The Ohio State Women’s Ice Hockey team huddles up before the Ohio State-Minnesota game on Nov.15. Ohio State won 3-1. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | For the Lantern
Ohio State women’s hockey’s season opener was nothing short of excitement for Buckeye fans.
No. 3 Ohio State shutout St. Thomas in both team’s season opener 6-0 Friday at the OSU Ice Rink.
This game marks the Tommies first game as a Division I hockey team, after 23 seasons of playing Division III. With a new head coach and 12 new players, this was a historic game for St. Thomas’ team.
Two tripping calls kept the Buckeyes in the box during the first period.
After two shots on goal, senior forward Paetyn Levis went to the penalty box on a minor penalty about three minutes into the game. Junior defenseman Hadley Hartmez also made a trip to the penalty box with a minor penalty in the first period.
However, the Buckeyes killed both penalties in the first period, as the Tommies could not capitalize on the power play opportunities.
Both senior goalie Andrea Braendli and senior goalie Alexa Dobchuk ended the first period with perfect save percentages as no one was able to get the puck to the back of the net.
The Buckeyes broke the silence in the second period with back-to-back goals from forwards junior Brooke Bink and graduate Clair DeGeorge respectively about three minutes into the third period.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall said she could feel a goal was coming.
“We needed anything to break the seal,” Muzerall said. “We just had to get to one and then I felt it would open up.”
After playing four seasons for Bemidji State, it was DeGeorge’s first goal wearing scarlet and gray.
“It was all a bit of a blur to me,” DeGeorge said. “It was an awesome moment, and I owe it all to my teammates in the end.”
Ohio State continued to add to the scoreboard with another set of back-to-back goals. Goals from junior forward Jennifer Gardiner and Levis gave the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead.
In the second period alone, the Buckeyes had 21 shots on goal.
The scoring did not stop after that, as sophomore forward Jenna Buglioni found the net 2:46 into the third. Parent scored later in the period to round off the goals for the night and give the Buckeyes a 6-0 lead.
“I just shot along the ice hoping for a rebound or hoping to create some havoc and it went five-hole,” Buglioni said. “Getting going in the third period was good for us.”
Braendli ended the night stopping all 16 shots against her. Muzerall said it is often overlooked how difficult it is for a goaltender to stay mentally in the game when they are not faced with a lot of shots.
“She came in ready and just owns the net and tracks well,” Muzerall said.
Muzerall said that while there are areas for improvements, there were a lot of positives, specifically citing the zone entries and the ability to get inside.
“They did well as working as a unit of five when the game got going,” Muzerall said. “They started working from low to high and got some shots through.”
The two teams will battle it out on the ice again Saturday at 2 p.m at the OSU Ice Rink.
