Senior goaltender Amanda Thiele was recognized as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s goaltender of the week after her 1-0 shutout against No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Saturday. It was her first WCHA weekly award of the season. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo Graphic: Reid Murray | Design Editor
The Buckeyes’ defense is on fire.
Allowing one goal in four games against ranked teams, No. 1 Ohio State’s three defensive lines and goaltending duo seem like an immovable object. But this Friday and Saturday, they’ll have to face the only conference opponent to beat the Buckeyes this season.
Here’s what’s happening around the rink this week.
Thiele’s shutout earns WCHA recognition
Senior goaltender Amanda Thiele’s 18-save shutout against No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Saturday made her the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Goaltender of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
The 1-0 win was Thiele’s second shutout of the season in her first start since Dec. 10, 2023. Senior goaltender Raygan Kirk also recorded a shutout against the Bulldogs in game one of the series, making 14 saves in a 3-0 win Friday.
Thiele’s goaltender of the week honor comes one week after Kirk earned the same title following a one-goal weekend at then-No. 2 Minnesota.
Graduate defenseman Cayla Barnes said the pair of goalies’ strong play has allowed Ohio State to excel in other areas.
“We play a very offensive, in-your-face type of game, and with that comes some risk,” Barnes said. “In hockey, things can turn on a dime, so having confidence that they’re going to make the saves that we need them to make is huge and allows us to play the game that we want to play.”
After the shutout, Thiele has a .909 save percentage, and 1.60 goals allowed per game in her 10 starts this season.
Looking ahead: Grudge match on Olympic ice
Ohio State (20-2-0) has a near-perfect conference record of 17-1-0 so far. But the one WCHA team to defeat the Buckeyes — No. 9 St. Cloud State (15-8-1, 10-7-1 WCHA) — is Ohio State’s opponent this week.
The last time these two teams met, the Huskies won game one 2-1 on Dec. 1, 2023, before the Buckeyes split the series with a 6-2 win the following day.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall, who was not present for the game one loss for undisclosed reasons, said she noticed some weak spots in Ohio State’s performance watching the television broadcast.
“I think we were not utilizing our speed as much as we could,” Muzerall said. “We did outshoot them pretty well, but we’ve got to finish.”
The Buckeyes outshot the Huskies 47-17, but two second-period goals and a heroic effort from goaltender Sanni Ahola — whom Muzerall called “one of the best in the country” — handed Ohio State its second loss of the season.
Barnes said the Buckeyes are aware of where things went wrong in December and will look to rectify their past shortcomings on the road.
“They’re physical, they’re gritty, they capitalize on their opportunities, and we didn’t in that game,” Barnes said. “This weekend, we feel like we have something to prove. I give them a lot of credit, they played us really well and they deserved that win. We’ve grown and matured a lot as a team, and putting that forward on the ice and seeing what we can produce I think will be a really big test this weekend.”
This weekend’s series has one notable abnormality: the playing surface. St. Cloud State’s Herb Brooks National Hockey Center uses a 100-foot-wide, Olympic-sized ice sheet instead of the 85-foot-wide, NHL-sized sheet that can be found at most NCAA hockey arenas, including the Ohio State Ice Rink.
Barnes said the Buckeyes have been preparing for the Olympic sheet, and the wider dimensions should play to Ohio State’s strengths.
“[Muzerall] always talks about how our superpower is speed, and I think that that will fend really well on the big ice,” Barnes said. “There’s a lot of room, there’s a lot of extra ice to be able to take space and use our speed. One thing that we’re gonna really focus on this weekend is just utilizing that extra space to kind of get things going, move up the ice quick and find openings.”
