No one skater on this season’s Ohio State women’s hockey squad has distinguished herself as the Buckeyes’ top offensive threat. The reason for this could be that they’re all offensive threats. Penn State can attest to that.
| goals by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The two teams skated through 18 scoreless, fairly even minutes this afternoon. Then the floodgates opened. The lady Bucks exploded for six goals and completed a series sweep of the Nittany Lions.
Freshman Dani Sadek put the first dent in the PSU net. The goal was the first of the defenseman’s collegiate career. Back-to-back tallies from junior Julia McKinnon and freshman Julianna Iafallo extended the OSU lead to 3-0 in the second period.
McKinnon and Iafallo’s two goals were quick strikes, scored just 33 seconds apart. Iafallo’s score was also the first of her Buckeye career. Senior Danielle Gagne chipped in another second period goal.
Freshman Lauren Spring netted her third of the season in the third period, cashing in on a power play opportunity. Senior Taylor Kuehl capped off the scoring with an even strength marker. The Minnetrista, MN native also dished a pair of assists, making this her third multi-point game of the season.
| pd | time | Buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18:03 | Dani Sadek (Melani Moylan, Kari Schmitt) |
| 2 | 13:02 | Julia McKinnon (Claudia Kepler, Kara Gust) |
| 2 | 13:35 | Julianna Iafallo (Taylor Kuehl) |
| 2 | 17:17 | Danielle Gagne (Taylor Kuehl) |
| 3 | 5:24 | Lauren Spring - PP (Julia McKinnon, Alexa Ranahan) |
| 3 | 6:41 | Taylor Kuehl (Danielle Gagne, Julianna Iafallo) |
Not to be lost in the offensive onslaught was the fact that the Ohio State defenders earned their fifth shutout of the season. Freshman goalie Kassidy Sauve started in net for the Buckeyes, stopping all 22 Penn State shots.
In the course of the series 15 total Buckeyes contributed points. OSU’s nine goals were scored by eight different skaters. Eight players enjoyed multi-point series. Both netminders got into the series and performed well. It would be difficult to script a better post-break series for a team.
Your lady Bucks return to conference action next week, traveling to St. Cloud. Games are currently set for late afternoon on Friday and Saturday.
