The Drought is Over
Caleb Downs scores Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014.
Friday was one heck of a night for the No. 6 women’s hockey Buckeyes. They rewrote several school records in a big 4-0 win over Bemidji State and secured a program-best second place finish in the WCHA. But the celebrations fizzled out in Saturday's season finale.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bemidji State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The Buckeyes battled Bemidji all day but struggled against the physical, determined visitors. (It’s my fault. I know.)
The Bucks and Beavers dueled through a scoreless opening period. OSU’s all-time saves and shutout leader Kassidy Sauve stopped seven shots. Her counterpart, BSU freshman Kerigan Dowhy, made nine saves.
| Buckeye Goal Scorer (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Maddy Field (Jincy Dunne, Julianna Iafallo) | 2 | 1:05 |
Maddy Field broke the deadlock just over a minute into the second period. She rang up lucky goal No. 13 with assists from Jincy Dunne and Julianna Iafallo. Ohio State was unable to build on this momentum, though.
While behind on the scoreboard, Bemidji began to take control in an increasingly chippy, physical game. The Beavers outshot the Buckeyes 14-5 in the frame. At the 9:04 mark they finally dented the OSU net. Alexis Joyce tallied for the visitors, ending Sauve’s shutout streak at an impressive 144:32.
Bemidji kept the pressure up early in the third period. At the 5:23 mark the Beavers took their first lead of the series. Jacqueline Kaasa notched a power play goal that was reviewed at length but ultimately deemed a legal score.
The Buckeyes tried to rally. They outshot BSU 14-3 over the last 15 minutes of the game and skated the final minute and a half with the extra attacker. But Dowhy came up with some huge saves to preserve Bemidji’s 2-1 edge. The Bucks fell a special-teams goal short in a hard-fought contest.
Ohio State finishes the 2017-18 regular season with an overall record of 21-9-4. The Buckeyes were 14-6-4-3 in WCHA games. They wrap up the year in second place having bested every other team in the conference save Wisconsin.
This wasn’t the finish the Buckeyes wanted but they have no time to dwell on the loss. The WCHA tournament gets underway next week. As champs, the Badgers get a bye, so OSU will host last place finisher Minnesota State in the first round.
The Bucks and Mavericks square off in a best-of-three series. Game 1 will take place on Friday and Game 2 on Saturday. A third game will be played on Sunday if necessary. Game times are yet to be determined.
- Ohio State edged Bemidji 29-27 in shots. Emma Maltais led the Bucks with six.
- With two goals on Friday and an assist today, senior Julianna Iafallo finishes the week with a team-leading three points.
- The Buckeyes were 0-for-3 on the power play today while the Beavers went 1-for-3.
- Other WCHA results: Minnesota-Duluth squeaked by Minnesota State, 3-2. Wisconsin edged Minnesota, 1-0. St. Cloud State finished on a bye week.
- Final WCHA standings: Wisconsin 64, Ohio State 49, Minnesota 42, Minnesota-Duluth 35, Bemidji State 30, St. Cloud State 23, Minnesota State 9.
