After a spectacular regular season run, the women’s hockey Buckeyes are set to host their first WCHA playoff series since 2007. Back then the fourth seeded Bucks faced fifth seed Minnesota State. OSU swept the series with a pair of one-goal victories.
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday | Sunday (if necessary) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 6pm ET | 3pm ET | 3pm ET |
| Online Video | Buckeye Vision ($) | Buckeye Vision ($) | Buckeye Vision ($) |
Fast forward 11 years and the Buckeyes and Mavericks will once again meet in Columbus to decide a first round series. This time, though, Ohio State enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed. Minnesota State is No. 7.
| Team Stats | Minnesota State | Ohio State |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 5-26-1, 3-21-0-0 WCHA | 21-9-4, 14-6-4-3 WCHA |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 1.72 / 3.50 | 2.91 / 2.12 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 9.3% / 76.3% | 16% / 85.8% |
| Points Leader | Brittyn Fleming (19) | Emma Maltais (38) |
| Top Goaltender | Chloe Crosby (3.16/.894) | Kassidy Sauve (1.99/.934) |
The Bucks owned a 3-1-0-0 record vs. the Mavs in the regular season. Though they were the conference’s last place team, Ohio State had its hands full with the Mavericks. OSU back up goalie Amanda Zeglen backstopped the Bucks in all of four of the closely contested matches.
| WCHA First Round (Best-of-Three) |
|---|
| No. 1 Wisconsin (bye) |
| No. 7 Minnesota State vs. No. 2 Ohio State |
| No. 6 St. Cloud State vs. No. 3 Minnesota |
| No. 5 Bemidji State vs. No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth |
Minnesota State enters the WCHA tourney playing its best hockey of the season. In their last six games the Mavs are 2-4-0. Leaving aside late empty-netters, three of their four losses were one-goal affairs. In those last six contests MSU registered 14 goals for an average of 2.33 per game, up nearly a whole goal from its overall in-conference average of 1.54.
Ohio State rides a results rollercoaster into the postseason. The Buckeyes posted both huge wins and puzzling losses in February. Any given weekend might see the team sweep No. 1 Wisconsin...or drop a game to an opponent with only four wins on the year.
The Buckeyes’ flickering offense was one reason for the mixed bag of results. Six times since New Year’s OSU has mustered no more than a single goal in a game. The power play has suffered a similar lack of production. Ohio State is a combined 1-for-22 over the last nine games with the man-advantage.
Fortunately for the Bucks, their top line of Emma Maltais, Charly Dahlquist, and Tatum Skaggs seems to be getting back on track. The trio combined for six points in their last three games.
Another area of concern is the health of Kassidy Sauve. Per Andrew Joseph of The Lantern, she was banged up in the second period of the season finale against Bemidji State. She finished that game like the boss she is. I expect we’ll see her in net to start this series as well, but whether the injury will affect her future performances remains to be seen.
While the Mavericks have stepped up their game lately and the Buckeyes have taken some hits, I still think this is Ohio State’s series to lose. The Bucks have been lights out at home this season (14-2-2) and they have proven that they can take down any opponent in a weekend series. Not even mighty No. 1 Wisconsin is safe from a fired up OSU squad.
What Ohio State lacks is consistency. This is a problem the team can overcome during the course of the weekend with opportunistic scoring and great goaltending. However, if the Buckeyes are going to make a deep playoff run they will need better game-to-game and week-to-week quality than they have displayed recently.
And the Bucks could use a deep playoff run. Late season losses to Minnesota State and Bemidji State have dropped OSU to No. 7 in the PairWise rankings, which mimic the process used by the NCAA tournament selection committee. Where their NCAA chances could previously be rated “probable,” the Bucks’ odds are now more like “possible.” And the Saint Anselm question has suddenly become a very important one for Ohio State.
Olympic Report
Buckeye alum Natalie Spooner and Team Canada put up one heck of a fight but came out on the losing side of the greatest gold medal battle at this year’s Games. She posted two assists in a silver medal effort. In a round about way, Spooner and Team Canada’s victory was thwarted by current Buckeye associate head coach Peter Elander. Monique Lamoureux credited him with creating Jocelyne’s sick shootout winning move.
The Bucks' Scandinavian contingent had a great showing in Pyeongchang. Minttu Tuominen potted a goal and two assists in Team Finland’s bronze medal-winning run. Annie Svedin recorded a goal and an assist for Sweden along with an impressive +8 rating. And Emma Terho (Laaksonen) made headlines as the Buckeye great was elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
- Congratulations to the Buckeyes’ seven WCHA Scholar Athletes: Samantha Bouley, Rebecca Freiburger, Julianna Iafallo, Jacyn Reeves, Kassidy Sauve, Lauren Spring, and Olivia Soares.
- Belated congrats to Sauve for her fifth WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honor this season.
- Read up on the Buckeye men’s regular season finale vs. Wisconsin here.
