Ohio State Women’s Ice Hockey Opens Home Slate vs. No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Oct. 21, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s ice hockey team faces No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Buckeyes’ home opener at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio.
SCOUTING NO. 5 MINNESOTA-DULUTH
Defending national champion No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are 2-2-0 this season. The Bulldogs suffered two losses at Minnesota State to open regular season and WCHA action. UMD came back last weekend as it swept Bemidji State, 5-0 Oct. 17 and 8-0 Oct. 18.
Leading the Bulldogs with seven points (5-2) is senior Jenny Potter. Junior Larissa Luther and sophomore Caroline Ouellette fall in second on the squad with five points each.
In goal for UMD are two freshmen and a junior. Rookie Anna-Kaisa Piiroinen leads the trio playing 47 percent of the minutes in net. Piiroinen has allowed four goals in 31 shots, a .887 save percentage, and has a goals against average of 2.12.
BUCKEYES VS. BULLDOGS
The Buckeyes and Bulldogs will be meeting for the 21st time in the history of the programs. OSU trails Minnesota-Duluth 1-17-2. Last time out Minnesota-Duluth defeated Ohio State 6-1 March 7, 2003 in the semifinal round of the WCHA tournament.
BULLDOGS HEAD COACH
Shannon Miller, the 2003 American Hockey Coaches Association Coach of the Year, has led the Minnesota-Duluth women’s hockey team to three consecutive NCAA Championship titles (2001, 2002, 2003), in only four years at the helm. Miller has compiled an 108-19-13 record, earning the top spot among all current women’s college hockey coaches.
DID YOU KNOW?
Seven members of the Bulldogs squad also compete on national team around the world, including Finland, Canada, Switzerland and the United States.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State was swept by No. 1 Minnesota, 6-3 Oct. 17 and 7-0 Oct. 18 in Minneapolis, Minn. Minnesota-Duluth swept Bemidji State in two game series, 5-0 Oct. 17 and 8-0 Oct. 18 in Duluth, Minn.
LAST TIME OUT VS. UMD
No. 4-seed Ohio State team lost to No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth, 6-1, March 7, 2003 in the semifinals of the 2003 WCHA Final Five Tournament in Grand Forks, N.D.
The Buckeyes held the Bulldogs scoreless until 7:28 in the first period, when UMD’s Erika Holst posted the first goal of the game. Minnesota-Duluth’s Jenny Hempel scored at 16:49, increasing its lead to 2-0. Ohio State had several good scoring opportunities, but was unable to get the puck past UMD’s goalie. At the end of the stanza, Ohio State trailed 9-18 in shots.
In the second, Minnesota-Duluth’s Holst posted her second goal of the game at 4:02. The Bulldogs recorded a power-play goal and their fourth goal of the game at 10:30 by Jonanne Eustace.
Ohio State came out strong in the third stanza. Jana Harrigan put the Buckeyes on the scoreboard at 2:01 with a 4-on-4 unassisted goal. Minnesota-Duluth’s Caroline Ouellette followed with two goals at 5:12 and 13:41.
UMD outshot OSU 48-18. The Buckeyes held the Bulldogs scoreless on three-of-four power-play opportunities. The Buckeyes went 0-for-4 on the power play.
HOMETOWN HOMIES
Ohio State’s Natalie Lamme attended the same high school as Minnesota-Duluth’s forward Julie
Fearing and forward Meghan Stotts. All three players were members of the Hibbing High School women’s hockey team.
OSU’s Jeni Creary and Lacey Schultz also played on the Notre Dame Hounds with UMD’s Tricia Guest.
SAME TEAM NOW OPPOSITE TEAM
Did you know Ohio State’s Jeni Creary has played on the same team as Minnesota-Duluth’s Krista McArthur and Caroline Ouellette. Creary and McArthur were members of Canada’s Under-22 Team which competed in a three-game exhibition series vs. the U.S. Women’s Under-22 Team Aug. 20-23. Creary, McArthur and Ouellette played on Team Wilson at the Canada Thanksgiving Festival Oct. 8-12 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
SEE YOU SOON
OSU’s Emma Laaksonen will be competing for Team Finland at the 2003 Four Nations Cup Nov. 5-9 in Tibro, Sweden. Also, competing at the tournament is UMD’s Caroline Ouellette, who is a member of Team Canada.
FIRST SEASON MARKS
Five Buckeyes recorded one point each against the Gophers Oct. 17, marking their first points of the season – Tessa Bonhomme, Jennifer Desson, Heather Farrell, Jana Harrigan and Meaghan Mulvaney.
SURFING THE NET
After being out of the net the entire 2002-03 season because of a knee injury, junior goaltender Melissa Glaser returned to action this weekend tallying 47 saves in both contests. This weekend marked the first game Glaser has competed in since March 9, 2002.
TRIFECTA
Three players lead the Buckeye team with one goal each – juniors Jennifer Desson and Meaghan Mulvaney and sophomore Jana Harrigan.
SHOTS LEADERS
Senior captain Erin O’Grady and freshman Tessa Bonhomme lead the Buckeye squad with seven shots on the season.
TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
The first three weekends this season are tough for OSU. The Buckeyes opened their season vs. No. 1 Minnesota and the competition continues as they face No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth Friday and Saturday and No. 6 Wisconsin next weekend.
DID YOU KNOW?
The 2003-04 Ohio State captains are senior Erin O’Grady and junior Meaghan Mulvaney. The alternate captains are seniors Jeanne Chapple and Emma Laaksonen.
HATS OFF TO MULVANEY
Junior captain Meaghan Mulvaney posted an excellent performance as she recorded two consecutive hat tricks to lead the Buckeyes to a sweep over Toronto in exhibition action Oct. 10-11. The junior captain scored one even strength and two power-play goals in the 5-2 victory Oct. 10. The Ohio native duplicated her success Oct. 11, as she tallied one power-play and two even strength goals. Mulvaney posted 13 shots and finished +4 on the weekend.
For her performance Mulvaney earned WCHA Offensive Player of the Week.
CREARY COMPETED AT FESTIVAL
Forward Jeni Creary competed at the Canadian National Team Thanksgiving Festival Oct. 7-12 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Sixty of Canada’s top women athletes were asked to compete in the three-team tournament which was the first year for this camp and believed to be the largest camp ever. Coaches and scouts were on hand to see how the players reacted to playing in a competitive environment.
Creary competed for Team Wilson under head coach Ken Dufton of the Toronto Aeros. The group of players were divided into three teams, which were named in honor of Canada’s first three World Championship captains – Team Scherer, Team St-Louis and Team Wilson.
2002-03 SEASON RECAP
Ohio State finished the 2002-03 season fourth in both the regular season standings and the conference tournament. The Buckeyes posted a 12-22-3 overall record, including an 8-13-3 record in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference. OSU scored 88 goals, averaging 2.4 goals per game, as well as 130 assists. The Buckeyes allowed 114 goals, an average of 3.1 goals against per contest.
THE 2003 POSTSEASON
The Buckeyes earned a No. 5 seed in the 2003 WCHA Final Five Tournament, which was played in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. OSU advanced to the second round with a win over No. 5 Bemidji State, 4-3, in a March 6 overtime game before falling to No. 1 seed Minnesota-Duluth, 6-1, March 7.
The postseason appearance marked the fourth consecutive time OSU advanced to the WCHA tournament. The Buckeyes are 6-6-0 all-time in the tourney.
THE SQUAD
The returning nine forwards bring a wealth of experience to the ice. The three returning defensemen will use their wisdom and strength to guide three defensive newcomers. Freshman Erika Vanderveer joins the combination of Melissa Glaser and Natalie Lamme in goal this season.
“The strengths of the team will be their work ethic and the desire to win,” Jackie Barto, OSU head coach, said. “We have a very good combination of quality returning players and a lot of energy and excitement with the six incoming freshmen. The two have the potential to come together both on and off the ice.”
GOALS TO ACCOMPLISH
After finishing 12-22-3 last season, the Buckeyes have a lot to build upon in 2003. The squad finished 5-10 in one-goal games and was 2-1-3 in overtime games.
“A goal of the team’s is to take the next step forward and come out with big wins,” Jackie Barto said “Last season we had 15 one-goal games and we only came out with a few wins. To accomplish this we need to improve our defense. If we are very strong and very committed to the defensive side of the puck that will improve us in the one-goal games.”
THE SCHEDULE
The Buckeyes return home to face defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth (Oct. 24-25). Then, the squad is on the road two consecutive weekends vs. Wisconsin and St. Cloud State. The toughest part of the schedule might be competing on the road for four straight weekends in January and February. The Buckeyes play every WCHA team four times during the season, a two-game trip on the road and a two-game series at home.
In nonconference action, OSU faces Niagara, Quinnipiac and Mercyhurst for the first time in the four-year history of the program. The team travels to Erie, Pa., to take on Mercyhurst, the teams faced off for the first time last season, with an OSU loss 2-1. In the final game of the regular-season (March 6), Ohio State looks to defend the Ohio Cup trophy after defeating Findlay for three consecutive years.
The 2003 WCHA Final Five Tournament will be held March 12-14 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The Buckeyes are striving for the 2003 NCAA Frozen Four March 26 and 28 in Providence, R.I.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
Ohio State travels to Madison, Wis. to face the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers at 3:05 p.m. Nov. 1 and at 3:05 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Kohl Center. The Buckeyes do not return home until Nov. 21 and 22 when they take on Bemidji State.
FIND OUT ON THE WEB
Keep track of the latest women’s ice hockey news, scores and stats by logging on to the official Ohio State athletic website at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
WCHA ROUND-UP
Minnesota State kept its unbeaten streak alive as the Mavericks picked up two wins over the weekend. Minnesota State is 4-0 overall this season after sweeping North Dakota by scores of 5-2 and 3-2. The Mavericks are 2-0 in WCHA action. Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth also picked up conference sweeps on the weekend. The Gophers opened the WCHA season at home with a pair of wins over Ohio State. Minnesota-Duluth also opened the home portion of their schedule with back-to-back shutout wins over Bemidji State.
St. Cloud State hit the road for a two game series at Findlay. The Huskies were edged 3-2 Saturday and then fell 8-3 on Sunday. Wisconsin traveled to Maine for a rare Sunday-Monday series, in which the Badgers swept the Black Bears.
Coming up this weekend are three league series as Minnesota State travels to Bemidji State, Minnesota heads to Wisconsin and Ohio State plays host to Minnesota-Duluth. St. Cloud State will entertain North Dakota in a non-conference series.
