The women’s hockey Bucks put up a heck of a fight in their WCHA tournament opener. Ohio State skated a fast and furious tilt against the No. 2 Minnesota Gophers. For more than 30 minutes the teams played to a 0-0 stalemate. OSU goalie Alex LaMere matched Minnesota’s elite netminder, Amanda Leveille, save for save.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 2 Minnesota | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
The Gophers’ points leader, Dani Cameranesi, finally cracked the goose egg at the 11:18 mark of the second period. The Buckeyes rallied. Three minutes later, Maddy Field found the back of the net, evening the score at 1-1.
Amanda Kessel put Minnesota ahead again late in the period. But once again the Buckeyes had an answer. In the first minutes of the third period, Claudia Kepler finished off a Julia McKinnon set up to knot the game at 2-2.
But the Gophers would eventually prevail. Kelly Pannek scored her 22nd goal of the season. Kate Schipper added an insurance marker and Kessel secured the victory with an empty netter.
| pd | time | buckeye goal scorers (assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 14:40 | Maddy Field (unassisted) |
| 3 | 2:23 | Claudia Kepler (Julia McKinnon) |
LaMere stopped 39 shots in the loss. Leveille made 21 saves. Special teams were not much of a factor. Ohio State did not have a power play opportunity in the game. The Buckeyes successfully killed off the Gophers’ one advantage.
The game was a fast paced, physically demanding one. The Bucks battled hard against a supremely talented foe and they did it with their customarily short bench. (Only four defensemen dressed for the Scarlet and Gray tonight.) It’s unfortunate that the results don’t reflect the heart and grit the team displayed.
With the loss, OSU now faces elimination in the best-of-three series. Game 2 is scheduled for a 5pm ET start on Saturday. The contest can be viewed online with a BTN Plus subscription.
Other WCHA results: Wisconsin took care of business against Minnesota State in a 4-0 win. North Dakota did the same, defeating St. Cloud 6-1. The only Game 1 upset came as six seed Minnesota-Duluth torched third seed Bemidji State by a final score of 5-1.
