a breakaway chance five minutes in
and finished the frame with eight saves.
Northeastern goaltender Lisa Jnsson made 37 saves.
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In the other semifinal, Kirsten Simms scored a power-play goal in the opening
minute of overtime to give defending champion Wisconsin a 4-3 win over No. 3
Penn State.
Simms' 100th career goal set up the fourth straight championship matchup
between Wisconsin and Ohio State on Sunday. She scored two dramatic goals in
the national championship game last season --- a game-tying penalty shot with
18 seconds remaining in regulation and the overtime winner --- for Wisconsin's
eighth title.
Tessa Janecke, a Patty Kazmaier top-three finalist, opened the scoring for Penn
State and she scored on a breakaway with 4:59 left in regulation for a 3-all
tie.
Wisconsin (33-4-2) tied it at 2-2 midway through the second period after Laila
Edwards' second goal of the game.
Penn State (33-6-0), which was in the Frozen Four for the first time in program
history, announced a women's Frozen Four attendance record at 5,176.
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AP women's hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
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