Sophomore forward Joy Dunne (16) enters the offensive zone with the puck during the championship game of the 2024 Women’s Ice Breaker Tournament against Cornell, which unfolded Saturday at the at the Schottenstein Center. Dunne scored a goal in the first period to make it 3-1. Ohio State reigned victorious, winning 7-3. Credit: Faith Schneider | Lantern Photographer
Ohio State took home the hardware Saturday in the 2024 Ice Breaker Tournament, which it also hosted.
The No. 2 Buckeyes (9-2-2, 4-2-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) defeated No. 12 Cornell (1-2-1, 0-0-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) 7-3 at the Schottenstein Center, thanks to six different Ohio State scorers.
Ohio State earned its spot in the championship game after defeating the unranked Stonehill Skyhawks 11-0 Friday.
Head coach Nadine Muzerall said getting the tournament victory was a great confidence builder.
“It’s always honorable to bring hardware home, and especially doing it in your hometown,” Muzerall said. “Thanks to everybody at Ohio State for helping us organize this tournament and grow the game in Columbus.”
Ohio State opened the scoring early, with junior forward Sloane Matthews scoring a goal at the 2:56 mark. Graduate forward Kiara Zanon and sophomore forward Jocelyn Amos jointly assisted for Matthews’ second goal of the season.
Zanon followed up with a goal of her own five minutes later, putting the Buckeyes up 2-0. The score marked Zanon’s fifth goal on the season, with Amos and Matthews assisting.
The Big Red got on the board with 1:28 left in the first period, as a goal by senior forward Katie Chan cut the Buckeyes’ lead in half.
But the Buckeyes scored a buzzer-beater in the last second to cushion their lead. Sophomore forward Joy Dunne earned her third of the weekend and ninth of the season on a behind-the-goal pass from graduate forward Jenna Buglioni.
Six minutes into the second, Dunne took a shot from the point that was quicky deflected into the net by Buglioni. This tally gave her a team-leading 10 goals on the season.
Cornell cut Ohio State’s lead down once again with two more goals in just five minutes. Junior forward Avi Adam scored at 9:58, before sophomore forward Karel Prefontaine netted a power-play goal at 13:34.
But Ohio State wasn’t done.
Amos scored a late, short-handed goal to increase the Buckeyes’ lead to 5-3 with 40 seconds left in the second period. Amos’ ninth goal of the season was assisted by graduate forward Maddi Wheeler and Zanon.
Amos said after Friday’s victory, the squad knew it wanted to carry a winning mentality into the championship game.
“I’m a believer in if you do the right things, good things will happen over a long span of time,” Amos said. “So, I feel like it was just a combination of all that.”
The Buckeyes extended their lead to three in the third, with junior defender Brooke Disher’s first goal of the season being assisted by Wheeler.
At 9:10 in the third, Amos earned her second score of the game on a power play assisted by senior defender Emily Zumwinkle and graduate defender Riley Brengman.
This was Amos’s fourth point of the day, as she netted two goals and dished out two assists. Amos and Buglioni have 10 goals on the season each, making them tied as the Buckeyes’ team leaders.
“We wanted to get everyone going,” Amos said. “It’s good to get girls’ confidence up, especially going later into the year.”
Muzerall said she thinks Saturday’s performance was just a glimpse of what her squad is capable of.
“When you have numerous goals by different players, I think that shows our depth, and that’s what it’s going to take to win it all,” Muzerall said.
The Buckeyes will be back in action next weekend against St. Thomas. Puck drop is at 3 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
