Ohio State women’s hockey wrapped up its series with Penn State this afternoon. Although the Buckeyes started well, they faltered in the middle minutes and were not able to recover. With the loss the team drops to 7-13-0 on the season.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Just as they did yesterday, the Buckeyes drew first blood in this contest. Once again the goal came from the stick of an Ohio State defenseman. Dani Sadek potted her second tally of the year a mere 34 seconds into the game.
The Bucks spent much of the remainder of the frame trying to slog through the Nittany Lions’ layers of defense. They didn’t get many quality shots on net but they did at least record some shots, faring much better than Penn State in that department.
Ohio State finally got some room to operate late in the first. A PSU penalty put the Buckeyes on the first power play of the game. Sadek, again driving the offense, loosed a shot from the blue line. It was tipped in by Melani Moylan, clinging tenaciously to the prime real estate in front of the net.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0:34 | Dani Sadek (Julianna Iafallo, Kendall Curtis) |
| 1 | 16:01 | PP - Melani Moylan (Dani Sadek, Lauren Boyle) |
The first period was near to perfect for the Bucks. They built a decent lead, outshooting Penn State 12-4, and were never shorthanded. They allowed the Nittany Lions no odd man situations and few clear looks. The next period would not be so ideal.
The second period was a special teams battle won decisively by Penn State. It began in the first minute of play with a Buckeye advantage. Ohio State had a golden opportunity to (likely) salt the game away with a third goal. Instead the Nittany Lions thwarted every attempt. They were also energized by the successful kill.
Back at even strength PSU swarmed the Buckeye net. Emily Laurenzi beat OSU netminder Stacy Danczak, drawing Penn State within a goal of the Bucks. The goal was reviewed but deemed good by the officiating crew.
Things quickly moved from bad to worse for Ohio State when Bryanna Neuwald was assessed a roughing penalty on the play. It didn’t take long for the Nittany Lions, buzzing with momentum, to get the OSU defenders moving. With a bit of time and space PSU’s Laura Bowman found the back of the net.
In a little more than a minute’s time, the Buckeye lead had evaporated. As Ohio State struggled to recover, Penn State kept the pressure on. Midway through the period the Nittany Lions struck again. Remi Martin scored a goal nearly identical to PSU’s first.
Again the officials went to the review. Again the goal was allowed. And again the Buckeyes were penalized for roughing on the play.
Ohio State managed to get out of the period with just a single goal deficit. However, the damage had been done. The Bucks spent the final twenty minutes trying to chip away at the PSU defense but the Nittany Lions did an excellent job of locking down their victory.
Obviously, this was not a great result for OSU. The Buckeyes are beat up and short staffed. Still, when a team has a two goal lead you expect it should hold up. The Scarlet and Gray get back to the WCHA schedule next week with a trip to No. 3 Minnesota.
