MADISON — Defending National Champions Wisconsin have advanced to their 15th Frozen Four in program history with a 4-0 win over St. Lawrence Saturday afternoon in Madison.
Casey O’Brien won the opening faceoff and then scored 16 seconds later to give the Badgers an immediate 1-0 lead. It was a group effort from the Badgers’ top line as Laila Edwards poke-checked the puck, Kirsten Simms quickly flipped to O’Brien, who was alone in front of the net and did not miss.
Maddie Wheeler chased down a puck that was rung round the back boards and tipped it to Laney Potter at the blue line. Potter walked the puck into the space in front of her before unloading a shot that Sarah Wozniewicz tipped and redirected into the net to give Wisconsin the 2-0 lead.
Wisconsin looked like they extended the lead three minutes later when Wozniewicz tipped in a laser of a shot from distance by Anna Wilgren, but St. Lawrence challenged they goal and it was disallowed for goalie interference as Kelly Gorbatenko made contact as she moved across the top of the crease.
But the Badgers weren’t going to be stopped. Laila Edwards put the third goal back on the board just 37 seconds later as Laney Potter picked up a puck in the neutral zone and fed it to Simms to carry into the zone. Edwards was coming through the middle and Simms hit her in stride so she was in alone on Nordström, who she beat with a backhander.
Just three minutes after that, Edwards scored her second of the game as Nordström made two great saves, but the second one bounced right to Edwards, who scored to make it 4-0 and put the game out of reach for the Saints.
The Badgers will face Colgate in the national semifinal on Friday. Wisconsin defeated the Raiders 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals last season. Colgate defeated the Badgers 4-3 in double overtime in 2018 in the national semifinal. The Raiders advanced after defeating Cornell 3-1 earlier in the day.
This story will be updated with player and coach quotes.
