The No. 1 Ohio State women’s ice hockey team defeated St. Cloud State 5-2 in its home opener Friday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Graduate defenseman Sophie Jaques scored a pair of goals as the No. 1 Buckeyes women’s ice hockey team topped St. Cloud State 6-2 Saturday.
Pregame festivities started early as a ceremony was held prior to puck drop, recognizing the Buckeyes’ first-ever national championship win last season. Chants of “OH-IO” could be heard around the rink as Ohio State’s national championship banner was unveiled.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall said the team is grateful for the outpouring of support from the state of Ohio since winning the program’s first national championship in March.
“We’ve gotten a lot of love from the whole state,” Muzerall said. “They want greatness here at the Ohio State, and that’s expected. To actually win a national championship is incredibly hard. There’s so much that goes behind it.”
Following puck drop, the Huskies managed to kill off an early penalty assessed to redshirt senior forward Allie Cornelius just 35 seconds into the game.
Graduate forward Paetyn Levis got the Buckeyes on the board early, sneaking the puck past the skate of St. Cloud State junior goaltender Sanni Ahola and logging her second goal of the series and season.
Levis said the chemistry improving in her line is starting to show.
“At the beginning of the year, it’s always hard. Things are always moving, changing, trying to see who meshes and gels together,” Levis said. “I think we’re all very fast. We played grittier, and we played a bit physical today, so that was good to see. Getting games under our belt will just make us more confident in each other.”
A scrum in front of the Huskies’ net with 1:10 left in the first period led to an Ohio State goal by graduate forward Gabby Rosenthal, resulting in a 2-0 score at the end of the period with the Buckeyes out-shooting St. Cloud State 13 to 10.
The second period saw an early Ohio State interference penalty on freshman defenseman Sydney Morrow. It only took St. Cloud State 13 seconds to capitalize on the power play opportunity, as Huskies junior forward Emma Gentry found the back of the net thanks to a centering pass from sophomore defender Grace Wolfe, cutting the Buckeyes’ lead in half.
Ohio State answered the bell and extended its lead to 3-1 as freshman forward Sloane Matthews logged the third goal of her career with an assist from junior forward Makenna Webster with 4:15 in the second period.
Webster, a dual-sport athlete and member of the Ohio State field hockey team, logged her first minutes with Muzerall’s team.
“I think it was exciting for her just to get spotted in from time to time,” Muzerall said. “The team embraces her and understands that she is coming back. I thought it was just a good moment that she could play in a game.”
With 10:50 left in the second period, Morrow made up for her early penalty and logged the first goal of her career with a wrist shot that soared past Ahola, extending Ohio State’s lead to 4-1.
Levis said it’s always a special moment to see younger teammates score their first goal.
“You just know how much hard work and how much she’s put into that,” Levis said. “When anyone gets something like that, we celebrate it all like it’s our own because we’re such a close, tight-knit family.”
Ohio State’s defense remained stout in the second period, only allowing two shots on goal the entire period and eliminating would-be chances for the St. Cloud State offense.
The Buckeyes defense wasn’t the only story of the second period, as a power play goal from Jaques extended Ohio State’s lead to 5-1, the score being Jaques’ second power play goal of the weekend and the Buckeyes’ third in the period.
The third period saw a change in netminders for St. Cloud State, as junior goaltender JoJo Chobak saw her first minutes of play against the Buckeyes.
However, that wasn’t enough to slow down the Buckeyes offense, as a one-time slap shot from the left hash by Jaques flew past Chobak and put the Buckeyes ahead 6-1.
After going nearly 25 minutes without a shot on goal, a four-on-three opportunity resulted in a goal for Huskies fifth-year forward Jenniina Nylund, loosely narrowing the gap to 6-2.
The Buckeyes will next travel to Bemidji State for an away series Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. and Oct. 16 at 3 p.m.
