No. 9 Buckeyes Blank St. Cloud State 4-0

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St. CLOUD, Minn. — The No. 9 Ohio State University women’s ice hockey team (16-11-0, 10-9-0 WCHA) got things back on track with a 4-0 win against the St. Cloud State University Huskies (8-19-2, 3-15-0 WCHA) on Friday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

The Nitty Gritty

• Freshman goaltender Andrea Braendli stopped all 22 shots she faced to earn her fourth shutout of the season, tied for third in the WCHA.
• The Buckeyes drew first blood with a goal from Rebecca Freiburger, her third of the season, to take a 1-0 lead with 10:18 left in the first.
• After a scoreless second, Paetyn Levis wasted no time in adding to the Buckeye lead in the third. Levis popped one into the SCSU net just 1:03 into the third to give OSU a 2-0 lead.
• Sophie Jaques got in on the scoring with just over three minutes remaining, notching her fourth goal of the season to give the Bucks a 3-0 lead.
• Ohio State used its lone power play opportunity of the night efficiently with Emma Maltais converting on the advantage to seal the 4-0 win.
• Maltais also tallied an assist in the win. Gabby Rosenthal, Liz Schepers, Jacyn Reeves, Madison Field, Charly Dahlquist, Tatum Skaggs and Jincy Dunne all notched assists.
• The Buckeyes put 53 shots-on-goal, topping the previous season-high of 47 set against Minnesota State (Oct. 12).

First Period

Ohio State came out on fire in the opening period, hanging 19 shots on the St. Cloud net, but none were bigger than Freiburger’s goal that sent OSU into the break with a 1-0 lead. The Buckeyes outshot the Huskies 19-10 in the first.

Second Period

Neither team lit the lamp in the second, but it was not for a lack of trying. The Buckeyes looked poised to add to their lead as the team put 14 more SOG in the period, but had to settle for the 1-0 lead heading into the third. OSU took a 33-to-18 SOG advantage into the final frame.

Third Period

Levis added some insurance with her goal early in the period, and the Buckeyes controlled the third on both ends of the ice. St. Cloud only managed to put four SOG in the final 20 minutes. As time ticked away on the Huskies’ chances of a rally, goals from Jaques and Maltais put the final nail in St. Cloud’s coffin and clinched a 4-0 win for the Buckeyes.

What’s Next?

The Buckeyes look to finish this series off with a win and head to Columbus with a sweep. The series finale with St. Cloud State gets underway at 3:07 p.m. ET on Saturday.