The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team (20-2-2) head to St. Cloud State (13-12-0) for matchups this Friday and Saturday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team will travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota, this weekend to battle No. 16 St. Cloud State in a two-game series.
The Huskies, who have historically struggled to score against the Buckeyes, have lost 15 consecutive games against Ohio State dating back to Nov. 2, 2018. The most recent faceoff in October 2022 resulted in a clean sweep for the Buckeyes, who won both games by an 11-4 margin.
“Heading into St. Cloud, they do have a huge ice surface there, so just being sure to use our speed and play our game, being aggressive and driving hard to the net I think will be successful this weekend,” graduate defenseman Sophie Jaques said.
Jaques, who’s scored 17 goals this season including the game-winning overtime goal against Wisconsin Jan. 13, said the Buckeyes are building momentum over the past few games, especially coming off of a series sweep against Wisconsin last weekend.
Continuing into the remainder of the season, graduate forward Paetyn Levis also emphasized the teamwide trust necessary to accomplish the Buckeyes’ goals.
“I think we’re really excited, the second half of the season is always the most fun,” Levis said. “So, I think we’re just excited to experience that together and bring all the pieces together and see what we can do as a group.”
Ohio State currently holds a six-game winning streak, averaging a total of 4.46 scored goals per game. St. Cloud State trails behind, falling to Minnesota State in its previous two games and averaging 2.5 goals per game.
The next away series, beginning Feb. 3, is a high-profile rivalry against No. 3 Minnesota; thus, the matchup this weekend is the Buckeyes’ final chance to polish their performance on enemy ice.
The team doesn’t worry much about the upcoming opponent and rather chooses to focus on themselves instead, head coach Nadine Muzerall said.
This weekend’s series will commence at 4 p.m. Friday, with the second game starting at 3 p.m. Saturday.
