Last night the No. 5 women’s hockey Buckeyes dropped a decision to Minnesota State despite heavily out-attempting their hosts. Ohio State kept up the shooting gallery on Saturday but swapped out the results. The Bucks rallied to defeat the Mavericks, 3-2, and tie a program record for single season wins.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Minnesota State | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
At the start, the Buckeyes picked up where they left off in Friday’s game. Saturday’s opening period saw Ohio State outshoot Minnesota State 15-3. The Mavericks only attempted four shots in the first 16 minutes of the contest. The Bucks attempted 29. Amanda Zeglen, making her second start in net this series, kept the OSU net clear. Her counterpart, Chloe Crosby, did the same for the Mavs.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Freiburger (Jincy Dunne) | 2 | 13:48 |
| Charly Dahlquist (Lauren Boyle) | 3 | 2:59 |
| PP - Emma Maltais (Dani Sadek) | 3 | 13:13 |
The action leveled out in the second period. Minnesota State edged the Buckeyes in shots, 10-8. The teams traded power plays in the early stages of the frame. Neither side cashed in, but shortly after the close of the Mavericks’ advantage, just past the halfway mark of the period, Rebekah Kolstad put the Mavs on the board.
Rebecca Freiburger issued an official response for the Scarlet and Gray at the 13:48 mark, burying a set up from Jincy Dunne. The goal was Freiburger’s sixth of the season and her first since tallying in the Buckeyes’ late January sweep of Minnesota.
Ohio State had a chance to take the lead late in the middle frame. The Bucks went on their fourth power play of the game (although a truncated early advantage made it more like 3.25 power plays) with a shade under four minutes to go. But Minnesota State killed it off. Moments later, momentum once again on their side, the Mavericks took a 2-1 lead.
The Buckeyes returned to the ice for the third period absolutely determined, based on the action which followed, not to drop another game in Mankato. Ohio State outshot the Mavericks 16-2 over the final 20 minutes. The Bucks’ top line struck twice.
Three minutes into the period, Charly Dahlquist tied the game at 2-2. Midway through, Emma Maltais broke the OSU power play jinx. She converted the team’s sixth (or fifth and a quarterth) advantage with her fourteenth goal of the season.
Even with the lead secured the Bucks continued to control the game. They didn't get any more rubber past Crosby but they kept Minnesota State too busy to think about rallying. The Mavericks did not register a shot on goal in the final 11 minutes of the game.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall shared her thoughts after the Buckeyes rallied to beat Minnesota State on Saturday #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/hBYLyYjMcH
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioState_WHKY) February 11, 2018
With today's win, Ohio State moves to 20-8-4 overall on the season and 13-5-4-3 in the WCHA. The 20 win mark ties a program record for single season wins set by the 2006-07 Buckeyes. You might remember some of the players from that team. Erika Vanderveer, Erin Keys, Amber Bowman, Tessa Bonhomme, Lisa Chesson? You know, just your garden variety program greats, 100 point players, Olympic medalists, and world champions.
This year’s edition of Bucks looks to take sole possession of the wins record next week when they host Bemidji State (13-15-3, 8-11-2-1 WCHA) in their regular season finale. Games are currently scheduled for 6pm ET Friday and 3pm ET Saturday. Admission and parking are free. Ohio State will honor outgoing seniors Liv Halvorson, Julianna Iafallo, Dani Sadek and Lauren Spring during the series.
- Ohio State outshot Minnesota State 39-15 in the game. Tatum Skaggs and Emma Maltais topped the OSU chart with five each.
- The Bucks blocked 13 shots to the Mavs’ 24. Jincy Dunne (4) and Liv Halvorson (3) led the way.
- Rookie Amanda Zeglen made 13 saves in her fourth career start in net. She is now 3-1-0 all-time.
- Ohio State's power play went 1-for-6 in the contest. The Buckeye penalty kill held MSU 0-for-4.
- Check out the official boxscore here.
- Other WCHA results: St. Cloud sweeps Bemidji State with a 4-1 win. Wisconsin rallies for a shootout win over Duluth. It's a bye week for Minnesota.
- Updated WCHA standings: Wisconsin 58 points, Ohio State 46, Minnesota 42, Minnesota-Duluth, 29, Bemidji State 27, St. Cloud State 23, Minnesota State 9.
