Ohio State then-freshman forward Jenna Buglioni (10) celebrates a successful goal by former Buckeye forward Liz Schepers (21) during the Ohio State-Minnesota game on Jan. 29, 2021. Ohio State lost the game 7-4. Credit: Christian Harsa | Lantern File
No. 1 Ohio State is set to play its second top-two matchup of the season Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
The Buckeyes (16-2-0, 13-1-0 WCHA) will return from a monthlong break to face the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-3-1, 10-3-1-1 WCHA) in the two teams’ second series of the season.
The Golden Gophers enter the matchup fresh off a home sweep of No. 12 University of Connecticut Friday and Saturday, while the Buckeyes have not played since their Dec. 10, 2023, 4-1 home victory against Minnesota State. Despite the extended time away from game action, graduate forward Jennifer Gardiner said the team is back to full speed.
“We’ve never had a break this long, so it’s a little bit nerve-wracking spending that much time away from the rink, but everyone came back flying,” Gardiner said. “We had a full week of practice to tune some things up, and it was like we never left.”
The last time Ohio State played in a No. 1-against-No. 2 series, the then-No. 2 Buckeyes swept then-No. 1 Wisconsin with a 3-0 win Nov. 17, 2023, and a 2-1 overtime win Nov. 18, 2023, at the Ohio State Ice Rink. Gardiner said her team is used to playing in high-stakes games and is ready for the challenge against Minnesota.
“Everyone always says it’s Ohio against the world, and it really is every single weekend,” Gardiner said. “We know that everyone wants to come and knock us off and we know we get everyone’s best. We’re gonna use that energy to our advantage and feed off of it. No matter what the target is, we’re number one for a reason.”
The last time Ohio State and Minnesota met, the Buckeyes swept the Golden Gophers, winning 4-3 in overtime Oct. 27, 2023, and 6-5 Oct. 28, 2023. Senior forward Jenna Buglioni said the Buckeyes are aware of Minnesota’s strengths after their October series and have prepared accordingly.
“Their special teams are lethal, so we need to stay out of the box,” Buglioni said. “They’re strong everywhere on the ice, but so are we, so we need to take care of the little details and play our game. When it’s two teams with such great skill, it’s gonna come down to passion, physicality and will to win.”
Gardiner — who scored the game-winning goal in Ohio State’s Oct. 27 win against Minnesota — emphasized the need to be sharp on special teams, and said it was a major focus in practice this week.
“It’s going to come down to special teams, and that’s something we’ve really been trying to tune into these past couple of weeks,” Gardiner said. “We’ve been practicing power play, penalty kill, as well as the little details like the blocked shots and stick positioning, boxing out in front of the net. All those little things are going to matter because they have a lot of skilled players.”
So far, Ohio State has won 10 of its 12 top-10 games this season. Heading into another top-ranked series, Buglioni said her team is ready for the intensity.
“It’s definitely a privilege, in every game that we play that No. 1’s on the line,” Buglioni said. “No. 1 against No. 2, it’s going to be one of the best games of the year and we need to be ready because they’re going to come out hot. We know what we need to do, and we know that we’ve got to play hard and physical and play to our style.”
