Another top team steps up and another top team goes down. Ohio State women’s hockey remains undefeated. The No. 7 Buckeyes picks up a sweep of No. 5/6 Minnesota-Duluth today thanks to big output from their depth scorers and good work from All-American goalie Kassidy Sauve. Here’s how it went down.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5/6 Minnesota-Duluth | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| No. 7 Ohio State | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
The Buckeyes zipped out to an early lead courtesy of their sizzling top line. Emma Maltais deposited the opening goal with a helper from Charly Dahlquist. But Ohio State did not enjoy its lead for long. The Bulldogs’ Sydney Brodt responded a minute later with a game tying tally. The teams continued, neck and neck, until the 8:07 mark of the frame when Naomi Rogge took advantage of a power play and UMD went ahead 2-1.
| Pd | Time | Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:02 | Emma Maltais (Charly Dahlquist) |
| 2 | 7:16 | PP - Julianna Iafallo (Emma Maltais, Maddy Field) |
| 2 | 9:22 | Maddy Field (Kassidy Sauve) |
| 3 | 1:04 | Jacyn Reeves (unassisted) |
OSU’s second line took center stage in the middle period and powered the Buckeyes back to the lead. Julianna Iafallo fired home a power play strike midway through the stanza to tie the game. Then a heads up pass from Sauve led Maddy Field down ice for her second tally of the series. Jacyn Reeves gave the Bucks a two goal cushion just over a minute into the third period.
Duluth swarmed the Buckeye net over the final 20 minutes, outshooting the Bucks 16-6. Rogge narrowed the gap for the Bulldogs with a late extra-attacker goal but that was as close as UMD would come. Kassidy Sauve finished strong. With 15 stops in the period and 31 for the game she preserved Ohio State’s undefeated record.
After the sweeping No. 5/6 Minnesota-Duluth the Buckeyes own a 5-0-1 record overall. They stand atop the WCHA at 3-0-1-1 with all of those results coming against projected top 3 teams. The next national polls might well see the Scarlet and Gray inside the top 5.
Ohio State takes a road trip to St. Cloud State next week. The Buckeyes and Huskies face off in a pair of matinee contests. Friday’s game begins at 4:07 p.m. ET and Saturday’s starts at 3:37 p.m. ET.
