On three previous occasions the Ohio State women’s hockey Bucks have gone toe-to-toe with No. 4 Minnesota. Three times they fell short by a single, third period goal. The Buckeyes had one more shot at the Gophers on Saturday afternoon as the teams skated in their season series finale. The Buckeyes faced an uphill climb, not only because of their tough foe.
| scoring by period | 1 | 2 | 3 | ot | final | so |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 4 Minnesota | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Ohio State dressed just 17 players for the game, two goalies and 15 skaters. The combination of a short bench and a skilled opponent should have added up to a sweep for Minnesota. Instead the Bucks held the Gophers to a single goal, rallied in the third period, and pushed the game to a shootout where they triumphed in seven rounds.
| buckeye goal scorer (assist) | pd | time |
|---|---|---|
| Katie Matheny (Maddy Field) | 3 | 1:27 |
| Dani Sadek | SO | |
| Julianna Iafallo | SO |
Goalies Kassidy Sauve and Emma May dueled through almost 30 scoreless minutes before Minnesota’s Sydney Baldwin found a chink in Sauve’s armor. Shots were nearly even through the first two periods. The Gophers held a slight 20-19 edge.
Minnesota took a decided advantage (14-4) in shots in third period, but the only lamp lit during the frame was the one behind the Gophers’ net. The Bucks’ top line tied things up less than two minutes in. Leading scorer Maddy Field was once again the wizard behind the curtain, setting up Katie Matheny. Field’s assist extends her point streak to six games. Matheny’s goal was her fifth of the season.
The Gophers buzzed the Buckeye net through the remainder of regulation but Sauve was in no mood to be generous. She withstood every Gopher shot in the final frame and rejected another three attempts in the overtime session. The stellar sophomore had only one hiccup in the shootout. Minnesota’s Lee Stecklein nicked Sauve in Round No. 1 but the next six match-ups belonged to the Buckeye goalie.
OSU defender Dani Sadek delivered a swift reponse to Minnesota’s first round strike, evening the shootout at 1-1. Jincy Dunne, Matheny, Breanne Grant, Jacyn Reeves, and Field were denied in their attempts. Julianna Iafallo took the ice in Round No. 7 knowing she could win it with a score. With the game on her stick the junior rose to the challenge and fired home the shootout winning goal.
WATCH: @juls_iafallo's shootout winner in today's 1-1 tie against No. 4 Minnesota#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NXb0ewmh1h
— Ohio State W Hockey (@OhioState_WHKY) January 22, 2017
Ohio State moves to 11-12-3 overall on the season and 5-12-3-1 in the WCHA. The Bucks face another challenge next week with a road trip to No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth. Coach Nadine Muzerall doesn’t think her team will be intimidated by the Bulldogs’ ranking, saying of her squad: “I think beating a seven-time national championship-winning team should give them a little bit of confidence and make them believe in one another.”
