Ohio State
Bemidji St
Buckeyes Fall 4-2 at No. 9 Bemidji State in Series Finale – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Jan. 14, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s hockey team fell at No. 9 Bemidji State, 4-2, to conclude the WCHA series with the Beavers Saturday night. The loss drops the Buckeyes to 11-9-4 overall and 8-9-1 in conference play.
Bemidji State’s Zuzana Tomcikova tallied 38 saves in the win, while Ohio State goalies Chelsea Knapp and Lisa Steffes split time in the net. Knapp totaled nine saves in the first period and Steffes finished with 19 over two stanzas.
The Beavers (14-9-2, 8-9-1) jumped out to a quick two-goal lead in the first period, scoring both goals in the opening six minutes. Lauren Williams sent a shot past Knapp at 2:58 with assists to Tess Dusik and Marlee Wheelhouse. Dusik added another goal at 5:21 and BSU closed out the first period with a 2-0 lead.
The game didn’t see another goal until halfway through the second stanza when senior forward Natalie Spooner notched Ohio State’s first goal of the evening. The score at 10:24 was the 21st goal of the season for Spooner and the 90th of her career. She was assisted by junior assistant captain Paige Semenza and sophomore Ally Tarr.
Bemidji State responded late in the second, scoring at 17:07 on a goal from Emily Erickson. The Beavers again took a two-goal advantage into the break, leading 3-1.
After 19 minutes of scoreless hockey, Ohio State came within a goal at 19:15 playing with an extra skater. Junior Hokey Langan earned the unassisted goal to set the score at 3-2 in favor of the Beavers. But with four seconds remaining in the game, Erickson sealed the 4-2 BSU win with an empty-net goal.
Ohio State returns to Columbus next weekend, hosting Minnesota State in a WCHA series, Jan. 20-21. The teams open with a 7:07 p.m. ET start Friday and follow with a 4:07 p.m. ET start Saturday. Both games will be played at the OSU Ice Rink and admission is free.
