It’s Tuesday. This season that means it’s time to discover which women’s hockey Buckeyes earned conference and/or national honors. Week No. 10 didn’t disappoint. Freshman Emma Maltais is the WCHA Rookie of the Month for the second straight time. After picking up her fifth shutout of the year, Kassidy Sauve is the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week.
| Women's Hockey | 2017-18 Individual Honors | Week |
|---|---|---|
| Tatum Skaggs, Fr. F | WCHA Offensive Player of the Week | No. 1 |
| Emma Maltais, Fr. F | WCHA Offensive Player of the Week | No. 2 |
| Tatum Skaggs, Fr. F | WCHA Rookie of the Week | No. 2 |
| Kassidy Sauve, Jr. G | NCAA First Star of the Week | No. 3 |
| Kassidy Sauve, Jr. G | WCHA Defensive Player of the Week | No. 3 |
| Maddy Field, Jr. F | WCHA Offensive Player of the Week | No. 4 |
| Emma Maltais, Fr. F | WCHA Rookie of the Week | No. 4 |
| Emma Maltais, Fr. F | WCHA Rookie of the Month | No. 5 |
| Lauren Boyle, Jr. D | NCAA Second Star of the Week | No. 7 |
| Lauren Boyle, Jr. D | WCHA Offensive Player of the Week | No. 7 |
| Emma Maltais, Fr. F | WCHA Rookie of the Week | No. 8 |
| Tatum Skaggs, Fr. F | WCHA Rookie of the Week | No. 9 |
| Emma Maltais, Fr. F | WCHA Rookie of the Month | No. 10 |
| Kassidy Sauve, Jr. G | WCHA Defensive Player of the Week | No. 10 |
Resilient Netminder Rewarded
Sauve earns her honor for her part in the Bucks’ four point series against St. Cloud State. The series was not a stellar one for Ohio State. The Buckeyes did not record an outright win. Still, they persevered against a determined Huskies team and continued to prove this year’s squad is one to be reckoned with. Sauve was the foundation of that gutsy effort.
The pride of Whitby, Ontario got off to a rough start on Friday, allowing two goals in the first 13 minutes of the contest. She was lights out from then on. Sauve did not surrender another goal all series, despite the back-to-back overtimes. She didn’t even blink in the shootouts. 117+ minutes of perfect goaltending. Saturday’s shutout was Sauve’s fifth of the season.
Phenomenal Freshman Retains Crown
Maltais recorded nine points in November, three goals and six assists. She registered at least one point in six of Ohio State’s eight games. This includes a five game point streak which rolled over into December. The freshman continues to lead the Buckeyes with 23 points.
No other rookie in the WCHA has more overall points. No other skater has scored more points in WCHA games, period. It’s no surprise, then, that Maltais has won every one of the conference’s Rookie of the Month honors so far. Better luck next month, every other rookie.
Miss any of our action this weekend? We've got you covered with highlights from our series against St. Cloud #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/C9SjetpEUm
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioState_WHKY) December 4, 2017
A Peek at the Week and a Few Slap Shots
The women’s puck Bucks are off until next week’s non-conference confrontation with a tricky Mercyhurst team. The Lakers are 4-10-2 this season but three of their losses came in overtime against top 10 competition. They also recently split a series with No. 9/10 Robert Morris.
There is Buckeye hockey in Columbus this week, though. The men’s team welcomes No. 7 Minnesota to town for a pair of games. Both Friday and Saturday’s tilts will be televised on BTN.
- Junior Lauren Boyle earned an honorable mention for the WCHA’s Defensive Player of the Month.
- Maltais earned honorable mentions for the conference’s Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week.
- A pair of ties did not impress the poll makers. The OSU women drop a bit, from No. 5 to No. 7.
- The men’s hockey Bucks also fell, from No. 11/13 to No. 13/15, after shootout and regulation losses to Penn State.
