Ohio State Defeats Bemidji State In First Round of WCHA Final Five – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
March 7, 2002%^$
%^$%^$%^$Box Score%^$%^$%^$%^$
%^$BLAINE, Minn.-In a back-and-forth battle won in part by the special teams, Jennifer Desson’s (Fr., Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul’s) unassisted goal in the opening minutes of the third period was both the gamewinner and the difference maker. The No. 4-seed Ohio State women’s hockey team defeated No. 5 Bemidji State, 5-3, Thursday in the play-in game of the 2002 WCHA Women’s Final Five at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minn. Ohio State is now 18-13-4 overall (9-12-3 in the WCHA), while the Beavers end the season 12-13-8 overall (7-11-6 in the WCHA).%^$
%^$The Buckeyes await No. 1 Minnesota in the semifinal round at 8:05 p.m. (EST) Friday.%^$
%^$Heather Farrell (So., Perth, Ontario/Pomfret School) got the Buckeyes on the board at the 15:47 mark of the first stanza. Emma Laaksonen (So., Espoo, Finland/Makelanrinteen) caused a turnover near the center line and skated the puck through traffic, locating Farrell in the high slot. Farrell was whistled for cross-checking at the time of the goal and just 34 seconds later, Bemidji State’s Alicia Kinsman converted on the power play. Amber Fryklund found Lisa Peters on the point and Peters’ shot deflected off OSU goalie Melissa Glaser’s (So., Rockford, Ill./St. Mark’s) left pad. Kinsman was waiting by the near post to poke the rebound past Glaser and knot the score at one.%^$
%^$The second period was marked by constant changes in momentum. BSU’s Kerri McEwen started the scoring at 8:15 from Guylaine Hache. Ohio State answered two minutes later, at 10:17. Shana Frost (Jr., Frankford, Ontario/Bayside) sent the puck up ice to Erin O’Grady (So., London, Ontario/Culver Academy) and Jeanne Chapple (So., Vadnais Heights, Minn./Mounds View) for a two-on-one. Chapple finished O’Grady’s initial shot, which trickled past BSU netminder Anik Cote. Just over two minutes later, Bemidji State responded, converting on another power-play opportunity. Lisa Peters’ shot from just in front of the blue line made its way through traffic. Assists went to Kinsman and Fryklund. Desson tied the game at three at the 15:38 mark when she deflected Lindsey Steblen’s (Jr., Clayton, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Central) wrist shot past Cote. Katie Frohreich (Jr., Baudette, Minn./Lake of the Woods) had the second assist.%^$
%^$Just over a minute into the third period, Desson shifted the momentum back to Ohio State. She got control of the puck on a delayed Bemidji State penalty and flicked a wrist shot to the top shelf. Desson’s unassisted goal, her 12th of the season and second of the game, was the gamewinner. She leads the team with six game-winning goals this season.%^$
%^$The Buckeyes killed three additional penalties in the third stanza. Chapple sealed the Ohio State victory at 13:37 with an even-strength goal from Frohreich.%^$
%^$Shots were even at 23 apiece. Ohio State was outstanding on the penalty kill, limiting a strong Bemidji State power-play unit to two goals in seven chances with the man advantage. The Buckeyes converted on their only power-play opportunity in the game.%^$
%^$Glaser improved to 15-7-3 on the year behind 20 saves and Cote stopped 18-of-23 Buckeye shots.%^$
%^$March 7, 2002%^$Bemidji State 3, Ohio State 5%^$2002 WCHA Women’s Final Five, First Round%^$Fogerty Ice Arena, Blaine, Minn.%^$
%^$Score Per Period%^$ 1 2 3 F%^$Bemidji State 1 2 0 3%^$Ohio State 1 2 2 5%^$
%^$Shots Per Period%^$ 1 2 3 F%^$BSU 4 11 8 23%^$OSU 6 10 7 23%^$
%^$Scoring Summary%^$1st period%^$OSU-Farrell (Laaksonen), 15:47%^$BSU-Kinsman (Peters, Fryklund), 16:21, ppg%^$2nd Period%^$BSU-McEwen (Hache), 8:15%^$OSU-Chapple (O’Grady, Frost), 10:17%^$BSU-Peters (Kinsman, Fryklund), 12:30, ppg%^$OSU-Desson (Steblen, Frohreich), 15:38, ppg%^$3rd Period%^$OSU-Desson (unassisted), 1:19%^$OSU-Chapple (Frohreich), 13:37%^$
%^$Penalties/Minutes%^$ 1 2 3 F%^$BSU 0/0 1/2 0/0 1/2%^$OSU 2/4 2/4 3/6 7/14%^$
%^$Saves%^$BSU-Cote (58:18) 5-8-5-18%^$OSU-Glaser (60:00) 3-9-8-20%^$
%^$Power Plays%^$BSU-2-for-7 (.286)%^$OSU-1-for-1 (1.00)%^$
%^$Three Stars%^$1. Jennifer Desson, OSU%^$2. Jeanne Chapple, OSU%^$3. Lisa Peters, BSU%^$
%^$Postgame Quotes
%^$Jackie Barto, OSU head coach%^$
%^$On the Bemidji State power play
%^$”We had a lot of respect for Bemidji’s power play. I think they have a lot of dangerous components to their power play. It was a concern but I felt that we did some things on our (penalty) kill tonight that we were looking to do over the course of the week.”%^$
%^$On Jennifer Desson’s game-winning goal
%^$”I thought Jen played an outstanding game. She created a wonderful opportunity for herself, it was a big goal for us. The momentum seemed to keep switching back and forth in the early stages, we would have it then Bemidji would have it. Both teams I felt battled hard. That was a very big goal for us, I thought that was the one that got us going and gave us the edge we wanted to carry through.”
