No. 1 Ohio State gathers on center ice after beating No. 8 Minnesota Duluth 9-0 in the NCAA quarterfinal round at the Ohio State Ice Rink on Saturday. Credit: Cameron Moone | Lantern Reporter
Next stop for No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey: Durham, New Hampshire.
With their emphatic 9-0 victory over No. 8 Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA tournament quarterfinal round Saturday at Ohio State Ice Rink, the Buckeyes will advance to their fourth-straight Frozen Four, lifted by two-goal performances from graduate forward Hannah Bilka and senior forward Olivia Mobley.
Freshman forward Jocelyn Amos stunned the Bulldogs (21-14-4, 15-11-2 WCHA) with a goal just 22 seconds into the game, sending in the score off a pass from graduate defenseman Stephanie Markowski.
Ohio State (33-4-0, 26-2-0 WCHA) added two more scores from Mobley and Bilka at 13:25 and 15:53, respectively, to nurse a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Senior goaltender Raygan Kirk saved all three shots that were sent her way in the opening frame.
“It was a very impressive win,” Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall said. “Not just because the score was 9-0, but how these young women played together and how they started the game. It was brilliant to see how many players were doing things away from the puck to make sure it was the right play.”
Fast starts galore, Bilka tallied goal number four for Ohio State a mere 29 seconds into the second period. Eleven minutes later, graduate defenseman Hadley Hartmetz added a power-play score to lift the Buckeyes to a 5-0 advantage.
“All the details mattered, and we were happy to see them kill the penalty and happy to see them score a couple on the power play,” Muzerall said.
Ohio State scored two more goals in the second period, as freshman forward Jordan Baxter tallied her fifth goal of the season at 12:48, and Mobley rounded out the period with her put-in at 16:44.
Kirk saved 11 more shots in the second period, a performance that was much needed after the six goals surrendered against Wisconsin on March 9.
“It was definitely a nice bounce back after last weekend,” Kirk said. “We all needed that bounce back and to feel the puck and get under our feet a little bit. Today was huge and the special teams were huge for us, too.”
Commending her goalie, Muzerall said Kirk’s play in key moments allowed for Ohio State’s cruise to victory.
“[Kirk] stopped a breakaway when the score was only 2-0,” Muzerall said. “That was brilliant of her and she looked very fresh on the ice. I think it was a character win.”
The Buckeyes sent in goals eight and nine in the third period, with freshman forward Joy Dunne tallying a power-play score and graduate forward Kelsey King scoring the final goal for Ohio State at home in the 2023-24 season.
Withstanding efforts made by the Bulldogs to make the game more physical, Muzerall said Ohio State understood that there were more games to be played this season.
With the win, Ohio State advanced to 6-0-0 on the season against Minnesota Duluth and broke the previous program record of five goals in a tournament game.
“It’s never easy to beat anybody in our league, let alone six times,” Muzerall said. “We’ve never done that against Duluth as they’ve been a very respectable opponent and have a long history of success.”
On the winning side of a tournament tilt for the first time in her collegiate career, Bilka said the moment was special.
“As a fifth-year, you know how hard it is to make this tournament,” Bilka said. “At the same time, the goal is the national championship.”
Ohio State will make the trip to the University of New Hampshire campus to face No. 4-seeded Clarkson at the Whittemore Center on Friday. Puck drop will either be at 4 or 7:30 p.m., and ESPN+ will televise.
