No. 7 Ohio State is in need of a reset this week after last week’s disappointing results at Bemidji State. Duluth might be just the opponent the Buckeyes need. Nothing gets the blood pumping like a long-time rival.
| Game Info | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Faceoff | 6pm ET | 1pm ET |
| Streaming Video | BTN Plus ($) | BTN Plus ($) |
Last Week: Swept by Bemidji State
The Buckeyes never led in the series. The previously winless Beavers swept them by final scores of 2-1 and 4-2. Ohio State scored only one even-strength goal all weekend. The four goals the Bucks allowed on Saturday were the second most they’ve given up all season. Emma Maltais, Charly Dahlquist, and Maddy Field recorded the OSU goals.
Looking back at the series, head coach Nadine Muzerall identified where the Bucks fell short and what they need moving forward. “What we need to do is focus and have a little more fire and passion. We didn’t lose because of lack of skill. We actually outplayed [the Beavers] in both games. But we didn’t out-compete them”
This Week: Hosting No. 7/8 Minnesota-Duluth
| Team Stats | Minn.-Duluth | Ohio State |
|---|---|---|
| Records | 5-4-1, 3-4-1-1 WCHA | 9-5-0, 5-3-0-0 WCHA |
| National Polls | T-No. 7 / No. 8 | T-No. 7 / No. 7 |
| Avg. Goals For / Against | 2.50 / 2.20 | 2.71 / 2.29 |
| Power Play / Penalty Kill | 25.9% / 80.0% | 8.8% / 90.6% |
| Leading Goal Scorer | Naomi Rogge (5) | Field, Skaggs (7) |
| Points Leader | Three players (8) | Emma Maltais (21) |
| Top Goaltender | Maddie Rooney (2.33/.930) | Andrea Braendli (2.01/.934) |
Duluth opened the season with a sweep of No. 4 Boston College. Since then the team’s most notable result was a shootout win over No. 2 Minnesota. The Bulldogs come into this week’s series off a 5-1 exhibition loss to the Minnesota Whitecaps. They are just 1-3-0 on the road this season. Duluth recorded two or fewer goals in eight of its ten outings.
While some of the stats seem to give Ohio State an advantage in the series, numbers don’t mean much this week. OSU and UMD have a long and bitter history that makes stats next to worthless. Like most previous Buckeye-Bulldog matchups, this should be a war.
“It’s going to be ugly. Getting in the red zone area and really just buckling down,” said Muzerall. “Bending the knees, dropping that bottom hand, and just fighting and being intense in front of the net because you’re not going to score too often on a point-blank shot on [Maddie Rooney]. She’s got a gold medal to prove that.”
| WCHA Standings | W | L | T | SOW | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Minnesota | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| No. 7 Ohio State | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| No. 1 Wisconsin | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| No. 7/8 Minn.-Duluth | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Minnesota State | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Bemidji State | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| St. Cloud State | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
- Hear more from Muzerall via Twitter, plus catch preseries interviews with Charly Dahlquist and reigning WCHA Defender of the Week Jincy Dunne.
Around the WCHA
Bemidji swept Ohio State last week. The only other WCHA team action was St. Cloud. The Huskies registered a non-conference tie with and loss to Lindenwood.
No. 1 Wisconsin visits Bemidji State this week. No. 2 Minnesota treks to St. Cloud. No. 7 Ohio State hosts No. 7/8 Duluth. And in non-conference action Minnesota State travels to Robert Morris.
