The thrilling conclusion of the 2024-2025 NCAA women’s hockey season saw the top two teams in the nation once again going head to head in a dramatic national title game. The Ohio State Buckeyes, looking to repeat as national champions, had to battle back this season from losing a troubling amount of talent to graduation. The Wisconsin Badgers, with their high-powered offense, cruised to the postseason with only a single regulation loss. The title game did not disappoint, as viewers were treated to skill, speed, drama, controversy, and ultimately, a game that needed overtime to be decided.
The teams’ rosters tell their own story of the development pathways taken to the highest heights of women’s college hockey. Roughly 75% of the players in the national title game are American, with Canadians representing 23% and Sweden being the only other country represented, with a single player. Of the American players, almost a third hail from Minnesota (11), by far the most-represented state. Among both teams, international experience abounded, with several players having represented their countries at the U18 women’s world championships and on the senior team as well. Buckeye Mira Jungaker, the only Swedish player in the game, has been a part of the senior national team for her country for several years. Wisconsin’s Maggie Scannell captained her USA U18 team to a gold medal in 2024.
For the Minnesota players,most played public high school hockey as well as for select teams like the Whitecaps, Minnesota Select Prospects, and Tradition teams. Ohio State’s Josie St. Martin scored 65 points in 23 games for Stillwater HS last year, Badgers defender Grace Bickett captained her Orono squad in her junior and senior years setting a school record for assists, and fellow Badger Hannah Halverson captained her Edina HS team, scoring 57 points in 31 games last season. There was also some Minnesota private school representation, with Ohio’s Emily Zumwinkel and Emma Peschel from the Breck School and Benilde St. Margaret’s respectively.
Most of the Canadian players represented in this game are from western Canada and Ontario. For the Buckeyes, Coach Muzerall clearly recruited heavily in British Columbia, with five of her players hailing from this province. Most of these players honed their talents at some of the prestigious hockey academies (RINK, Okanagan, Delta) and four of them came up playing for the Greater Vancouver Comets club. Three alumni from Ontario’s highly competitive OWHL played in the final, including Jocelyn Amos from the London Devilettes, Ava Murphy from the Oakville Hornets, and Emma Venusio from the Etobicoke Dolphins.
The big American academy powerhouses, Shattuck St. Mary’s (MN), Bishop Kearney Selects (NY) and NAHA (MA), still dominate these rosters, with a total of 14 players having played for these programs. Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey, a catalyst for much of the play from her team’s blueline, was a standout at both Bishop Kearney and NAHA. Fellow BK alum Laila Edwards showed off her amazing release scoring on the power play. Lacey Eden, a Maryland native who started with the Washington Little Caps before moving on to Pen’s Elite and then Shattuck’s, had two assists in the game, including one on the OT game-winner. Casey O’Brien, this year’s Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Shattuck’s alum, and Massachusetts native, capped off her historic college career with another national title. For American AAA club teams, the Philadelphia Junior Flyers, Chicago Mission, Belle Tire, Pen’s Elite and Little Caesars teams were all represented.
The star of the show had to be Wisconsin’s Kirstin Simms, who tied the game on a penalty shot with just seconds remaining in the game and then scored the title-winning goal in OT. A Michigan native, Simms’ hockey journey began playing tier-one boys hockey at Compuware until U14, when she moved on to Little Caesars and Bishop Kearney. She won a national championship with Little Caesars at the 19U level.
Joy Dunne, who opened the Buckeyes’ scoring with a short-handed breakaway goal, came up in the St. Louis Blues AAA program, dual-rostering with boys and girls teams through U16. The Lady Blues program has produced a number of college players, including all four Dunne sisters (Joy, Jincy, Jessica, and Joy), Buckeye teammate Mackenna Webster, Maddie Rolfes (Wisconsin), Lauren MacInnis (Northeastern), and a host of others at the division one and three levels.
One final bit of analysis from a development angle was the number of transfer players who had taken advantage of the portal to get them to a national championship game. Ohio State skated seven transfer students this year, with Makenna Webster and Maddi Wheeler joining the team from the rival Badgers. Ohio’s Quinn Kuntz made a winning decision going in the opposite direction, swapping teams in favor of Wisconsin.
Frank Mills, Women’s Hockey Scout, Neutral Zone