Wisconsin women’s hockey won its sixth NCAA championship, and it all boiled down to one of the wildest endings of a hockey game you have ever seen.
The Badgers faced the Northeast for the national championship on Saturday, exchanging goals to force overtime for the fourth time in the history of the Women’s Frozen Four. After a few minutes of comings and goings, Wisconsin scorer Daryl Watts took the puck behind the goal, without many options in front of him.
All five northeastern players were grouped around the goal, ready to cover the two Badgers at the shooting range. So Watts did something unexpected. She called the bank and the result was a title:
It is necessary to feel the victim of the shooting on the bench, the northeastern defender Megan Carter, who immediately collapsed when he saw where the puck had fallen.
Incredibly, Watts said that she really intended to lean on the shot. During a sudden death overtime.
“To be honest with you, my mind is a little confused now, but I’m sure [Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel] I was crazy and I thought I could afford it, “Watts told ESPNU after the game. She didn’t even know that her shot came from Carter and not Frankel until she spoke to reporters later:
How unbelievable was that Watts goal? She didn’t even see how it happened. Daryl’s reaction to @ToddMilewski letting her know that a defender won for the Badgers is one of the best things you’ll see today. pic.twitter.com/CXJ974YkAU
– George Balekji (@GeorgeBalekji) March 21, 2021
Whether the shot was intentional or not, he counted the same way. The national title is Wisconsin’s second in three years, with a chance of three bogs lost due to the cancellation of last year’s Frozen Four due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Badgers were in second place in the country at the end of last year, behind Cornell only.
Consecutive technical titles put Wisconsin in a draw with rival Minnesota in most Frozen Four championships, with both currently six positions. Coach Mark Johnson, known as a member of the Miracle on Ice team, also now has the highest number of titles in the history of women’s hockey, with six.
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