Nadine Muzerall is a genius. No hype. No bias. It’s a stone cold fact.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 7 Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
The Buckeye coach could have enjoyed one more week on break. Instead, she looked at the schedule, saw the Badgers looming, and knew she had to get her team sharpened up in a hurry after the holidays. So she brought in the Minnesota Whitecaps last week to blast any lingering rust off the Bucks.
| Buckeye Goal Scorer (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| PP - Jincy Dunne (Sophie Jaques, Emma Maltais) | 1 | 7:50 |
The move paid off in spades on Friday night. Wisconsin was a little disjointed in its first action since December 8. Ohio State, already up to speed, capitalized on its opportunities and toppled the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Buckeyes jumped ahead in the first period thanks to their special teams. The Badgers fired off the first six shots of the game. However back-to-back-to-back-to-back penalties passed control to the Bucks. Jincy Dunne hammered home a power play score with help from Sophie Jaques and Emma Maltais.
Special teams continued to be a story throughout the game. Ohio State went 1-for-6 with the advantage. Dunne and her penalty killing compatriots held Wisconsin scoreless in three chances. The biggest kill came as the Bucks locked down the win in the third period.
Coach Muz shared her thoughts after tonight's 1-0 shutout of No. 1 Wisconsin #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Tno1y9DPb2
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) January 12, 2019
The Badgers outshot the Bucks 23-10 over the final 40 minutes. But the lopsided number did not bother Buckeye goalie Andrea Braendli. The Swiss netminder has been candid about preferring to have a busy night in net. Wisconsin gave her one, putting 32 total shots on goal.
Braendli rose to the challenge in spectacular fashion. She turned aside every attempt from a team which scores an average of four goals a night. This is career shutout No. 3 for the freshman goalie.
We caught up with Andrea Braendli after her 32-save shutout of No. 1 Wisconsin tonight #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/VnwNhbK3hs
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) January 12, 2019
The huge win lifts OSU to 15-6-0 overall and 9-4-0-0 in the WCHA. The Bucks are now tied with the Badgers for second in the conference with 27 points each. They’re a single point back of conference-leading Minnesota (pending the outcome of tonight’s Gopher game).
No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 7 Ohio State tangle again tomorrow afternoon. Opening faceoff is set for 3pm ET at the OSU Ice Rink. Admission and parking are free for women’s hockey. Fans not attending the game can stream it live online for a fee with a BTN Plus or FloHockey subscription.
