Game. Set. Match. Second seed Ohio State women’s hockey rolled to a 5-2 win over seventh seed Minnesota State. The Buckeyes swept their best-of-three WCHA quarterfinal series, 2-0. For the first time in five years, the Bucks are going to the conference semis.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 6 Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
OSU picked up in Game 2 right where it left off in Game 1. Maddy Field and Emma Maltais racked up a 2-0 Buckeye lead by the first intermission break. Lauren Boyle added another goal in the second period.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Maddy Field (Liz Schepers) | 1 | 6:06 |
| Emma Maltais (Julianna Iafallo, Lauren Boyle) | 1 | 18:55 |
| Lauren Boyle (Tatum Skaggs, Charly Dahlquist) | 2 | 17:21 |
| Maddy Field (unassisted) | 3 | 6:07 |
| EN - Tatum Skaggs (unassisted) | 3 | 19:07 |
As they did last night, the Mavericks cranked up their attack in the middle frame. But, once again, rookie goalie Amanda Zeglen was ready for them. She made 16 saves in the second period alone, yielding only one goal against. Zeglen stopped 29 shots in all and backstopped her fifth victory over Minnesota State.
Field further insured the Buckeye win with a third period tally. The junior forward was practically unstoppable this week. Today’s pair of goals brings her series total to five and her season total to 18. If she collects just one more point this season Field will reach the 30 point mark for the second straight year.
Tatum Skaggs sealed the deal with an empty net goal in the final minute. Ohio State (23-9-4) cruised to a 5-2 win. The Bucks now advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff in Minneapolis. Tickets are on sale now.
This is Ohio State’s tenth trip to the conference semifinals but it has been awhile for the Bucks. Their last semis appearance was in 2013. The Buckeyes have advanced to the championship game only once (2001).
Regular season champ Wisconsin faces the lowest remaining seed after the first round. So, barring a St. Cloud comeback, the Bucks are headed for another battle with Minnesota. Both conference semis will be contested next Saturday. Then the WCHA tournament championship and NCAA tourney auto-bid will be decided on Sunday afternoon.
- Shots were even at 31 each. Maddy Field (6) and Emma Maltais (5) led Ohio State.
- The Buckeye power play was 0-for-2 on the day but the penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4.
- Other WCHA results: Fourth seed Minnesota-Duluth topped fifth seed Bemidji, 4-1, and evened their best-of-three series at one game each. At the time of publishing, third seed Minnesota and sixth seed St. Cloud State are still underway.
