DULUTH, Minn. – One day after Wisconsin women’s hockey freshman earns second-team All-America honors Caroline Harvey showed the country why when she scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lead UW to a 3-2 victory over Minnesota in the semifinals of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four on Friday night at AMSOIL Arena.
The second Wisconsin (28-10-2) freshman ever to earn All-America honors, Harvey topped Minnesota (30-6-3) netminder Skylar Vetter 3:13 into overtime to lift UW to its ninth NCAA title. appearance of the game.
The Gophers grabbed the lead just 3:23 into the game and took a 1-0 lead into the first period.
The Badgers dominated most of the second period, outscoring the Golden Gophers 17-7, but were unable to find the back of the net.
After a strong second set, Then Edwards got the Badgers on the board just before midway through the third frame Sophie Shirley gave UW the lead less than a minute later.
Minnesota tied the game just 1:11 into the third period to force overtime.
After 16:47 of a back-and-forth overtime, Harvey went from top to bottom and called the game.
Cami Kronish stopped 37 shots he faced for his 20th win of the season and third of the NCAA Tournament.
Straight from the Rink
The head coach Mark Johnson
On a thrilling win against a tough Minnesota team:
“We’re really excited. Great overtime surges, both teams have great chances. We’ve played each other six times and most of the games have been like this in overtime and penalties. It’s because someone makes a play and the goalie saves. Both goalies played very well, congratulations to Minnesota on a great season, they’re a very strong team. We’re happy to play the last game and we’re looking forward to the day off tomorrow before we get the laces tied on Sunday and then go after it.”
For the slow start of the game:
“I don’t know if it was nerves or a little shock after a few minutes of the game, but it got us on our heels. The second media timeout was just about getting the little things back. We have to move our feet and get the puck back into the offensive zone to try to create chances. Already the first and second in between periods, I told the team that we have to play at the level we’re capable of playing at. . We got a little bit of momentum between periods and then we came out in the second period and played pretty well.”
Freshman Caroline Harvey
About the team that broke through in the third set:
“Our team knew we had to score. We kept pressuring them and were so close for so long, so it was time to put one in the net. It happened and we got a few quick goals. Our team has so much fight and so much grit. We knew we were going to back and we’ll get the job done today.”
Senior Cami Kronish
On exterminating gophers in dramatic fashion:
“It’s just about taking it one day at a time. Coach always tells us not to look too far ahead. This is a three-period game, you can’t look too far ahead. It’s because we realize we still have 60 minutes to play . There’s hockey to be played, and it’s not over. We can ride that high tonight, but tomorrow morning it’s a clean slate and we’ve got to go back and make our game plan and focus on what’s to come.”
Three notes of the game
– This was the third time this season that UW and Minnesota went to overtime. UW earlier won a shootout against the Golden Gophers.
– Wisconsin improved to 3-1-2 over the Gophers this season.
– Caroline Harvey scored his second overtime winner of the season in his first against St. Cloud State on the 15th. October 2022.
Next: The Badgers will face Ohio State on Sunday in the NCAA Championship Game at 3pm CT at AMSOIL Arena. Fans can watch the game on ESPNU or listen to the game on 100.9 FM.