St. Paul, Minn. - The top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers advanced to the 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff Championship after a 7-2 defeat of Minnesota State in the semifinal game. This marks the third-straight championship appearance for the Badgers and 17th in program history. 


#1 Wisconsin 7, #4 Minnesota State 2 | BOX SCORE
    Caroline Harvey lit the lamp with less than two minutes left in the first period to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead heading into the second. Wisconsin then scored three straight goals in the first nine minutes of the second period courtesy of Kirsten Simms, Kelly Gorbatenko, and Adéla Šapovalivová. Sophie Stramel responded for Minnesota State at the 12:33 mark to pull the Mavericks within three, but Simms responded with her second goal of the period to make it 5-1 heading into the final frame. Gorbatenko opened the third period, scoring 38 seconds in, while Maggie Scannell added one for the Badgers less than six minutes later. Lauren Goldsworthy scored the game's final goal for the 7-2 final. 


The top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers will face the winner of the day's second semifinal contest between #2 Ohio State and #3 Minnesota on Saturday, March 7th at 2:02 p.m. CT in the 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff Championship. 


For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league online at WCHA.com and follow @WCHA_WHockey on X, Instagram, and Facebook.