After earning their first national championship in program history, the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team returns to action at No.1. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The Ohio State women’s ice hockey team enters the 2022 season just six months after making history — claiming its first national championship in program history — along with winning a program-record 32 games.
Despite the discourse, accolades and noise, head coach Nadine Muzerall said the No. 1 Buckeyes continue to stay focused on the upcoming season and are excited for the opportunity to defend their title.
“It’s the first time in program history where we’re starting the season as the No. 1 team in the country. There’s a huge target on your back now, and you’re going to get everybody’s best,” Muzerall said. “You’re always going to have someone chasing you, and that’s a good problem, right?”
Graduate forward Paetyn Levis, who led the Buckeyes with 24 goals in last year’s championship campaign, said the team has worked hard to build on the foundation they’ve set while adding new faces to the team and staff.
“We’ve got a good culture and foundation to lean on, but this year seems completely different,” Levis said. “It’s super important for us to look forward to this season as its own, and separate it from what we’ve done in the past. We graduated a bunch of players last year, and have a bunch of freshmen who are ready to go at it.”
Regardless of the historic run last season, Levis said the team still goes about its business like any other year.
“I wouldn’t say there’s pressure; we just have high expectations for ourselves every year,” Levis said. “We’re just going to attack the year the same way we have in the past. I think we’ve done a good job.”
Muzerall said her favorite moment with the team was when they watched Team USA play Team Canada prior to the Olympics as a group, featuring two Buckeyes on opposing sides in current graduate forward Emma Maltais and now-graduated defenseman Jincy Dunne.
“What I loved about that was, we’re all coming together for a common goal of just cheering on our Buckeye team,” Muzerall said. “It wasn’t about them, it wasn’t about OSU — it was just about the sisterhood and rooting for each other.”
The Buckeyes return five graduate players — including graduate defender Sophie Jaques, the 2022 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Defender of the Year, and junior goaltender Amanda Thiele, who held a 1.312 goals-against average last year which stands as an Ohio State season record.
Muzerall said the return of veterans is a testament to the championship culture the team looks to build on.
“Championships are often won based on culture and leadership,” Muzerall said. “Sophie along with Levis, (Gabby) Rosenthal, Maltais and (Madison) Bizal are all back as fifth-years, and that is one heck of a lineup in itself, to have those strong competitors come back. They didn’t have to come back. They really wanted to continue the success in defending the title.”
In the past six months, Muzerall said she and the team have reflected on all they accomplished while receiving outpouring support from the state of Ohio.
“I have a great pride of being a Gopher Alum, but I’ll tell you, the love that we got when we won, I never experienced at Minnesota,” Muzerall said. “The love and the way they take care of my own personal family as well, it pulls at the heartstrings, and it makes you want to compete and play for your state, because everyone is rallying behind you. They don’t care if it’s football or women’s hockey, they just want success. They just want the Buckeyes to win.”
The Buckeyes open the 2022-23 season on the road Sept. 30 with a two-game series at Minnesota State.
