After three periods and extra time, the Buckeyes and Golden Gophers remained tied, forcing a shootout.
Ohio State got it done in the end, thanks to Jocelyn Amos.
The No. 5 Buckeyes (6-2, 4-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) took down No. 2 Minnesota (4-1-1, 0-1-1 WCHA) 2-1 courtesy of sophomore forward Jocelyn Amos’ game-winning shootout goal Saturday afternoon at OSU Ice Rink.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall said it was nice to see her team rise up against a tougher opponent in Minnesota.
“I thought that we showed a little bit of grit, which was great,” Muzerall said. “We didn’t have that, and we’ve been a team for eight years now with that blue collar grit, so it’s nice to see that they have it, and we just got to bring it out of them a little bit more.”
Freshman forward Jordyn Petrie opened the scoring at 4:10 in the first period, tying her with Amos and Jenna Buglioni for a team-leading five goals apiece.
“It just sets the tone and pace of the game for the shifts that follow,” Muzerall said. “We’ve just got to continue to follow up on that. I would like us to score and then try to punch back a little sooner after the first goal to maybe put the nail in the coffin.”
Graduate goaltender Amanda Thiele held off the Golden Gophers’ attacks in the first period after enduring seven penalty minutes.
Freshman goalkeeper Hannah Clark started in her second career game for the Gophers, facing eight shots in the first period.
The second period saw more of the same with the Buckeyes up 1-0, despite six combined penalty minutes among the Buckeyes and Bruins.
The Gophers broke the stalemate only 3:54 into the third period with an unassisted goal on the backside by junior forward Josefin Bouveng for her second score of the year.
The third period ended with a 1-1- tie sending the game into overtime.
Despite Ohio State getting five shots on net, while Minnesota took zero, overtime was not enough to decide the winner, sending the game into a shootout. The best-of-three shootout began with Minnesota shooting first.
Minnesota’s first two shooters, senior forward Ella Huber and junior forward Allie Franco, both missed their shots. Ohio State’s first shooter, sophomore forward Joy Dunne, scored her shot to give the Buckeyes the advantage.
However, Minnesota’s third shooter, redshirt senior forward Abbey Murphy, snuck one past Thiele to keep the Gophers in the game.
The shootout extended with three more shooters per team before reaching a conclusion. After going blocker-side on her attempt, Amos scored on Clark and earned a swarming from her teammates after clinching the victory.
“I pretty much knew I was going to do that move,” Amos said. “I watched the girls before me go to watch their positioning, and it’s also my fallback too.”
The Buckeyes will be hitting the road next weekend to face St. Cloud University in Minnesota. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.