The Ohio State Buckeyes listen to head coach Nadine Muzerall during the Ohio State – Wisconsin game on Nov. 28. Ohio State lost 0-5. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
As No. 3 Ohio State prepares for a rematch against No. 2 Minnesota, they know they will not see the same Gophers twice.
The Buckeyes (8-4-0) and Gophers (8-3-0) split their season-opening series with Minnesota opening the season with a shutout win before the Buckeyes earned a 2-1 victory on the next day. Due to their third and fourth meetings being postponed, the familiar foes had to wait an extended time to meet again.
Since the 2017-18 season, a year after Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall joined the coaching staff, the Buckeyes have won eight out of the 16 games against the Gophers. This weekend will mark their 100th head-to-head matchup.
“You have to adapt and adjust when you’re playing other opponents,” Muzerall said. “Especially when you play an opponent as much as we do, you have to be creative. You can’t be too predictable.”
If there is anyone who knows Minnesota best, it is Ohio State’s head coach. While playing for Minnesota, Muzerall was a two-time All-American and national champion. She spent five years as an assistant coach and was also the first women’s player to be inducted into the University of Minnesota Hall of Fame.
After splitting its season-opening series with the Buckeyes, Minnesota ripped off seven straight wins before being swept by No. 1 Wisconsin Jan. 15-16.
Despite the disappointing performance against the Badgers, Minnesota enters the series sporting the conference’s second-best scoring offense with an average of 2.82 goals per game.
Freshman defenseman Riley Brengman said the Buckeyes have put an increased focus on the defensive end heading into this series with the high-powered Minnesota offense.
“These past couple weeks we’ve been hard on the defense,” Brengman said. “I think it’s been pushing us all to get better, especially with gapping or surfing, and I think it definitely showed in this past weekend’s series.”
Brengman contributes to an Ohio State defense that is the only team in the country yet to allow a power-play goal this season. The Buckeyes are a perfect 25-for-25 on the power-play kill.
Minnesota is the most represented state on the Ohio State roster, with six Buckeyes hailing from the state. Junior forward Paetyn Levis cited this as a reason that Ohio State gets up for this matchup.
“Minnesota’s always been a tough competition for us,” Levis said. “We always get really excited to play them. A lot of girls on our team are from Minnesota. It’s good competition —we know them very well because we play them so many times a year.”
The puck drops for this series on Jan. 29 at 6:07 p.m. and Game 2 starts at 3:07 p.m. Jan. 30.
