Graduate defenseman Cayla Barnes (23) and graduate forward Hannah Bilka (9) playing for the Ohio State women’s hockey team. The two also played together previously at Boston College and nationally for Team USA. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
Graduate defenseman Cayla Barnes and graduate forward Hannah Bilka arrived at Boston College two years apart, intending to win a national title. After graduating with an extra year of eligibility left, they both arrived at Ohio State this season looking for a chance to keep that dream alive.
The pair have been together on their journey from Boston College to Team USA and to Ohio State. Now, they are looking to maintain their goal through the vision of head coach Nadine Muzerall.
Muzerall emphasized the importance of using the transfer portal in the offseason to replace the talent that the Buckeyes lost to graduation and the portal itself. Barnes and Bilka were her top priorities upon seeing their names.
“We needed to replace that [talent], and the transfer portal was really hot,” Muzerall said. “So we took advantage of that, but once you see names like Bilka and Barnes, you make those phone calls.”
To understand their characters, Muzerall said she called their Boston College head coach, Katie Crowley, to hear what she had to say about them.
“I asked her about them as human beings, because I knew their capabilities as players, but what were they like as a person?” Muzerall said. “Because it doesn’t matter how skilled you are, if you don’t fit within our culture of being a good human being, you’re not welcome on the team.”
When looking at potential schools to transfer to, Bilka said she heard some of her fellow teammates from Team USA and Shattuck St. Mary’s talk about Ohio State’s culture, which sounded promising.
“I think everyone that comes here just speaks great things about the culture and you really want to maximize the one year left of eligibility, so if you can come into a team with a great locker room, it’s something you want to be a part of,” Bilka said.
While Bilka was attracted by the Buckeye spirit, Barnes said she keyed in on Muzerall’s winning culture as her main attraction to the team.
“Her culture has been something that really pulled me in,” Barnes said. “She has a culture of ‘We’re going to work hard, we’re going to push each other, and we’re going to win,’ and I think that’s something that I was attracted to and wanted to be a part of.”
When it comes to the competitive aspect of the team, Bilka said the players make each other better.
“With a lot of players here, you always are seeing them at camps, you know, USA, Canada, Sweden, all those great countries,” Bilka said. “So, you are surrounded by great players here and we are all pushing each other and making each other better.”
While both Barnes and Bilka are just getting started in the season, Barnes said their goals of winning a championship are still in sight, especially as the Buckeyes sit at No. 1 in the nation.
“I think as a player, you always want to get better even if it’s just incrementally in small amounts, you want to get better every day,” Barnes said. “I think those are goals for us, and obviously to win a championship, a national championship, a league championship, that’s something that we haven’t been able to do.”
With this being Barnes’ and Bilka’s last year of eligibility, Muzerall said she is confident in both of their abilities to continue with ice hockey far after their career at Ohio State.
“I think they’ve got the nail in there with their ability to make the Olympic team for 2026,” Muzerall said. “I feel very confident that both of them will be there, but then there is that opportunity to make quite a bit of money and go first round within the draft and continue to play six months out of the year.”
