Emma Peschel (7), Riley Brengman (13), and Kenzie Hauswirth (11) celebrate a goal during Ohio State’s 2-1 quarterfinal game two victory against Bemidji State on Feb. 25, 2023. Credit: Katie Good | Lantern File Photo
One down, one to go.
Ohio State won game one of its three-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association quarterfinal series against Bemidji State (4-29-2, 3-25-1 WCHA) 10-1 at the Ohio State Ice Rink Friday night.
The No. 1 Buckeyes (30-3-0, 27-2-0 WCHA) are now one win away from advancing to the WCHA Final Faceoff in Minneapolis.
“You’re trying to set a rhythm,” head coach Nadine Muzerall said. “You’re trying to end not just someone’s season but some of their careers, and that’s hard, and they’re gonna come and push.”
Ohio State’s offense looked unstoppable out of the gate against the Beavers. Five minutes and 48 seconds into the first period, the Buckeyes led 3-0, with goals from graduate defenseman Cayla Barnes and freshman forwards Joy Dunne and Jordan Baxter.
“It’s definitely a maturity and a mindset of coming right out of the gate for us,” senior forward Jenna Buglioni said. “If we can press and put a lot of pressure on right away it starts to click for us. It’s really important, and as we move forward in the season, we need to have those hot starts.”
Bemidji State threatened to come back early in the second period after freshman defenseman Olivia Dronen scored the Beavers’ first goal 4:27 into the period. It was a play in which Muzerall said the Buckeyes briefly “lost their edge.”
“It was off a faceoff and it was a weird angle shot,” Muzerall said. “But we can’t give those up off faceoffs, and we have to box out, block and not allow that shot to get through. We just had to hold them accountable to that, and it was a quick transition after that.”
Graduate defenseman Hadley Hartmetz responded with a goal 54 seconds later to extend Ohio State’s lead to 4-1. From there, the Buckeyes never looked back, scoring six more goals and recording a season-high 62 shots on goal.
Buglioni said keeping Bemidji State defenders from blocking shots was a key to the win.
“For us, it’s just trying to draw their players out towards us and then making plays behind in the pockets to get shots on net,” Buglioni said.
Eight different Buckeyes scored goals in the 10-1 win, with Buglioi and Barnes each scoring twice. Muzerall said having depth is crucial to Ohio State’s success, especially in the postseason.
“There’s not just one line that you can try to shut down,” Muzerall said. “When you get into tough competition or the game’s on the line, you need to keep coming shift after shift. We’re extremely fit, we work our girls extremely hard, so that they’re prepared for this moment and that nobody can stick with us, especially if it’s the second and third period.”
Ohio State will face Bemidji State in game two of the quarterfinal series Saturday at 3 p.m., streaming on Big Ten Plus. If the Buckeyes win, they will advance to the WCHA semifinals, and if they lose, they will face Bemidji State in game three on Sunday.
Going into game two, Muzerall said she is hoping to see her team fire on all cylinders for all 60 minutes.
“Regardless of the score, we have a system and we’ve got to stick with that,” Muzerall said. “We’ve got to trust in it and play together and not get too individual. We called them out on that at some parts of the game, and then they made the change, and they had a great last half of the game.”
