The Wisconsin Badgers are women's hockey national champions for the eighth time in history, and it came off the stick of junior winger Kirsten Simms. She not only delivered the penalty shot that sent the game into overtime, but her goal in the extended play gave the Badgers the championship. She was clutch when she needed to be and delivered in the biggest moments.
After the game, she was quoted on the Wisconsin Athletics website with this incredible quote:
""It still hasn't really totally set in with me and at the end of the day I'm just super happy that we're bringing that trophy back to Madison. No matter how the job got done, it got done and we're taking that trophy home with us. This is such an incredible group and that's all I can think about is how talented this group has been from day one and that we were able to get the job done today."Kirsten Simms
The Wisconsin women's hockey team beat the Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Championship
However, the quote that will really make you smile is what she said about taking that penalty shot. With only 18 seconds left, down one goal, the Badgers had an opportunity to equalize. If they don't score, there really isn't enough time to tie it up. The National Championship came down to that goal, and who would be the player to take that pressure and deal with those consequences? Kirsten Simms volunteered.
You can see in this clip that Lacey Eden starts encouraging Simms to take the shot before the hand raise.
— Kedrick Stumbris (@KedrickStumbris) March 24, 2025
Simms could "not really say" taking the shot was "initially my choice. I had everyone on the bench screaming, 'Simms! Simms! You do it!' and so, I was like 'whatever.'" https://t.co/RnxsS9Uzmp
She may have had the incredible quote after the game about bringing the trophy back to Madison, but the "whatever" about taking the penalty show is epic. When Wisconsin's head coach described the event on uwbadgers.com, he said, "A couple players mentioned Kirsten and then the ownership's hers. I'll take it [she said]. Ok [I said]. I looked away, I couldn't even watch."
She not only agreed to take the shot, but she made it and then also gave the Badgers the game-winner. The greatest women's hockey team in history cemented that legacy with the grand finale and the final trophy. 2024-2025 Wisconsin women's hockey are National Champions.