The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team earned a victory behind freshman forward Emerson Jarvis’ first-career goal as a Buckeye, skating past St. Thomas in a 6-1 win Friday in Columbus. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team earned a victory behind freshman forward Emerson Jarvis’ first-career goal as a Buckeye, skating past St. Thomas in a 6-1 win Friday in Columbus.
The success came after a solid top-line effort, with each player in the rotation recording a goal. The performance extended the Buckeyes’ (25-3-2, 20-3-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) undefeated winning streak against the Tommies (8-21-1, 3-20-1 WCHA) to seven games, the entirety of their series history.
“I just wanted our team to play with pride and continue to gather momentum as the season goes on,” head coach Nadine Muzerall said.
The Buckeyes came out strong, getting on the scoreboard just 35 seconds into the first period after junior forward Makenna Webster found the back of the net for her 13th goal of the season. Webster earned the score on the first shot of the game, assisted by junior forward Jenna Buglioni.
“I think it’s a really exciting weekend, and we have a lot going on, but these games are really important,” Webster said. “Just getting the first goal, that helped set the tone.”
Four minutes later, graduate forward Emma Maltais notched her sixth goal of the season despite a player deficit resulting from a Buckeye penalty attributed to delaying gameplay.
“We have been challenging Emma to go to the net and use her speed and her strength and be a little more selfish,” Muzerall said. “So, happy to see her transformation in the game and hopefully it builds confidence for her to continue to do it.”
Ohio State received another penalty halfway through the frame for hooking, but the Tommies fell short of capitalizing on the opportunity. St. Thomas currently holds a 7.1 percent power play conversion rate in comparison with Ohio State’s 32.6 percent conversion rate.
The Tommies were eventually able to push past the Buckeyes’ defense at 17:03 in the first period when senior forward Maija Almich secured her eighth goal of the season, bringing the score to 2-1.
The one-goal margin didn’t remain for long, with Ohio State setting the tone early in the second period after graduate forward Paetyn Levis lit the lamp, seeing the puck past St. Thomas sophomore goaltender Saskia Maurer at 1:41. Levis currently leads the Buckeyes with 20 goals this season and ranks fourth nationally for total points thus far in the year.
After an almost 15-minute standstill, graduate forward Gabby Rosenthal found the back of the net assisted by Buglioni and senior defenseman Lauren Bernard. Her 19th goal of the season increased the score to 4-1 heading into the final frame.
A power play opportunity presented itself to St. Thomas at 7:30 into the third period, but once again the Tommies found themselves unable to utilize the advantage.
Three minutes later, freshman forward Emerson Jarvis fired a shot that bounced off of Maurer and back into her clutch, allowing her to strike again and earn her first career goal.
“It meant a lot to feel the support from all the girls coming onto the bench; everyone’s so happy for me,” Jarvis said.
Muzerall described Jarvis’ goal as a representation of the team’s healthy culture, emphasizing that no matter who puts the puck in the net, all of the players are proud.
In the final minutes, St. Thomas was unable to pass junior goaltender Amanda Thiele and fell to the Buckeyes’ heat after freshman defenseman Emma Peschel’s fifth goal of the season pushed Ohio State to a 6-1 victory.
“It’s exciting for the growth of our team and what the future will look like,” Muzerall said. “We have a lot of depth, and I think every day in practice, they might not feel it, but they’re getting better.”
The home series will conclude with senior day Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., the final game on home ice for the regular season.
