Women’s Hockey Opens 2006-07 Season vs. Northeastern – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Oct. 5, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s hockey team opens its 2006-07 season Oct. 6-7 with a nonconference home series against Northeastern. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at OSU Ice Rink.
BUCKEYES OPEN SEASON WITH BACK-TO-BACK HOME SERIES
Ohio State’s home stand continues Oct. 13-14 when the Buckeyes open their WCHA schedule with a series against the defending NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 4:07 p.m. Saturday at OSU Ice Rink. The Buckeyes travel to St. Cloud State Oct. 20-21, before returning to Columbus for another set of back-to-back home series against Minnesota (Oct. 27-28) and Connecticut (Nov. 3-4).
OSU WOMEN’S HOCKEY PROGRAM WELCOMES BACK ALUMNI
This weekend, the OSU women’s hockey program welcomes back its former student-athletes for Alumni Weekend in recognition of all who have graduated from The Ohio State University. The coaching staff and all those involved with the team would like to thank all the alumni, former coaches and staff who have attended the games this weekend for their time and support of the Ohio State women’s hockey program.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY PARTNERS UP FOR MICHEAL BRESCHI FUND
Also this weekend, the women’s hockey team is partnering up with the OSU men’s lacrosse team in raising money for the Michael Breschi Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is named in honor of Michael R. Breschi, 3, the late son of Ohio State head coach Joe Breschi, who died accidentally in March 2004. It is awarded annually to a member of the Buckeye men’s lacrosse team. A donation bin will be located on the promotional table inside the rink.
2005-06 SEASON RECAP
The Buckeyes were 13-18-5 overall in 2005-06. They finished fifth in the WCHA with a 10-15-3 record. OSU fell to St. Cloud State in the first round of the conference playoffs.
In a tough WCHA season which included more parity than the league had seen in years, Ohio State recorded impressive wins for the program, including two overtime victories against Minnesota, the 2004 and 2005 national champions, for the first series split with the Golden Gophers since the 2000-01 season.
NORTHEASTERN SERIES HISTORY
This is the sixth two-game series between Ohio State and Northeastern, with the Buckeyes leading the all-time series at 5-3-2. Last season, OSU swept the Huskies, 3-0 and 6-2, in Boston. Goaltender Erika Vanderveer notched the shutout and 10 different Buckeyes registered a point on the weekend. Ohio State is on a six-game unbeaten streak vs. NU.
The first series in Buckeye history was against Northeastern Oct. 8-9, 1999 at OSU Ice Rink with the Huskies taking both games, 6-0 and 7-2.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Northeastern played two exhibition games last weekend in preparation for the 2006-07 season. The Huskies defeated the Bluewater Junior Hawks, 4-1 Sept. 30, and the Toronto Junior Aeros, 3-0 Oct. 1. NU was 8-24-1 last season with a 6-14-1 record in Hockey East games to finish seventh in the league.
The Huskies return their top nine point scorers from last season, including team-leader Nikki Petrich with 28 points (9g. 19a). Also returning is top goal scorer Crystal Rochon, who had 15 goals and 24 points. NU lost its top goaltender from 2005-06, Melissa Hourihan, to graduation. In net for the Huskies is Sarah Belliveau, who was 0-2-0 in four appearances last season with a 4.70 GAA and .866 save percentage.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State fell to Wilfrid Laurier, 2-1, in an exhibition game Sept. 30 at OSU Ice Rink. Junior Erin Keys scored the lone OSU goal, although the Buckeyes out-shot the Golden Hawks 39-16. Keys cut the score to 2-1 with a power play goal 12:29 into the second period. She knocked in a pass from fellow junior Lisa Chesson. OSU was 1-for-6 on the power play and 8-for-9 on the penalty kill. Senior Erika Vanderveer and sophomore Liana Bonanno split the time in the Ohio State goal. Each goaltender made seven saves.
AWARD WINNERS
Ohio State set a program record last season with three All-WCHA honorees and returns two of those student-athletes for 2006-07. Senior defenseman Amber Bowman was a first team selection and junior blueliner Lisa Chesson named to the third team. It was the first conference honor for both.
Departed forward Jana Harrigan, who concluded her eligibility in 2005-06, was a first team All-WCHA selection as well as an AHCA Second Team All-American and Second Team All-USCHO honoree.
BONHOMME RETURNS TO BUCKEYES
After redshirting the 2005-06 season, defenseman Tessa Bonhomme returns to Ohio State for her junior year. Bonhomme spent five months participating with the Canadian Centralization Program, competing for a roster spot on the 2006 Winter Olympic team. Although she missed the final cut, Bonhomme competed with the Canadian Under-22 Team in January. She was named captain of the team and helped lead it to a 3-1 record. She was named to the U-22 team for the third time in her career in August.
HIGH-SCORING BLUELINERS
Two of the top three returning scorers for the Buckeyes are defensemen. Senior Amber Bowman led OSU with 27 points on 11 goals and 16 assists. Junior Lisa Chesson is tied for second with 17 points (3g, 14a). Junior forward Erin Keys also scored 17 points last season (10g, 7a).
Bowman has 64 points to rank third all-time in points by a defenseman. Her 20 goals are second all-time in blueliner goal-scoring. Junior Tessa Bonhomme had 27 points in 2004-05, her last season with the Buckeyes. She is fourth in career points by a defenseman with 47 (12g, 35a).
VANDERVEER’S RECORD-SETTING SEASON
Goaltender Erika Vanderveer is aiming for a solid senior year after setting two single-season OSU records as a junior. Vanderveer had a .912 save percentage and 717 saves to set the Ohio State records in those respective categories. She finished the season with a 9-12-5 record and a 2.66 goals-against-average.
A LOOK AT THE 2006-07 CAPTAINS
Ohio State selected four captains for the 2006-07 season: seniors Amber Bowman, Katie Maroney and Lacey Schultz as well as junior Tessa Bonhomme.
? Bowman was a co-captain of the 2005-06 squad along with then-senior Jana Harrigan. She finished second on the team in points (27), goals (11) and assists (16). Bowman, a three-year letterwinner, is third all-time in defensemen scoring at Ohio State with 64 points.
? Maroney also is a three-year letterwinner and was the assistant captain for the 2005-06 season. She tied for fifth on the team in points with 16 while scoring a career-high nine goals.
? Schultz has been a mainstay on the Ohio State blueline for the last three seasons. A three-year letterwinner, she has totaled six career points on six assists and ranks fifth all-time in penalty minutes with 143.
? Bonhomme recently returned to the Buckeyes after redshirting the 2005-06 season while taking part in the Canadian Centralization Program in association with the National Women’s Team. Through two seasons, the two-time letterwinner already ranks fourth all-time in defensemen scoring with 47 points.
