The second-ranked Wisconsin women’s hockey team (27–3–2) entered Friday’s road game with Duluth determined to finish its journey to a third straight WCHA regular-season title.
With defensewoman Mikaela Gardner back in the lineup, albeit not yet at full strength, the Badgers returned to form and cruised to a 5–0 victory. With a magic number of one game, Wisconsin knew all it needed was a win, and it delivered.
But the Badgers didn’t need to wait for the game to end to be crowned WCHA champions.
About halfway through Wisconsin’s second period on Friday, Ohio State handed Wisconsin the title by (shockingly) losing to last-place Minnesota State.