The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team defeated St. Cloud State 5-2 in its home opener Friday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
In a lively atmosphere at the Ohio State Ice Rink Friday, the No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team skated away with a 5-2 win against the St. Cloud State Huskies.
Anticipation was building from the start for the Buckeyes’ first home game of the season, the first since Ohio State earned the program’s first national championship in March. Head coach Nadine Muzerall said it was rewarding to finally play in front of and get a win for the home crowd.
“I think the fans really helped us. It looked really packed. It was really loud,” Muzerall said. “I appreciate the love that we got, and I think the girls came out really hot.”
The Buckeyes came out firing and peppered Huskies junior goaltender Sanni Ahola with three shots in the first minute of play, setting the tone for what was to come as they finished the game with 41 shots on goal.
However, St. Cloud State found its groove defensively, as both teams battled in a physical, evenly matched scoreless first period featuring two trips to the penalty box from both sides.
It only took Buckeyes graduate defenseman Sophie Jaques 15 seconds into the second period to log her first goal of the season, as a wrist shot from the point found the back of the net giving the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
Jaques said the emphasis the team has put on improving the power play throughout the week gave her the chance to tally her first goal of the season.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of work on the powerplay in practice, so I think it was good that we were able to capitalize on that,” Jaques said. “It was really nice and exciting to score it in our home rink.”
Just over two minutes later, the Buckeyes offense continued to click as graduate forward Gabby Rosenthal’s rebound goal on the crease extended Ohio State’s lead to 2-0, thanks to an assist from senior forward Jennifer Gardiner.
Muzerall said Rosenthal’s impact exceeds that of just a goal scorer.
“Gabby is one of the most underrated centermen, I think, in all of college hockey,” Muzerall said. “People always look at points and goals and box scores. If you watch her faceoff wins, and how many she wins whether it’s on the left or right side, she just wins them, and that’s crucial for puck possession opportunities.”
Less than a minute after finding themselves in a 2-0 deficit, a top corner wrist shot from Huskies senior forward Klára Hymlárová soared past Buckeye senior goaltender Raygan Kirk’s shoulder, putting St. Cloud State on the scoreboard and cutting Ohio State’s lead in half.
A two-on-one break over a minute into the third period led to a topshelf wrist shot from freshman forward Sloane Matthews, extending the lead to 3-1 and logging the first goal of her Buckeye career.
Matthews didn’t let up on offense, as a wrist shot from the top of the zone just four minutes later found its way through traffic and into the back of the net, extending Ohio State’s lead to 4-1.
Muzerall said Matthews was a great addition to the team and they are excited to watch her grow.
“She went under the radar I think for some people who have watched her,” Muzerall said. “The more time on ice she has and the more experience, the more lethal she’ll be as well. She has a bright future and was a really good get for us.”
The Huskies offense did not go down without a fight, and a two-on-one break led to a stick side goal for fifth-year center Jenniina Nylund, narrowing the gap to 4-2 with just over 10 minutes to play in the final period.
As the clock wound down with seconds left, a last ditch attempt to pull the goalie resulted in an empty net for graduate forward Paetyn Levis, who fired the puck down the ice and extended the Buckeyes lead to 5-2.
The Buckeyes host St. Cloud State Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Ohio State Ice Rink.
