Ohio State women’s hockey head coach, Nadine Muzerall speaks to the team during a November practice in Ohio State Ice Rink. Credit: Jacob Myers | Lantern File Photo
The women’s hockey season starts Saturday for the Buckeyes but the priority is on safety rather than winning.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association released the first half of its schedule Nov. 6, less than two weeks before its pushed back start date. The association has also adopted several new rules to help navigate the season.
Jennifer Flowers, WCHA vice president and Women’s League commissioner, said they will take this season day by day and are excited for the puck to finally drop Friday.
“We are all prepared to adjust and to adapt as necessary. It’s something we’ve all been working on since March.” Flowers said at a press conference Tuesday.
The Buckeyes start off their season Saturday on the road against Minnesota at Ridder Arena.
Last season, the Buckeyes defeated the Gophers at Ridder Arena 4-1 in the regular season and also defeated Minnesota in the WCHA Conference Tournament.
Although the Buckeyes earned their first conference title under head coach Nadine Muzerall, their chance to compete in the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament in March was canceled just three days before it was expected to begin due to COVID-19.
Ohio State junior goaltender Andrea Braendli and senior forward Emma Maltais were selected to the All-WCHA team this season.
On Tuesday, Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall said Braendli “has been our backbone, she’s been very consistent and she looks really good right now.”
The WCHA has a total of eight teams competing this year, with four ranked in USA Today’s top 10: No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 8 Minnesota Duluth.
The WCHA also announced a new team addition to their conference: the University of St. Thomas. This makes the total number of teams in the league an even eight starting in 2021-22.
Flowers said the WCHA plans to release the second half of the season schedule by the end of the month or early December.
Flowers said the focus has been on the day-to-day but is hoping to have a postseason championship.
“We are committed to providing the best, most meaningful season we can for our student-athletes, and we are hopeful that that includes a postseason championship.” Flowers said.
A few rule changes were announced by the WCHA for this season, one including the procedures for a tied game.
In order to speed up the games, tied games will go straight into a 3v3 — instead of 5v5 — overtime for five minutes after the 60 minutes of regulation time. If this results in a tie, the teams will go into a 3v3 shootout — not sudden death — and if that still results in a tie, a full-team sudden death shootout will occur.
Even with altered rules and unusual circumstances, Muzerall said that Ohio State is “anticipating a strong season.”
“The bar’s been set each year, and I think each year we’ve risen a little higher over the past five years,” Muzerall said. “When you have that bar set high and you’re in that top 5, there’s a lot of expectations that go with that.”
As much as a national title is in the back of Muzerall’s head, she said her first priority is keeping her athletes safe.
“No. 1 is maintain health and safety for our athletes and that our entire conference is able to do that as well as we continue to play.” Muzerall said.
