No. 10 Buckeyes Return to the OSU Ice Rink to Host Bemidji State – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Ohio State faces off against Beavers at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday
COLUMBUS, Ohio The 10th-ranked Ohio State women’s hockey team returns to Columbus to host just its second home series of the season, Nov. 2-3 against Bemidji State. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at the OSU Ice Rink. Last time out, the Buckeyes took three of four points in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at North Dakota, capping off the series with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory. Ohio State is 3-3-2 overall with a 2-2-2 record in the league. Bemidji State was off last weekend and has a 0-5-1 record overall and in the WCHA.
WELCOME HOME
The Ohio State series at North Dakota was its third road series in the opening four weeks of the season. The Buckeyes battled through that stretch with a 2-2-2 mark in those road games. With the Bemidji State series Ohio State flips it schedule though, hosting three of the four series in November. After this weekend, the Buckeyes travel to Mankato, Minn., to face Minnesota State, Nov. 9-10. Following that series, OSU will be home to host a nonconference series with Providence (Nov. 16-17) and a WCHA series against St. Cloud State (Nov. 23-24).
KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS
Live scoring for both of Ohio State-Bemidji State games is available at the official Web site of Ohio State athletics, www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Links are available on the women’s hockey schedule page.
IN THE POLLS
Ohio State moved back into the national rankings this week, earning the No. 10 spot in both the U.S. College Hockey Online poll (released Oct. 29) and the USA Today/USA Hockey poll (released Oct. 30).
SERIES HISTORY
Ohio State leads the all-time series with the Beavers by an 18-11-5 record, but the teams were 1-1-2 in the four meetings last season. The Buckeyes took three of four points in the series in Bemidji, while the Beavers did the same in Columbus.
Senior defenseman Tessa Bonhomme leads the Buckeyes in scoring against BSU with eight points (1g, 7a) even though she missed both series last year due to commitments with the Canadian National and Under-22 Team.
A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
Bemidji State is 0-5-1 this season, with all six games against conference opponents. Ohio State is the third of four-consecutive road stops for the Beavers, who have been shut out for four games in a row. Freshman forward Julie Rising has scored two of three of BSU’s goals. In net for the Beavers is senior Emily Brookshaw, who has started all six games with a .926 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State took three of four points in a WCHA series at North Dakota, Oct. 26-27. The Buckeyes recorded the first scoreless tie in program history Friday and came from behind Saturday for a 4-3 victory. The 0-0 tie Friday was not only the first in the nine-year history of the OSU women’s hockey program, but also was junior goaltender Liana Bonanno’s first career shutout. She stopped all 21 shots faced in the tie, including five against the Fighting Sioux power play.
In the second game, Ohio State trailed 3-1 after the first seven minutes of the game and the score remained at that until the third period. The Buckeyes began to rally back 5:04 into the third with a goal by Hayley Klassen. Junior forward Morgan Marziali then made her first goals of the season count as she scored the equalizer at 14:57 and gamewinner at 16:46. Marziali was assisted by freshman defenseman Teal Bishop on both of her goals. The two assists were the first points of her career as a Buckeye.
NOTING THE NORTH DAKOTA SERIES
* Ohio State extended its unbeaten streak against UND to 13 games with an 11-0-2 mark in that span.
* The Buckeyes snapped their power play drought, with Tessa Bonhomme scoring with the man-advantage Saturday. The Buckeyes are now 1-of-30 after being held scoreless on the PP through the first seven games.
* For the UND series, Liana Bonanno turned away 36 of 39 shots faced for a .923 save percentage and 1.44 goals-against average.
* The OSU penalty kill was perfect in the series with a 9-of-9 mark to increase its season PK percentage to 80.5.
CHESSON ON U.S. SELECT TEAM
Senior defenseman Lisa Chesson has been named to the 2007 U.S. Women’s Select Team, USA Hockey announced Oct. 16. Chesson will compete with Team USA in the Four Nations Cup, Nov. 7-11 in Leksand, Sweden, against the national teams from Canada, Sweden and Finland. In August, Chesson became just the second Buckeye to be named to the U.S. Under-22 Team. She is the first student-athlete in Ohio State women’s hockey history to be named to the U.S. Women’s Select Team.
The U.S. Women’s Select team is a 22-player roster that includes eight Olympians. Fourteen of its members won silver at the 2007 World Women’s Championship hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Team USA will be coached by Jackie Barto, Ohio State head coach. She will lead the squad in November as well as the 2008 Women’s World Championship in April.
ALL RILED UP
Freshman defenseman Shannon Reilly recorded another assist in the North Dakota series for her fifth point of the season. The native of Chanhassen, Minn., also had three assists in the Minnesota series and has tallied all of her points in four of the last five games. Reilly is tied for third in defenseman scoring overall in the WCHA.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN
Ohio State has continued its tradition of offensive-minded defensemen this season. Five of Ohio State’s six assists Saturday at North Dakota were by defensemen with Lisa Chesson, Shannon Reilly, Teal Bishop (2) and Rachel Davis all setting up goals. Tessa Bonhomme also scored a goal for a total of six points by blueliners. Through eight games this season, Buckeye defensemen have recorded almost half of OSU’s points (21 of 44) including 13 of 25 assists.
COUNTDOWN TO 200
Head coach Jackie Barto is nearing a milestone in her 13th season of coaching, needing just six wins to reach the 200-victory mark. She has a career record is 195-199-40, including a 125-146-30 mark at Ohio State. Barto, the first and only head coach of the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team, is in her ninth season at the helm of the Buckeyes. In 2006-07, four Buckeyes were named to All-WCHA teams and Tessa Bonhomme became Ohio State’s third All-American. Barto reached her 100th Ohio State win Jan. 28, 2006, vs. Minnesota at the OSU Ice Rink. Prior to Ohio State, she spent five years coaching at Providence College.
MOVING ON UP
Senior defenseman Tessa Bonhomme became the first blueliner in the nation to reach the double-digit point mark with goal Saturday at UND. Her 10 points through eight games leads the NCAA and WCHA in defenseman scoring. She also ranks third in the league with six goals.
With her first career hat trick vs. Minnesota (Oct. 19), Bonhomme recorded her 90th point. She ranks sixth in the OSU record books with 93 career points with tied for seventh with 32 goals. Bonhomme is just seven points away from her 100th, which would move her to second in career scoring by a defenseman and make her just the fourth Buckeye and second defenseman to reach that milestone. She trails former Buckeye All-American Emma Laaksonen (2001-04) who is second in defenseman scoring with 99. Last season, Amber Bowman set the OSU blueliner record with 102 career points.
LEADING THE WAY
Senior defenseman Tessa Bonhomme was voted team captain for the 2007-08 season, announced at the team banquet in the spring. Along with three seniors, Bonhomme was one of four captains in 2006-07. Wearing the A’ for the Buckeyes this season is a trio of seniors in forwards Jody Heywood and Mallory Peckels and defenseman Lisa Chesson. It is the first OSU captain honor for all three.
BUCKEYES PICKED FOURTH IN WCHA
Ohio State has been picked to finish fourth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the league announced Sept. 25. In a poll of the eight head coaches taken by the WCHA, the Buckeyes received 31 points, six points behind No. 3 Minnesota. Two-time defending NCAA champion Wisconsin is No. 1 with 49 points and seven first-place votes, followed by Minnesota Duluth in second with 42 votes and one first-place vote.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will hit the road to face Minnesota State in a conference series Nov. 9-10 in Mankato, Minn. Games begin at 7:07 p.m. (CT) Friday and 3:07 p.m. Saturday. The Buckeyes will be without head coach Jackie Barto and senior defenseman Lisa Chesson, who will be competing with Team USA in the Four Nations Cup in Sweden.
