Ohio State women’s hockey’s bid for a second conference championship this season ended with a lopsided loss.

The top-ranked Buckeyes were routed by No. 2 Wisconsin, 6-3, in the WCHA Final Faceoff final.

Ohio State fell into an early 2-0 hole as the Badgers scored on two of their first three shots on goal. Kirsten Simms got a shot past Ohio State goaltender Raygan Kirk on Wisconsin’s first shot on goal of the game, and Laila Edwards followed that up with another Wisconsin goal just over three minutes later.

The Buckeyes got on the board just one minute and 17 seconds into the second period when Jocelyn Amos slipped a shot past Wisconsin goalie Ava McNaughton. The Badgers retook a two-goal lead less than four minutes later, however, when Edwards took advantage of the game’s first power play to score her second goal of the game.

Wisconsin took a commanding 4-1 lead on a Casey O’Brien goal just two minutes and 30 seconds later. Britta Curl extended the Badgers’ lead to 5-1 before the end of the second period with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway. O’Brien scored her second goal less than two minutes into the third period to give the Badgers a five-goal lead.

Ohio State’s Hannah Bilka made the final score look more respectable by scoring two goals in the game’s final five minutes, but it was too little, too late for the Buckeyes, who suffered their first three-goal loss since a 5-2 loss to Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 3, 2021.

Despite Saturday’s result, Ohio State – who won the WCHA regular-season conference championship for the second year in a row – is still in position to be one of the top three seeds in the NCAA Tournament with a 32-4 record this season. As such, the Buckeyes will receive a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game at the OSU Ice Rink next weekend (date and time TBA).

The NCAA women’s hockey championship bracket will be unveiled at noon Sunday on ESPNews.