Ohio State graduate forward Jenna Buglioni (10) celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 3-1 against Minnesota State. The Buckeyes defeated the Mavericks 5-2 Friday. Credit: Faith Schneider | Lantern Photographer
An offensive explosion propelled the Buckeyes to a dominant win Friday night.
After falling behind 1-0 early on, the No. 2 Ohio State (18-5-3, 12-5-3 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) used three straight goals to power its 5-2 victory over the Minnesota State Mavericks (10-14-1, 4-14-1 WCHA) at the OSU Ice Rink.
Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall said momentum from prior games was vital to the team’s success, while also expressing the importance of the Buckeyes’ response in the third period.
“We’ve had some good momentum these past couple of weeks and we continue to push with that,” Muzerall said. “We beared down and scored when we needed to in the third period to solidify the win.”
The Buckeyes were quick to put pressure on the Mavericks from puck drop but Minnesota State forward Taylor Otremba scored the first goal of the game 8:09 in the first period.
Just over a minute later Buckeyes forward Kiara Zanon responded with a goal of her own to tie the game. Forwards Makenna Webster and Jenna Buglioni assisted Zanon on the score.
With three minutes remaining in the first period, forward Sloane Matthews extended the Buckeyes’ lead to 2-1 off assists by forwards Joy Dunne and Maddi Wheeler.
Buglioni then notched the Buckeyes’ third straight goal six minutes into the second period off assists by Zanon and Dunne.
Mavericks defender JuliAnna Gazdik answered back with 4:40 left in the second period to cut the lead to one.
Ohio State got back on the board as defender Emma Peschel scored an unassisted goal just under eight minutes into the third period, extending the Buckeyes’ lead to two.
Shortly after, forward Sloane Matthews netted the Buckeyes’ fifth and final goal thanks to assists by defenders Riley Brengman and Peschel with 5:27 to play in the period, finalizing the score at 5-2.
Matthews emphasized that it’s important for the Buckeyes to play with a dominant mindset, no matter their opponent.
“It’s anyone’s game, anyone’s night,” Matthews said. “So we just need to go in with the mindset of, we got to play our best and win convincingly, and not just by a hair.”
Ohio State outshot the Mavericks 63-20, leading Minnesota State by a wide margin.
The Buckeyes are back on their home ice again Saturday at 3 p.m. to face off against the Mavericks for game two of the weekend series.
