The No. 10 Ohio State women’s hockey Buckeyes closed out their regular season campaign with a second straight shootout win over No. 1 Wisconsin. The Bucks went 1-1-2-2 against the Badgers this year, taking seven of the series’ twelve possible points. OSU very nearly succeeded in winning the series outright.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| No. 1 Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Emma Maltais staked the Bucks to a lead right off the bat in today’s season finale. She stormed down the ice on the first shift on a 2-on-1 with Tatum Skaggs. Maltais capped their rush by stuffing in her own rebound. Just 23 seconds into the tilt, Ohio State led 1-0.
We are underway in Madi..GOAL!!
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 23, 2019
That didn't take long. No. 10 @OhioStateWHKY gets the first goal of the game. It is Emma Maltais sending the rebound to the back of the net!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/1FkBE4dqyV
The Badgers began to wind up their offense. But, just like yesterday, their attack ran smack into the brick wall of Andrea Braendli. The freshman netminder thwarted 12 Wisconsin shots in the first period.
The Badgers kept chucking pucks in the second period. Braendli continued to frustrate them at every turn. The Buckeyes increased their lead to 2-0 by capitalizing on a power play opportunity. Liz Schepers tallied the score at the 12:13 mark with help from Maddy Field and Sophie Jaques.
That's two thus far Shooter.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/L1Kbcbo7v3
— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) February 23, 2019
Field’s assist brought her career point total to a nice, round 100. She is just the tenth Buckeye in program history to reach the mark. The Oakville, Ontario native now boasts a career line of 56-44--100.
For 55 minutes it looked as though Ohio State’s combination of opportunistic scoring, team discipline, and fantastic goaltending would add up to a victory. But the Badgers clawed their way back into the game.
Sophie Shirley picked the top corner on Braendli with a great shot. Then Emily Clark drove to the net and muscled the puck past the Buckeye goalie to knot the score at 2-2. For the second straight night, the Badgers and Bucks headed to overtime.
Although they didn’t find the back of the net in the extra session, the Buckeyes rallied defensively and snuffed out Wisconsin’s comeback bid. The Badgers mustered just two shots on goal despite skating the final minute or so of overtime with an extra attacker.
(Why risk the extra attacker in OT? Because Minnesota beat Bemidji State earlier today. Wisconsin needed the full three points in order to claim the regular season WCHA title.)
In the shootout Maltais and Schepers each went five-hole on Kristen Campbell for goals. Braendli ceded a marker to the first Badger shooter, but she stoned Clark to collect a second straight shootout win over Wisconsin.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Nadine Muzerall after the game. “You’re so close to getting the victory, having a 2-0 lead for so long. That first goal was a really nice shot by them, but the second goal hit off something that went through Andrea’s legs. I thought we did well in carrying that load for the whole game. I’m proud of them. It was bittersweet to end up with the tie but it was nice to finish with the shootout win.”
Ohio State concludes the 2018-19 regular season with an 18-12-2 overall record. The Buckeyes went 12-10-2-2 in conference play. They are the WCHA’s third place team. They will host No. 6 Minnesota State in the first round of the conference tournament next week. The best-of-three series is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 1 at 6pm ET.
- Wisconsin outshot Ohio State, 42-20.
- Emma Maltais (7) and Liz Schepers (3) led the Bucks in shots.
- The Buckeyes went 1-for-2 on the power play and held the Badgers to 0-for-1.
