Women's Hockey Sets Program Record with Win No. 21

The No. 6 women’s hockey Buckeyes headed into their final regular season series hoping to rewrite the history books with a program-record twenty-first win. They achieved that goal in authoritative fashion, shutting out Bemidji State, 4-0. While they had the book out, the Bucks amended a few other entries as well.

Bemidji outshot Ohio State in tonight’s opening period, 15-7, but they were no match for All-American goalie Kassidy Sauve. The redshirt junior vehemently denied every Beaver attempt. Her 15 first period saves propelled her past Chelsea Knapp and into the top spot for all-time saves by a Buckeye goalie.

With her 15 saves in the first period @ksauve32 is now the all-time program leader in saves! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/iAeFFMGluC

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioState_WHKY) February 16, 2018

Despite being outshot in the first period, the Bucks led 1-0 at the break. With less than a minute remaining in the opening frame, Tatum Skaggs, nicked the puck from Bemidji, shook loose of the defense, and slid a goal under BSU goalie Lauren Bench. The score was No. 20 on the season for the fabulous freshman. With it, she joined an elite group. Only three other rookies in Buckeye history have achieved the 20 goal mark, Jeni Creary (26), Hokey Langan (25), and Natalie Spooner (21).

And Skaggs wasn’t done. She added tally No. 21 early in the second period, taking advantage of a screen to slip the puck past Bench. Fellow freshman Emma Maltais assisted on the play. The helper brought Maltais’ season point total to 38. This matches the mark of program legend Emma Laaksonen, who posted 38 points as a rookie in 2000-01. The two Emmas are (currently) tied for fifth-most points by a Buckeye freshman.

Julianna Iafallo gave Ohio State a commanding lead in the opening stages of the third period. The senior forward collected another Beaver turnover and buried in the back of Bemidji’s net for a 3-0 advantage. The goal snapped an 11 game goalless skid for the veteran and padded a career-best season point total (21).

Although the Buckeyes owned a healthy lead, the Beavers continued to outshoot them. Sauve came up with several big saves to stymie the visitors. She finished the game with 38 saves and racked up shutout No. 9 on the season. Tonight's blanking broke a tie between Sauve and April Stojack (2000-01). The Whitby Whitewash now reigns supreme with the most shutouts by a Buckeye goaltender in a single season. 

Bemidji rolled the dice in the final frame. Already on a power play, the Beavers pulled Bench for the extra attacker. It didn't pan out. Iafallo delivered a long distance bomb into the empty net.

With the win, the Buckeyes improve to a school-record 21-8-4 overall. "We tried not to talk about the wins record too much, but we all knew what was at stake tonight,” head coach Nadine Muzerall said. The Bucks are 14-5-4-3 in the WCHA and have clinched a second place conference finish. This is also a program-best mark. The will host Minnesota State in the first round of the WCHA tournament next week.

Muzerall was quick to point out that OSU's work doesn't end with the wins record. "Getting the record is nice, but we still have to come out tomorrow and play our game. We’re in a good place heading into the playoffs, but we have to work hard to stay in that good place." 

Tomorrow's regular season finale gets underway at 3pm ET. The Buckeyes will honor their seniors before the contest. If you’re heading out to the game, be sure to arrive early for those ceremonies. 

• Check out tonight's official boxscore and highlights from OSU.
• Other WCHA results: Duluth shut out Minnesota State, 2-0. Wisconsin rallied to down Minnesota, 4-3. St. Cloud is off, having completed its regular season slate.
• Updated WCHA standings: Wisconsin 61 points, Ohio State 49, Minnesota 42, Minnesota-Duluth 32, Bemidji State 27, St. Cloud State 23, Minnesota State 9.