Ohio State gets revenge, beats Wisconsin to win second NCAA Women’s Hockey Championship

DURHAM, NH — 1-0. That was the final score when the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Hockey National Championship Game.

The Buckeyes had to wait 371 days, but they got revenge on their WCHA rivals on Sunday, beating the Badgers, 1-0, to win the program’s second national title.

Just like last year in Duluth, it was an intense battle. Neither team wanted to make a mistake early, with the play ramping up in the second period. Wisconsin outshot Ohio State in the middle stanza, with both the Badgers’ Ava McNaughton and the Buckeyes’ Raygan Kirk being forced to make some big saves, but it was still anyone’s game heading into the final minutes of regulation.

With overtime in sight, the best freshman in the country this season stepped up. Ohio State’s Joy Dunne, the NCAA Rookie of the Year, beat McNaughton with a great shot with just over seven minutes to go in regulation. It was the O’Fallon, Missouri native’s team-leading 24th goal of the season.

It ended up being enough, as the Buckeye defense helped their goaltender by coming up with some key shot blocks and clearances in the closing moments, helping secure the win.

Buckeyes head coach Nadine Muzerall, who took the program from irrelevance to excellence since taking over in 2016, said this year’s win was surreal.

“To see how far this program has come over the years,” Muzerall explained to ESPN’s Dana Boyle immediately following the win. “It’s just inspirational, I hope, for any girl who wants to be a Buckeye. For all the hard work these young ladies did over the entire season, I’m just so proud of them.”

For Muzerall, it came as no surprise that Dunne was the one who scored the game-winner.

“Absolute clutch, but under composure with that type of pressure as a freshman…the future is so bright for her. When you need a goal, she’s the one you want to have the puck on her stick.”

Dunne, who ended the season tied for sixth in the NCAA in goals, says this OSU team deserved the championship.

“This was a team that was great from the start,” Dunne said. “We knew what the goal was, and we did it. This is a team effort as you can see, just super excited.”

Kirk, who made 26 saves, posted the seventh shutout in championship game history. After stopping 17 of 18 in the national semifinal against Clarkson, the former Robert Morris star was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.