You can tell just from the sound of her voice that Wisconsin hockey superstar Caroline Harvey is tired.
And it makes sense. The Olympic gold medalist is emerging from a whirlwind winter, returning to school mired in both euphoria and fatigue after winning Most Outstanding Player for her part in Team USA's triumphant run.
But Harvey also wouldn't trade this moment for the world, she told JWS earlier this month, as she pivots from Olympic glory to a task much closer to home: winning Wisconsin their second straight national championship in her final few games as a Badger.
"Wisconsin hockey, we have the best fans in the nation," Harvey said, speaking from the school's training facility. "We've got a lot of support, and we have the best team on staff, best teammates. We're firing on all cylinders — no better time than now."
Of course, Harvey's squad is excited to have their on-ice sniper back. Known as "KK" to her teammates, the 23-year-old served as one of just six active NCAA players on the US Olympic squad, joining fellow Badgers Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms, and Ava McNaughton, as well as Ohio State standout Joy Dunne, and Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy.
And there was no rest for the weary. The NCAA season continued while its stars were overseas, leaving the young US core to balance Olympic stardom, schoolwork, and keeping track of the competition back home even as they took care of business in Milan.
From NIL Deals to Championship Goals
Now firmly in the postseason, Harvey and Wisconsin teammate Lacey Eden somehow have even more to balance, fielding NIL opportunities stemming from hockey's growing popularity while carrying the torch for the NCAA's No. 1 team. They recently featured in UScellular's "Better Together" campaign, raising women's college hockey's profile to new heights.
"UScellular took the time to get to know us as people, and formatted this campaign around our interests and how we interact with each other — our playful, fun energy," Eden said. "They really brought this idea of our relationship to life."
"It truly is showcasing our friendship in general, and the connectivity we have," Harvey echoed. "That definitely plays into our honest style of play."
Simultaneous Success Across NCAA Hockey's Biggest Stages
While Harvey and her teammates navigated the Olympics, they made sure to stay in close contact with their college teammates back in Madison. Wisconsin prides itself on its women's hockey program, having won four of the last six national championships.
Harvey remembers wishing her her fellow Badgers luck via text before games. And she watched NCAA matches on her phone while in the treatment room in Italy alongside Wisconsin trainer Stefanie Arndt.
"[I was] definitely tuned in and cheering them on from afar," Harvey recalled. "I was missing them more than ever, and I'm just so glad and happy to be reunited with everyone."
Eden stepped up in Harvey's absence, having just missed the cut herself to join the US on the Olympic stage. The Annapolis native climbed the scoring leaderboard with 75 points on the year, fueling Wisconsin to the top of the regular-season WCHA standings. Both seniors are expected to be top picks in the PWHL draft, making their final weeks together all the more precious.
"I missed her a lot over the last month. But you knew she'd step up the way she did," Harvey said of Eden. "She already had been having a phenomenal season. But then to elevate it even more — [I'm] just so impressed with her play."
"Her leadership too, that's been a huge thing," she added. "She already was a leader, but even more so now, [after] having to literally put the team on her back."
Between academics with hockey, Eden had a bit of a harder time keeping up with her friend's international breakout. But she made sure to go watch the highlights every time Harvey and Edwards had a good game — a frequent occurrence.
"That's every little hockey player's dream," Eden said, smiling with pride. "To go to the Olympics, win a gold medal, and then on top of it, be the MVP. It's just insane."
"It means a lot for the sport in general," she continued. "And just shows what Wisconsin can produce, and has been producing for many years."
One Last Frozen Four Dream with Wisconsin
The time apart wasn't always easy on the Wisconsin duo. Now, however, they're focused on cultivating their best hockey during this month's NCAA postseason.
"When [Harvey and Edwards] left, that's some of our best players just out of the lineup. It was a lot to navigate," Eden said. "I can't count the number of goals that we've connected on, whether it be KK shooting for a tip for me, or hitting her at the point. It's definitely something really special when you have that dynamic with a teammate."
UScellular tapped into how much fun the two have competing at anything — Eden said that they've had pickleball paddles taken away because things were getting too heated — reflecting their on-ice bond.
"I feel lucky to be out there when she's out there," Harvey said. "She's such a heads-up player, looking for the right play, whether that's passing, shooting or an interchange. It's so exciting."
And they'll need every bit of that creativity at the 2026 Frozen Four, the final two games standing between Wisconsin and another NCAA title. The Badgers fell just short in the conference round, falling 2-1 in the WCHA final against rival Ohio State. But they've got one more shot at raising their level.
A Breakthrough Year for Women's Hockey
No matter how the weekend goes, Eden and Harvey are keenly aware that their NCAA careers are coming to a close. The pros await, with more ways than ever to make a living playing the sport they love. Women's hockey is booming after Team USA's big win in Milan, with off-ice opportunities reaching players at a rapid clip.
"It's so exciting for women's hockey in general, with a lot of eyes and attention being on it," Harvey said. "[I'm] hoping, obviously, it will be sustained and keep growing."
But with Wisconsin hockey entering the heart of the Frozen Four, Harvey and Eden also acknowledge that dreaming about the future can break focus. And they don't want anything messing with their collegiate finale.
"There is a lot of outside noise, and it can be difficult sometimes just to ignore it," Harvey said. "But the best thing to do is just lean on your teammates and stay present, be where you are with them in that moment."
Harvey's star can only rise after this year's Frozen Four. US women's hockey has made a statement, both as Olympic winners and a lightning rod in the polarizing women's sports discourse. And she'll likely need to step up as a national team leader soon, as the veterans inevitably begin to hang up their skates.
"There's going to be opinions, there's going to be people talking, things happening. But what matters is this team," Harvey said.
"It's such a short period of time, but it's going to be so exciting, and we want to be present and enjoy it fully with one another. Because we'll never, ever be the same team again."
Just like their PWHL counterparts, college hockey's Olympic stars will return to the ice on Friday night, when seven members of Team USA will rejoin their NCAA teams to battle through conference tournaments ahead of the national bracket's Selection Sunday on March 8th.
Hoping to kick off their 2025 NCAA title defense with a conference trophy is No. 1 Wisconsin and their four Team USA gold medalists: goaltender Ava McNaughton, forward Kirsten Simms, and defensemen Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey — the 2026 Olympic tournament MVP.
"It's just more so getting the whole group back on the same page," Harvey said of Wisconsin's post-Olympic mindset. "There's a lot of excitement around playoffs now, so this is a time especially when we all naturally come together and we're united for a common goal, and we know that's winning a couple championships."
The Badgers, however, have other Olympic teammates standing in their way, with USA forwards Joy Dunne's No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and Abbey Murphy's No. 4 Minnesota Golden Gophers also vying for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) crown.
Meanwhile, the seventh collegiate reigning Olympic gold medalist will be skating toward the 2026 Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) trophy, as forward Tessa Janecke helps her No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions hunt a fourth straight conference tournament title.
College hockey's five Division I conference tournaments — which also include the New England Hockey Alliance, Hockey East Association, and ECAC Hockey — run through next week, with the puck dropping on all five championship games on Friday, March 7th, before the NCAA tournament kicks off on March 12th.
How to watch US Olympic stars on this weekend's NCAA hockey ice
WCHA's best-of-three quarterfinals take center stage this weekend, with No. 2 Ohio State taking on St. Thomas starting at 6 PM ET on Friday before No. 1 Wisconsin faces Bemidji State and No. 4 Minnesota plays St. Cloud State at 7 PM ET.
Elsewhere, after earning a bye through to the best-of-three AHA semifinals, top-seeded No. 3 Penn State will take on Syracuse for this weekend's series, which also begins at 6 PM ET on Friday.
All games featuring the Top 4 teams will air live on B1G+.
Team USA returns to the ice to take on host nation Italy in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, when the US will look to further one of the most dominant runs in Olympic hockey history.
USA Hockey has outscored opponents 20-1 through their first four games — including Tuesday's historic 5-0 shutout win over defending champion Canada — clinching top seeding with a tournament-leading +19 goal differential.
University of Wisconsin defenseman Caroline Harvey leads the team with seven points, while University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy and Seattle Torrent forwards Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight — Team USA's captain — trail close behind with five points each.
Meanwhile, after netting a 2-2 round-robin record in Group B, No. 8-seed Italy will be skating in their first-ever Olympic women's hockey quarterfinals — doing so in the team's second-ever Winter Games appearance after also hosting in 2006.
Center Kristin Della Rovere leads Italy with four points (two goals and two assists), though 19-year-old Penn State University freshman Matilde Fantin tops the team's scoring with three goals so far — including two in Italy's 3-2 win over Japan on Monday.
Notably, Italy approaches its first-ever hockey clash with Team USA armed with several Canadian-born players, including Della Rovere and 2014 and 2018 Team Canada gold medalist Laura Fortino.
How to watch USA vs. Italy in their 2026 Winter Olympics quarterfinal
The puck drops on Team USA's quarterfinal clash with Italy at 3:10 PM ET on Friday, airing live on USA Network.
PWHL players made their voices heard this week, as The Athletic published the results of the third-year league's first-ever anonymous player poll on Wednesday, surveying athletes on everything from the best trash-talkers to which nation's team will win Olympic gold at next month's 2026 Winter Games.
Leading the poll's individual accolades is 34-year-old Team Canada and Montréal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin, dubbed the PWHL's best player by 80% of respondents.
Poulin's Team USA counterpart, Seattle Torrent forward Hilary Knight, snagged second as each standout prepares for a fifth career Olympic run.
As for who will win gold in Italy, all but one player predicted a Canada vs. USA Olympic Final, with a 50/50 split on the eventual victor.
Athletes also answered overarching questions about the growing league in the player poll, with Detroit earning the most nods as a PWHL expansion city — though Denver and Chicago also scored double-digit votes.
As for the future face of the league, current New York Sirens forward and 2024 PWHL No. 1 draftee Sarah Fillier narrowly edged out current University of Wisconsin senior and Team USA Olympic defender Caroline Harvey in the players' poll.
Toronto Sceptres forward Emma Maltais beat out Montréal's Abby Roque by one vote for the title of top PWHL trash-talker, though most players tapped her for quantity over quality — an assessment Maltais herself agrees with.
"I'm not trash-talking," clarified the 26-year-old Canadian. "I'm just yapping."
After a dominant group-stage run to advance to the quarterfinals, Team USA will take the ice for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship knockout rounds on Thursday.
Winning all four games so far — including a 2-1 victory over reigning champs Canada on Sunday — the Group A victors join Group B winners Sweden as the tournament's only remaining undefeated teams.
After taking silver in last year's edition, Team USA is well on their way to avenging their runners-up status — with the possibility of squaring off against their North American rivals once again in Sunday’s final starting to take shape.
First, however, the US must take down Germany in their Thursday quarterfinal to claim a spot in Saturday's semis.
Other quarterfinal matchups include Finland battling Sweden, Canada going up against Japan, and host nation Czechia taking on Switzerland.
Knight adds another World Championship record to her resume
Helping buoy Team USA's momentum is veteran star Hilary Knight, who made tournament history on Tuesday.
With three assists in the USA's 5-0 win over Switzerland, Knight claimed the all-time IIHF Women's World Championship assist record with 50 total tournament assists, surpassing Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser's previous mark of 49.
The 35-year-old forward adds the assist record to an already stellar IIHF World Championship resume.
Her 14 medals — nine of them gold — make Knight the tournament's most decorated athlete of all time. Stepping onto Tuesday's ice, her 67 goals and 117 points across her now-15 World Championship editions already made Knight the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer and points-leader.
The USA icon's six points throughout the 2025 competition have her trailing just Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin's eight points.
"A lot has been said [about Knight’s career], but she is just phenomenal, not only as a player but a human being," said defender Caroline Harvey after Knight's record-breaking performance on Tuesday.
"She leads this team, and she's leaving a lasting impact for years and years to come."
How to watch Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship
Team USA will take the ice for their quarterfinal against Germany at 7:30 AM ET on Thursday, with live coverage on the NHL Network.
U.S. hockey player Abbey Murphy entered the IIHF history books on Friday.
Murphy, 20, scored just seven seconds into the United States’ group play win over Switzerland at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Brampton, Ontario.
After Abby Roque won the opening faceoff for the U.S., Murphy skated by two Swiss defenders and managed to get a wide angle shot past Swiss goalie Saskia Maurer.
The previous record for fastest goal in an IIHF Women’s World Championship game was 13 seconds, set by Germany’s Maren Valenti in a consolation round game against Switzerland on April 17, 1994.
A game of records! @usahockey 's Abbey Murphy set a new record for fastest goal scored in a #WomensWorlds game, plus @swissIceHockey scored their first goal against USA in 13 years!
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) April 8, 2023
Big moments, worth the re-watch. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/6fraoCZBCq
Murphy, a member of the 2022 silver-medal winning U.S. Olympic team, just concluded her sophomore season at the University of Minnesota. She made her senior world championship debut in 2021, but was cut from the U.S. roster ahead of last summer’s world championship tournament in Denmark.
All told, eight different American players scored in the 9-1 victory over Switzerland: Caroline Harvey (2), Murphy, Hannah Bilka, Becca Gilmore, Abby Roque, Amanda Kessel, Cayla Barnes, and Gabrielle Hughes. For both Hughes and Gilmore, it marked their first goals as members of the U.S. senior national team.
Rahel Enzler, a junior at the University of Maine, scored Switzerland’s lone goal. It was the first time Switzerland scored against the U.S. women’s hockey team in world championship competition since April 6, 2008.
Also on Friday at Women’s Hockey Worlds, Canadian living legend Marie Philip-Poulin scored her 100th and 101st career goals during her team’s 5-1 win over Czechia.
The U.S. and Canada are both 2-0-0 in group play and are likely to meet twice during the world championship tournament (in the final game of group play and then again in the knockout round). Canada is aiming to win its third straight world championship title in Brampton.
Wisconsin freshman Caroline Harvey scored a clutch overtime winner in Friday night’s Frozen Four semifinal against the University of Minnesota to send the Badgers to Sunday’s NCAA women’s hockey championship game.
“Honestly, I blacked out, but it was pretty crazy,” Harvey said of her game-winner at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota.
Harvey, 20, deferred her freshman year at Wisconsin in order to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she was the youngest member of the silver medal-winning U.S. hockey team. On Thursday, the New Hampshire native became just the second Wisconsin freshman to earn All-America honors.
Caroline came in CLUTCH!#WFrozenFour || #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/IB4dH0uP6f
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 18, 2023
Friday’s NCAA semifinal marked the sixth meeting between Minnesota and Wisconsin this season and was the third determined in overtime, with two other games ending in a tie.
Minnesota took the early lead after 2022 Patty Kazmaier winner Taylor Heise scored just over three minutes into the game. In the third period, Wisconsin scored two goals in 57 seconds with tallies from Laila Edwards and Sophie Shirley. After pulling goalie Skylar Vetter for an extra attacker, Minnesota forced overtime with 1:11 remaining in regulation thanks to a goal from Madeline Weathington.
In Friday’s other NCAA hockey semifinal, Ohio State defeated Northeastern 3-0. Ohio State enters Sunday’s championship aiming to defend its 2022 NCAA title, while Wisconsin could break the record for most NCAA titles in women’s hockey. The Badgers are currently tied with Minnesota at six titles each.
Sunday’s NCAA hockey championship game between Ohio State and Wisconsin will air on ESPNU (4 p.m. ET).