Ohio State women’s hockey skated into the WCHA tournament as the second overall seed and a solid favorite over first round opponent seven-seed Minnesota State. Though the teams stand far apart statistically, the Buckeyes and Mavericks’ regular season battles were closely contested affairs. Their postseason match up was expected to bring more of the same but this game belonged to OSU from the start.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
Ohio State faced some adversity right out of the gate. Starting goaltender Kassidy Sauve did not dress for the game (most likely due to the injury she suffered in the regular season finale). Back up netminder Amanda Zeglen stepped into the gap and commanded the Buckeye net in the contest.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Charly Dahlquist (Emma Maltais, Dani Sadek) | 1 | 1:54 |
| Maddy Field (Julianna Iafallo) | 1 | 16:27 |
| PP - Lauren Boyle (Jincy Dunne, Dani Sadek) | 1 | 18:45 |
| Emma Maltais (Jincy Dunne, Charly Dahlquist) | 2 | 1:32 |
| Maddy Field (Lauren Boyle, Dani Sadek) | 3 | 3:34 |
| Maddy Field (Charly Dahlquist) | 3 | 5:51 |
While this was Zeglen’s first postseason appearance, it was her fifth start of the 2017-18. Those previous four starts had all come against the Mavericks so the rookie goaltender was familiar with and ready for the challenge that awaited her. It didn’t hurt that a stellar first period by the Bucks provided Zeglen with plenty of early breathing room.
The Scarlet and Gray ran up a 3-0 lead in the first period thanks goals from three different players. Charly Dahlquist, Maddy Field, and Lauren Boyle all tallied for the Bucks. Ohio State outshot MSU 14-3 in the period.
The Mavs began to assert themselves in the middle frame. Zeglen was soon put to the test but the Calgary, Alberta native stood strong and denied every attempt against her. Despite being outshot 14-5 in the second period, the Buckeyes extended their lead. Emma Maltais netted her fifteenth tally of the season to make it a 4-0 OSU advantage.
Field ran the score up a little more in the third period. The veteran forward posted a pair of goals to finish off the first hat trick of her collegiate career. A 6-0 advantage was wildly in excess of the Bucks' needs. Zeglen and the OSU defense utterly shut down the Mavs. They completely blanked the visitors and locked up a big Game 1 win.
The best-of-three series continues tomorrow at 3pm ET. Ohio State has a chance to close out the series and advance to the conference semifinals. Admission and parking are free. Fans not attending the game can stream it live with a Buckeye Vision subscription.
- The Buckeyes edged the Mavericks in shots, 27-21. Unsurprisingly, Maddy Field was the greatest offensive force for the Bucks with six shots on goal, half of which went in.
- Amanda Zeglen finished the night with a clean slate of 21 saves and her first career shutout.
- Ohio State went 1-for-3 on the power play while holding Minnesota State scoreless in two tries.
- Other WCHA results: Fifth seed Bemidji State knocked off fourth place Minnesota-Duluth, 2-1. Third seed Minnesota downed sixth seed St. Cloud State, 5-1.
