Ohio State then-sophomore goaltender Andrea Braendli (20) prevents from letting the puck go in during the first period of the game against Minnesota on Oct. 25, 2019. Ohio State won 4-3. Credit: John Huether | Lantern File Photo
After an elongated offseason, Ohio State women’s hockey dropped the puck on its WCHA title defense campaign by splitting its first two games against Minnesota.
No. 5 Ohio State played for the first time this season against No. 4 Minnesota Saturday and Sunday in Ridder Arena. Joining football, Ohio State women’s hockey became just the second active sport played by a Buckeye team Saturday.
Saturday’s game ended in a 4-0 shutout win for Minnesota and then the Buckeyes came back on Sunday to defeat the Gophers 2-1.
The Buckeyes and Gophers faced off five times last season with the Buckeyes winning the series 3-2. The fifth meeting between the two teams was for the WCHA conference title, which the Buckeyes won in overtime sending them to the NCAA Tournament.
Game 1
Ohio State took plenty of shots Saturday but none were able to bury the puck in the back of the net.
Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall was still impressed with her team’s effort.
“I thought that they came out and they fought,” Muzerall said Saturday. “[Minnesota] scored when they needed to, at key moments, and unfortunately, we didn’t put the puck in the net.”
The Gophers came out strong Saturday, putting away a goal 28 seconds into the season.
The Buckeyes replied with high pressure, keeping the puck in Minnesota territory for the majority of the opening period. The Buckeyes totaled 12 shots on net in the first period.
Ohio State junior goaltender Andrea Braendli was not tested much in the first period as Minnesota only had three shots on net, one being the goal scored at the 28-second mark.
Freshman defender Josey Dunne poked one away for Minnesota 10 minutes into the second period, putting the Gophers up 2-0.
Minnesota capitalized on its opportunities, putting away another goal in the third period making the score 3-0, forcing the Buckeyes to pull their goaltender up which allowed the Gophers to score once more before the final horn.
Despite the lopsided score, the Buckeyes ended the game with 36 shots taken compared to Minnesota’s 15.
“I think we need to be a little bit more aggressive and attack the net and go right to the goal mouth,” Muzerall said. “We have some goal scorers, they just need to find their way again.”
Game 2
The Buckeyes looked to finish on their scoring opportunities in the second game Sunday.
Minnesota came out strong yet again in game two, scoring in the opening minutes to put them ahead 1-0.
However, the Buckeyes did not let their lead last for too long after Ohio State senior forward Liz Schepers scored, following Minnesota’s goal just 21 seconds after, tying the score at 1-1.
“First period you know we get out to that early lead; they answer the very next shift and really from that point on they took it to us,” Minnesota head coach Brad Frost said.
Ohio State took advantage of the shifting momentum, with senior forward Tatum Skaggs tapping in a goal off an assist from senior forward Emma Maltais, giving the Buckeyes their first lead of the season and putting them ahead 2-1.
The pace of the game slowed down in the second period with no goals scored from either side and both teams missing three-on-one breakaway opportunities.
In the third period, the Buckeye defense remained strong and held on to win 2-1.
“Always a great feeling here at Ridder, we’ve had much success here over the past couple of years, our girls always just rise to the occasion playing the Gophers,” Muzerall said. “Now I think what we take away is to score some goals at some key moments ourselves.”
The Buckeyes return to the ice Friday at 6:07 p.m. when they play host to Wisconsin. The second game of the series will be played at 2:37 p.m. Saturday.
