Jennifer Gardiner (left), Jenna Buglioni (middle) and Joy Dunne (right) celebrate Dunne’s third-period goal to help seal Ohio State’s 4-1 Frozen Four semifinal win on Friday. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics.
Ohio State women’s ice hockey is going to its third-straight National Championship Game.
The No. 1 Buckeyes (34-4-0, 26-2-0 WCHA) defeated the No. 4 Clarkson Golden Knights (33-5-2, 18-3-1 ECAC) 4-1 at the Whittemore Center in Durham, New Hampshire, Friday. With the Frozen Four victory, Ohio State set a new program record for wins in a season, surpassing last year’s mark of 33.
“[The record] means a lot, because I think what it’s showing is the growth of this program at Ohio State,” head coach Nadine Muzerall said. “We came from a background of below .500 when I took over. Just to see the growth of this team throughout the years, there’s always some milestone each year.”
The Buckeyes were challenged all day by Golden Knights’ goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk. The senior who was named Goaltender of the Year by the Hockey Commissioners Association on Thursday made 50 saves and held Ohio State scoreless in the second period.
“She’s a great goalie and she obviously proved that today, too,” freshman forward Joy Dunne said. “She deserves that respect and she definitely earned it, but we just kept chipping away and believing in our teammates.”
Ohio State was down early after Clarkson senior forward Anne Cherkowski scored the first goal 2:25 into the first period. Sophomore forward Sloane Matthews said the early deficit caused the Buckeyes to change their mental approach.
“It was kind of a wake up call,” Matthews said. “I don’t think we had the right mindset necessarily going in. We were playing not to lose, so when that first goal went in, the bench took a reset and we kept pushing.”
Sixteen shots after the goal concession, the Buckeyes got on the board. Senior forward Makenna Webster picked up a loose puck in the offensive zone and scored between Pasiechnyk’s legs to tie the game 1-1 with 6:07 remaining in period one.
After Webster’s goal, Pasiechnyk made 31 consecutive saves and held Ohio State scoreless in the second period. Muzerall said the Buckeyes had to improve their netfront presence to combat Pasiechnyk’s heroics.
“We felt that we were making pushes but just not capitalizing in the tight spaces around the net and talked about that in between periods, getting in front of the net, but being careful, so not giving up odd man rushes,” Muzerall said.
As time ticked down in the third period, Matthews was denied by an “unreal save” on an open Clarkson net just over eight minutes into the frame.
“When I got off the bench, I told [associate head coach] Peter [Elander], the next one I’m putting in,” Matthews said.
Then, with 6:48 left in regulation, she made good on her promise.
Matthews crashed the net and scored on a rebound to give Ohio State its first lead of the game.
“They blocked everything,” Matthews said. “We had so many shots that they’re laying their body on the line for, so we went into it thinking that we just need to keep shooting because they’re gonna get through eventually.”
From then on, Ohio State did not look back.
Dunne capitalized at the end of the Buckeyes’ only power play on a left wing wrist shot to extend the lead to 3-1 with three minutes remaining. Two minutes later, graduate defenseman Hadley Hartmetz scored on an empty net to secure the 4-1 victory.
“There’s a lot behind the scenes that this team has put in the work — that shot, I think I’ve practiced over 500 times this year,” Dunne said. “We trusted one another and knew they were going to come back, but we were going to keep fighting. It was still a 0-0 game in our heads.”
Senior goaltender Raygan Kirk ended the game with 17 saves and did not allow a goal for over 57 straight minutes.
The semifinal win puts the Buckeyes in the National Championship game, where they will face the winner of No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 3 Colgate on Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. Ohio State has faced both teams previously this season, posting a 1-1 record against Colgate and a 3-2 mark against Wisconsin.
