Ohio State women’s hockey welcomed No. 2 Wisconsin to the Ice Rink on Friday for the first of two games. The powerhouse Badgers presented an enormous challenge for the Scarlet and Gray. However the Buckeyes rose to meet that challenge, skating on equal footing for much of the tilt and nearly pulling off a late game rally.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Wisconsin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The teams split puck possession fairly evenly through the first two periods. Open ice was at a premium as both sides worked hard to cover their defensive commitments. A rash of penalties freed the offenses up for stretches early in the first period and midway through the second. Good positioning by goaltenders Stacy Danczak and Ann-Renee Desbiens coupled with solid support by the penalty kill units kept the nets clear.
The play of Danczak was especially notable. The red shirt senior was impressive in her first start for Ohio State since January 3. Only one puck got by her in the opening 40 minutes, and it’s debatable whether the netminder even saw Jenny Ryan’s power play bomb.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorer (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9:13 | Claudia Kepler (Katie Matheny, Maddy Field) |
Wisconsin padded its lead at the 3:54 mark of the third period. The play started with a two-on-one, just the third odd-man chance for the Badgers in the game. The initial rush was thwarted by the Buckeyes but Wisconsin held the zone, moved the puck crisply, and eventually leading scorer Annie Pankowski put it home.
The Badgers were poised to put the game away. They were controlling the pace of the third period. Ohio State had not seen a decent scoring chance since the middle frame.
But the Buckeyes battled back. Incredible hustle by Katie Matheny gave the junior a breath of a step on the Badger defense. She put the space to good use, setting up a wide open Claudia Kepler. Mano a mano with Desbiens, Kepler sniped her twelfth goal of the year.
The goal renewed the energy of both the Bucks and the packed crowd. However Wisconsin’s defenders closed ranks and kept Ohio State well away from Desbiens as the clock ticked down. Last minute penalties added some extra excitement to the Buckeyes’ final push but their comeback attempt would fall a bit short.
The boxscore of this one doesn’t fully reflect how well OSU played. Sure they struggled to generate offense against Wisconsin. Everyone does. Though they only posted 14 shots on goal, a third of those were decent looks. If one of those early opportunities had gotten by Desbiens, this would've been a completely different story.
Defensively Ohio State looked great, even playing with an unexpectedly short bench (see notes below). Wisconsin’s quality chances were fairly limited. As mentioned, Danczak was pretty sharp for a goalie that hadn’t seen game action in over a month. You can really see the team coming together under first year coach Jenny Potter.
The Bucks and Badgers wrap up their series tomorrow afternoon. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 4pm. Admission is free or you can watch online with a Buckeye Vision subscription.
Notes
- Defenseman Bryanna Neuwald left the game in apparent distress early in the first period after she was on the receiving end of a big check.
- With tonight’s goal, Kepler extends her scoring streak to five games.
- Minnesota-Duluth tried to choke away victory this afternoon but, despite surrendering two goals to Minnesota State in the third period, the Bulldogs eked out an overtime win. UMD now leads Ohio State by eight points in the WCHA standings.
