Ohio State
5-8-0, 3-8-0WCHA
St. Cloud State
5-7-1, 3-7-1WCHA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| St. Cloud State | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Ohio State Opens Up Weekend with 3-2 Loss at St. Cloud State – Ohio State Buckeyes
11/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
Nov. 20, 2015
Columbus, Ohio— The Ohio State women’s hockey team (5-8-0, 3-8-0 WCHA) opened up its weekend with a 3-2 loss at the hands of St. Cloud State (5-7-1, 3-7-1 WCHA) on Friday.
Over the last several year, the Buckeyes have had great success against the Huskies, not losing a season series since 2008-09 including a 3-1 record last year. Today, however, it was St. Cloud State that came away with the win.
Despite the outcome, Ohio State was able to jump out to about as early a lead as you’re going to see in hockey; Claudia Kepler found the back of the net just 24 seconds into the game to give the Scarlet and Gray an early 1-0 lead. Kendall Curtis and Alexa Ranahan assisted on the goal, their fifth and sixth helpers, respectively. The Buckeyes held that lead for nearly the entire first period, but surrendered a late goal to Husky Alyssa Erickson at the 19.24 mark that tied the game at 1-1. That goal aside, it was mainly Ohio State’s period; it outshot its WCHA counterpart 7-6 and snuffed out St. Cloud’s only power play attempt of the frame.
Momentum shifted towards the Huskies in the second period, however. Molly Illikainen scored 12:20 into the period to put her team ahead 2-1, despite being outshot 9-5 for the period. The last time Ohio State entered the third period with a lead was Oct. 24 against Minnesota State. Since then it has twice entered the final frame tied and three times while trailing.
Near the halfway mark of the third period, though, Curtis scored her team-leading seventh goal of the year to tie the game up at 2-2. Dani Sadek and Julianna Iafallo added assists on the goal, giving each of them six for the season. The Buckeyes were generating more offensive chances and had more opportunities to take the lead, as evidenced by them outshooting St. Cloud State 10-7 in the third period and 26-18 overall, but the Huskies would be the ones to notch the game-winning goal. Illikainen scored her second of the game and ninth of the year 16:16 into the period to seal the deal and hand Ohio State its eighth loss of the year.
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back tomorrow, Saturday, at 2:37 ET. This is a time change from the originally scheduled time of 4:07 ET.
