Wisconsin Badgers forward Laila Edwards is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against Minnesota in the first period of an NCAA women’s Frozen Four semifinal Friday, March 21, 2025, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Badgers claim Gold Medal, back-to-back National Championships weeks apart

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics
By Jarrett Guerrera | Last updated Mar 23, 2026 2:30 PM ET

The Wisconsin Badgers are officially women’s ice hockey National Champions in back-to-back seasons after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Badgers are the champions again and the program now has five titles since 2019 and nine total titles, which is the most in the country. Wisconsin previously repeated in the 2017 and 2018 seasons and the program has once again reached the same level of dominance.

Plenty of story lines have been surrounding the Badgers’ program this season between the Olympics, the dominance of the program even without star players, and the individual success of many skaters.

One such skater who deserves plenty of recognition for her efforts is fifth year forward Lacey Eden. The forward won her fourth championship this season, which is the most out of any player in program history, and Eden was a major contributor in each championship. Eden recorded a career-high 77 points, 48 assists, and 29 goals this season that included five game-winning goals and an additional three short-handed goals.

The success of Eden has been evident for quite some time, with three-straight seasons of 50 or more points, but the win would not be possible without United States Olympic Gold Medalists Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey.

Edwards and Harvey were part of an exciting gold medal winning team that consisted of six current and former Wisconsin hockey players. Harvey earned Olympic MVP honors after scoring two goals and notching seven assists in seven games. The duo, in addition to multiple other current players, traveled to represent their countries in the middle of the collegiate season and returned to finish the job.

Harvey finished second this season on the Badgers in points with 64 (18 G, 46 A) while tying Cassie Hall for the most game-winning goals with six. Edwards recorded 45 points for Wisconsin while playing in just 28 games for the team this season.

While the Badgers are expected to lose almost the entire heart of the team with departures from Eden, Edwards, Harvey, and Kirsten Simms, the future is still bright in Madison. Forward Kelly Gorbatenko finished the season in fourth on the team with 50 points and will be one of the brightest returning players. The Badgers will additionally return notable contributors like Hall, Adela Sapovalivova, and Maggie Scannell.

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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