Ohio State Women’s Ice Hockey Plays Host to No. 8/9 Minnesota State – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Jan. 15, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s ice hockey team returns to WCHA action at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 4:05 p.m. Saturday as they take on the No. 8/9 Minnesota State Mavericks at the OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes are 10-6-1 overall and 6-6-0 in the WCHA.
SCOUTING NO. 8/9 MINNESOTA STATE
The Mavericks enter this weekend on a six-game unbeaten streak, coming off a road sweep over Connecticut Jan. 9-10. Minnesota State is tied with Ohio State for third in the WCHA conference standings. MSU has swept two conference opponents this season – Minnesota-Duluth and Bemidji State. The Mavericks fell to Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Sophomore Devon Nichols, who is currently on a six-game point streak, leads the squad with 25 points (8-17-25). Junior forward Melanie Salatino is not far behind with 20 points, including nine power-play goals this season. Five Mavericks have recorded double-digits in points this season.
In goal for MSU is senior Shari Vogt, who ranks first in the WCHA and fifth nationally with a .941 save percentage. Vogt recorded her first shutout this season last weekend against Connecticut.
BUCKEYES VS. MAVERICKS
Ohio State and Minnesota State will be meeting for the 17th time in the history of the program. The Buckeyes lead the Mavericks 15-0-1 in the all-time series. OSU leads 8-0-0 against MSU in the OSU Ice Rink.
MSU HEAD COACH
Jeff Vizenor is in his third season as the head coach of the Minnesota State women’s hockey program. Last season, Vizenor guided the Mavericks to a 10-21-3 record, their highest win total since joining the WCHA. The 1992 St. Cloud State graduate joined the MSU program after spending a season as an assistant coach at Wisconsin. LAST TIME OUT VS. MSU
The last time Ohio State and Minnesota State faced off was Feb. 15, 2003 in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes swept the Mavericks to clinch a spot in the 2003 WCHA Championships. Sophomore Jeni Creary tallied the game-winning goal with 1:24 remaining in overtime to lift the squad to a 2-1 OT victory Feb. 14. Senior Shana Frost scored the game-winning goal to lift the Buckeyes to a 5-4 victory over the Mavericks Feb. 15.
DIFFERENCE MAKER
Penalties could be the difference maker in the series vs. Minnesota State this weekend. The Mavericks currently average the most penalty minutes at 16 per game. Ohio State is fifth in the league, averaging 11 penalty minutes per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State defeated Quinnipiac, 6-1, in a non-conference game Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. The Bobcats took a 1-0 lead in the first period, but the Buckeyes came back scoring two goals in the second period and four in the third period. Ohio State outshot Quinnipiac 26-19. Senior Heather Farrell led the team with two goals, while four Buckeyes earned two points each. Freshman goalie Erika Vanderveer recorded her fourth consecutive win.
IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE
Ohio State had a 45 percent shot percentage, as it scored four goals on nine shots in the third period of the game Tuesday against Quinnipiac.
PK POWER
Ohio State’s penalty-killing unit is ranked fourth in the nation, for the second time this season, stopping 65-of-71 of its opponents’ power plays (91.5 percent).
ONE MORE
The Buckeyes tied a program record of four goals in the third period Tuesday against Quinnipiac. Previously this season, OSU scored three goals in a period Nov. 14-15 against St. Cloud State and Nov. 29 against Niagara.
SIX GOALS
OSU’s six goals against the Bobcats Tuesday marks the most goals the Buckeyes have scored this season, just two shy of the program record of eight goals.
A COINCIDENCE
In game one of the last four series, Ohio State scored the first goal and carried its momentum to the end of the game for a win. The Buckeyes are 6-2-0 in the opening game of a series this season. The Buckeyes have scored the first goal in 8-of-9 series openers this season.
MULTIPLE SCORERS
Five Buckeyes scored a goal against Quinnipiac Tuesday, marking the most players who have tallied a goal in a single game.
100 IN REACH
After each recording two points against Quinnipiac Tuesday, senior Emma Laaksonen and junior Jeni Creary are closer to reaching 100 career points. Laaksonen has 92 points and Creary has 94 points. Ohio State’s career leader with 98 points is former player Shana Frost (1999-03).
BUCKEYES VS. OPPONENTS
The Buckeyes are leading their opponents in three categories this season. The squad has outscored its opponents by 11 goals, tallied 25 more assists and scored five more power-play goals than its opponents.
FOUR-FOR-FOUR
Freshman goaltender Erika Vanderveer has earned a 4-0-0 record in her four games in net this season. Vanderveer has accumulated a .50 GAA and a .977 save percentage.
The rookie recorded two consecutive shutouts earlier this season against Bemidji State and St. Cloud State.
HOMERS
Playing in the beloved OSU Ice Rink this season has made an impact as the Buckeyes are 6-3-0 at home. Last season, OSU was 6-10-1. The Buckeyes have seven more home games this season.
BUCKEYE LEADERS
Sophomore Jana Harrigan and junior Jeni Creary lead the team with 13 points each. Harrigan has recorded six goals and seven assists, while Creary has five goals and eight assists.
Senior captain Emma Laaksonen is not far behind with 12 points. Laaksonen continues to lead OSU with 10 assists this season.
Six Buckeyes have recorded double-digit points this season – Harrigan, Creary, Laaksonen, Meaghan Mulvaney, Heather Farrell and Tessa Bonhomme.
LAST WCHA MATCH-UP
Ohio State split a two-game series with St. Cloud State Jan. 3-4 in Columbus, Ohio. OSU had a 2-0 lead going into the final stretch of the game Jan. 3, but the Huskies scored with less than two minutes on the clock to keep the Buckeyes from earning a shutout, 2-1. Despite outshooting SCSU, 34-25, Ohio State fell 2-1 in game two Jan. 4. The Buckeyes scored their lone under the two minute mark.
GOOD LINES MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Head coach Jackie Barto has not changed the Buckeye line-chart in eight games this season. The last time OSU had a different line-up was Nov. 21 against Bemidji State. The Buckeyes have tallied an 6-1-1 record with their current line-chart.
RECORD SEASON
The Buckeyes have set three program records so far this season. For the first time in program history Ohio State went on a nine-game unbeaten streak (Nov. 14-Jan. 3). During that time OSU had a seven-game winning streak, from Nov. 14-Dec. 12, breaking a six-game streak in the 2000-01 season. The Buckeyes also won five consecutive conference games, breaking the previous record of four wins from the 2000-01 season.
ALL-TIME LOW
The Buckeyes only have tallied 89 penalties for 178 minutes compared to their opponents 105 for 226 minutes this season. All of OSU’s penalties have been minors, while its opponents have recorded two 10-minute misconduct. Sixteen games into last year, the Buckeyes recorded 99 penalties for 212 minutes.
MORE AND MORE ACCOLADES
Ohio State has earned five WCHA Player of the Week honors this season. Two Buckeyes, Melissa Glaser and Erika Vanderveer, have earned the honor twice. Junior captain Meaghan Mulvaney earned Offensive Player of the Week Nov. 5.
DOUBLE-DIGITS
Four Buckeyes have recorded double-digits in points this season. Sophomore Jana Harrigan has 12, junior Jeni Creary has 11 and junior Meaghan Mulvaney and senior Emma Laaksonen are tied with 10 points. Sixteen of the 20 players on the OSU squad have recorded points this season, 14 of which have scored a goal.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Junior Jennifer Desson led the team with four goals, including both gamewinners, against St. Cloud State Nov. 14. Desson recorded her second career hat trick, the teams’ first of the season, Nov. 14 and tallied an additional goal in the shutout Nov. 15.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES
Senior denfenseman Emma Laaksonen and junior forward Jeni Creary both competed at international tournaments this year.
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.
Laaksonen competed for Team Finland in the 2003 Four Nations Cup Nov. 5-9 in Skovde, Sweden. Team Finland earned the bronze medal in the four day competition. The event marked the seventh Four Nations Cup Laaksonen has played in with Team Finland.
THE SCHEDULE
The toughest part of the schedule might be competing on the road for four consecutive weekends in January and February. The Buckeyes play every WCHA team four times during the season, a two-game trip on the road and with a two-game series at home.
In non-conference action, OSU faces 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
The Buckeyes hit the road for a four-week road stretch, playing Bemidji State, Mercyhurst, Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State. Ohio State returns home for a match-up with the No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers at 7:05 p.m. Feb. 20-21 at the OSU Ice Rink.
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 FINAL FIVE
Tickets for the 2004 WCHA Final Five, set for March 12-14 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., are on sale now. To order tickets phone 1-800-UGopher.
