The 2026 National Championship win for the Wisconsin Badgers wasn't easy. The team was coming off a previous loss to Ohio State in the WHCA Championship and wasn't able to find its footing early on but ultimately clenched a 3-2 victory.

For Mark Johnson, this Wisconsin season would not have been possible without Lacey Eden. The senior was one of the last cuts from the Olympic roster this year and carried the Badgers through February without four of its biggest stars. 

"There's an example of somebody that has had to face some really, really difficult challenges and adversity in a young person's life. She was the last person cut four years ago and put everything into it to make sure that she was going to make this year's Olympic team and you know, didn't get that call," he said. 

The fifth-year leads the nation with 77 points, including an assist on the game-opener by Kelly Gorbatenko. 

"She's done something special even though something hurt not too long ago," Johnson said. 

Claire Enright, a senior who was nearly put on medical redshirt, was who came up with the game-winning goal with seven minutes to go. "Two and a half, three years ago, we didn't know if she was going to play hockey again," Johnson said. 

When Johnson hugged her at the end of the game, he told her, "You probably don't realize it yet, but you scored the game-winning goal at the National Championship game."

Enright has picked up more weight this season, notching nine goals and 11 assists. Johnson thinks she has the most "hockey sense" of anyone on the team. 

"With all the players we have, you know, her hockey IQ is probably the highest among our team. She understands the game whether she has the puck or she doesn't have the puck," Johnson said. 

Nadine Muzerall was clear in her sign-off after the press conference.

"I think the future are the Buckeyes. You can write that down," she said.

While Ohio State found itself once again coming up empty for the National Championship, the team is filled with young stars who are bought into the Buckeye brand. 

Muzerall signed a five-year extension to stay in Columbus, days after it was floated that she might move on to her alma mater, Minnesota. She spoke on her pride at helping make Ohio State a program people cheered for, and against. 

"I think it says a lot when people don't like you either. Even those that weren't showing up to cheer for us, those that show up to cheer against you, I think is a compliment as well," she said. 

While it was Emma Peschel's final game in the NCAA, the two Buckeye goals were from junior Jocelyn Amos and freshman Kassidy Carmichael. Freshman Hilda Svensson and junior Joy Dunne also notched assists in the game. While Wisconsin will graduate many of its stars, Muzerall's Ohio State is focused on making next year its best. 

Perhaps one of the most anticipated results of the end of the 2025-26 season was the eventual last game from Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms, the triple threat from Wisconsin. The seniors have become faces of women's hockey after their gold medal run in Milan and the National Championship sealed the deal on an unbeatable collegiate egacy. For Johnson, it's not just about what they do on the ice, it's their commitment to growing the game. 

"Their time is precious as they have to go to class, they have to take tests, they have to practice, they have to play games and then their willingness to take that extra step knowing that people want their autographs and want pictures and want to interview them," Johnson said. "They do it with a smile on their face and that's what impresses me most."

Harvey became the third defender to win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award on March 21. It capped an unbeatable year in awards, stats and wins. She wants to be remembered as the person she is off the ice as well.

"It's not about what's going on on the ice, it's about the person you are and the way you carry yourself. I hope I've touched people in that aspect and people remember me for that," Harvey said.