The Ohio State women’s ice hockey team huddles around the net before a game. The No. 1 Buckeyes will face No. 8 Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA tournament quarterfinal on Saturday. Credit: Aiden Ridgway | Lantern Photographer
The Ohio State women’s ice hockey team is looking to make its fourth straight Frozen Four on Saturday.
The No. 1 Buckeyes (32-4-0, 26-2-0 WCHA) will take on the No. 8 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (21-13-4, 15-11-2 WCHA) in the NCAA tournament quarterfinal at the Ohio State Ice Rink Saturday.
Ohio State is undefeated in its five games against Minnesota Duluth this season, most recently winning 5-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament semifinal March 8.
Before the WCHA semifinal, senior goaltender Raygan Kirk said the Bulldogs’ discipline makes them a challenging opponent.
“They’re similar to us,” Kirk said. “They have a lot of depth on their team, like we do. Not too many individual players, and they have really strong goaltending and they’re really strong in the defensive zone, and they play as a unit.”
The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinal with a 1-0 double overtime win against the No. 9 UConn Huskies at the Ohio State Ice Rink on Thursday. Graduate forward Mannon McMahon scored the winning goal, and freshman goaltender Ève Gascon had 33 saves in the first-round win.
Ohio State earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament with the best overall record in the country. The Buckeyes won the WCHA regular season championship and lost in the conference tournament final 6-3 to No. 2 Wisconsin on March 9.
Kirk has started in each of Ohio State’s four postseason games this year. In her three appearances against Minnesota Duluth in the regular season, she did not allow a goal and made a combined 51 saves.
Senior goaltender Amanda Thiele has started against Minnesota Duluth twice this season, allowing two goals on Oct. 13, 2023 and recording a shutout on Jan. 20.
Both of Minnesota Duluth’s goaltenders have received WCHA postseason honors. Gascon was a Rookie of the Year finalist, and sophomore Hailey MacLeod was a Goaltender of the Year finalist and a member of the All-WCHA second team.
Ohio State has seven players on the All-WCHA first, second, third and rookie teams, including Rookie of the Year Joy Dunne.
Ohio State is undefeated in its four NCAA tournament quarterfinal appearances all-time. The last time the Buckeyes hosted an NCAA quarterfinal, they defeated Quinnipiac 5-2 on March 11, 2023.
The last time Ohio State and Minnesota Duluth met in the NCAA tournament, the Buckeyes won the national championship 3-2 on March 20, 2022.
Ohio State’s quarterfinal against Minnesota Duluth will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, streaming live on Big Ten Plus.
