NCAA Regional Finals Recap: Wisconsin vs. Clarkson

It was an exciting Saturday afternoon in Madison. The NCAA Regional Finals between Wisconsin and Clarkson saw the Badgers defeat the Golden Knights 4-1 on home ice to punch their ticket to the Frozen Four.

The game got off to a hot start, with chances on both ends of the ice. Then Ava Murphy was called for tripping, sending Clarkson to the power play. Before this game, the Golden Knights led the league in power play goals and ranked second behind Wisconsin for power play percentage, so giving Clarkson the player advantage this early was dangerous for the Badgers. Sure enough, Nicole Gosling capitalized, her PPG assisted by Anne Cherkowski and Haley Winn. 

Wisconsin picked up the pace for the rest of the first period, outshooting Clarkson 14 to 4, but they couldn't crack senior goaltender Holly Gruber. The Stevens Point, WI native had a group of supporters at LaBahn Arena, which perhaps powered her impressive performance initially. Unusually, the Badgers also seemed to be struggling with communication and finish, particularly among the top line of Lacey Eden, Casey O’Brien, and Kirsten Simms. When Wisconsin went to the power play with 7:29 remaining in the period, the Golden Knights were able to kill it off. Despite a penalty each, the officials seemed reticent to call bodychecking penalties, allowing for playoff-caliber physicality between the two teams.

After the first intermission, Wisconsin came back raring to go and controlled play for much of the second period. A little over halfway through, Ava Murphy finally got the Badgers on the board. The sophomore defender scored her first NCAA tournament point and goal to tie the game at one apiece, assisted by Casey O’Brien and Kirsten Simms. 

Not too long after, there was a concerning moment for Clarkson when Nicole Gosling blocked a shot from Laila Edwards with her foot and struggled to get off the ice. Luckily for the Golden Knights, their captain and lone goal-scorer returned later in the game. Wisconsin maintained momentum, though, building to a beautiful goal from Kelly Gorbatenko, assisted by Cassie Hall and Laney Potter. The sophomore winger picked up a loose puck and put it in top shelf, giving the Badgers the lead with 2:23 left in the second.

Wisconsin continued to control the start of the third, but Clarkson started to pick up steam. The Golden Knights got a critical power play with a little over ten minutes left in the game when Claire Enright got called for tripping. ECAC Player of the Year and Defender of the Year Haley Winn had a great shot but was blocked by Wisconsin goalie Ava McNaughton. Forward Sena Catterall pounced on the rebound and I nearly thought the goal had gone through, but McNaughton kept the puck out of the net and helped the Badgers survive another tense penalty kill. 

Clarkson continued bringing the offensive pressure until a delayed tripping call on Jenna Smellie sent them to the PK with about five minutes to go. Less than a minute into the Badgers’ power play, Kirsten Simms teed up Laila Edwards for a beautiful one-timer to put Wisconsin up by two, proving just how costly it is to give either of these teams a player advantage. 

The final three and change minutes of the game were a bit chaotic. Clarkson pulled Gruber for an extra attacker, and Wisconsin got an empty net chance but was blocked by Winn. Then the Golden Knights drew a penalty with 2:10 to go and defender Vivian Jungels went to the box for hooking. That left Wisconsin to defend against a six-on-four, with Gruber remaining on the bench. Clarkson put some pucks on McNaughton, but Wisconsin managed to get free for a short-handed attempt on the empty net. Clarkson forward Shelby Laidlaw tripped Lacey Eden just before she buried it, which resulted in a goal being awarded to the Badgers. That brought the final score to 4-1, clinching Wisconsin a spot in their sixteenth Frozen Four. 

Players of Note

Even though Clarkson’s season may be over, goalie Holly Gruber was outstanding for the Golden Knights. Wisconsin is a team that will pepper a netminder with shots, yet Gruber kept out all but three of the Badgers’ shots on her, including plenty of high-danger chances. Her 34 saves in this game is the second-most she’s made all season, beaten only by the 40 she tallied in the ECAC finals against Cornell, another Frozen Four team. Without big saves for Clarkson, Wisconsin could have easily run away with this game. Despite the scoresheet, Gruber played incredibly well for the crowd in her home state.

On the other side of the ice, Kelly Gorbatenko was a more unexpected key player for the Badgers. She scored Wisconsin’s go-ahead goal in beautiful fashion, with a perfectly aimed sharp angle backhand. Beyond the goal, Gorbatenko’s second line helped drive play throughout the game. Especially earlier in the game when the Eden-O’Brien-Simms line looked shakier than usual, it was Gorbatenko, Cassie Hall, and one of Laila Edwards or Sarah Wozniewicz who stepped up. Hall got the assist along with defender Laney Potter on Gorbatenko’s goal, proving the effectiveness of that line as well as Wisconsin’s depth more broadly. 

The win marks the Badgers' 16th appearance in the Frozen Four, tying Minnesota for the most appearances in NCAA tournament history. Appropriately, Wisconsin's next challenge on their way to the national championship will come in the form of their Border Battle rivals on Friday, March 21 (time TBD) for the Frozen Four semi-finals. Wisconsin is 5-0 against the Golden Gophers, most recently defeating them 4-3 to win the WCHA Final Faceoff.