Ohio State suffered its second sweep of the season on Saturday. Bulldog goals a minute and a half apart put the Bucks in a serious hole midway through the first period. OSU would spend the day playing catch-up and never quite pull even with Duluth.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
“I think we came out a little flat,” said Buckeye coach Nadine Muzerall. “Then when we got that goal at a good time late in the [first] we started to get some energy. It led into the second period where there was total dominance and then in the third we needed a little bit more fire and we didn’t have any.”
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| PP - Sophie Jaques (Lauren Boyle, Charly Dahlquist) | 1 | 18:11 |
| Paetyn Levis (Maddy Field, Lisa Bruno) | 2 | 17:17 |
| Tatum Skaggs (Jacyn Reeves, Paetyn Levis) | 3 | 8:16 |
Sophie Jaques struck on the power play late in the first period to cut UMD's lead to 2-1. Anna Klein restored the Bulldogs' two-goal edge at the 9:21 mark of the second period. Again a late Buckeye goal kept the game in reach, this one from the stick of Paetyn Levis.
Ohio State shelled Maddie Rooney in the middle frame, pouring 22 shots on net. But Levis' tally was the only one surrendered by the Olympic hero. In all the Bucks tested Rooney 39 times. She thwarted 36 of those tries.
Muzerall pointed to UMD’s opportunistic scoring and OSU’s inability to finish as contributing factors in today’s loss. “They scored when they needed to and on fewer opportunities,” she said. “We just couldn’t bang enough home. I mean, 87 attempted shots. You score three goals on a gold medalist goalie, you would hope that that’s enough. But you can’t give up five.
At the other end of the ice, Lynsey Wallace made her first official appearance in net for OSU. The sophomore goaltender started the game, allowing four goals on 35 shots. She was busiest in the first period when she turned aside 14 of the Bulldogs' 16 attempts.
Gabbie Hughes pushed Duluth ahead 4-2 early in the third period. Tatum Skaggs answered for the Buckeyes. The Scarlet and Gray made a late push with the extra attacker on. But Minnesota-Duluth pulled away with an empty netter and a late power play goal.
Muzerall said the sweep is a learning experience for her Buckeyes. “I think that our problem right now is we seem to be a little bit of an immature team because of our inconsistency. We show up when we think it’s a big game and we have to understand everybody in our league is very good and very talented and it’s just harder when you’re on the road.”
The loss drops Ohio State to 15-9-0 overall and 9-7-0-0 in the WCHA. OSU returns to Columbus next week for a showdown with conference-leading No. 2 Minnesota. Games are scheduled for 6pm ET on Friday and 3pm ET on Saturday. It is the second-to-last home series of the season for the Buckeyes.
- OSU outshot UMD 39-36 in the contest.
- Charly Dahlquist (7) and Maddy Field (6) led all Buckeye shooters.
- The Bucks were 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
- Ohio State was once again without All-American defender Jincy Dunne.
