A day after playing Minnesota to a draw, OSU women’s hockey faced another game against the No. 2 ranked Golden Gophers. This time around Minnesota displayed the sort of dominance one would expect from a national powerhouse while Ohio State ran out of steam.
The Gophers came out firing. They outshot the Bucks 17-1 in the opening frame. The Scarlet and Gray defense withstood the onslaught for the most part. Only one goal got past freshman goalie Kassidy Sauve.
| goals by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Minnesota added a pair of goals in the middle of the second period, extending the lead to 3-0. Ohio State’s Claudia Kepler spoiled the Gopher shutout early in the final stanza. The goal was the sophomore’s second of the season. She leapfrogs back over Taylor Kuehl for the team lead in points and goals scored.
OSU rallied to put a decent number of shots on net in the third period. The lady Bucks were outshot just 14-12 over the last twenty minutes. However they couldn’t crack the Minnesota defense or Amanda Leveille beyond Kepler’s goal.
Sauve made 41 saves for Ohio State in the loss. The Buckeyes were 0-of-2 on their power play opportunities. The OSU penalty kill held Minnesota to 1-of-2 with the man-advantage.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5:29 | Claudia Kepler (Sara Schmitt) |
The lady Bucks return home next week to host the struggling Minnesota State Mavericks (2-22-1). Games are scheduled for Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
