No. 3 Ohio State, No. 2 Minnesota Set for Weekend Series
1/28/2021 10:27:05 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The only women’s hockey matchup in the nation this weekend of top-five teams occurs in Columbus as No. 3 Ohio State hosts No. 2 Minnesota on Friday and Saturday at the OSU Ice Rink. Friday’s game is set for a 6:07 p.m. ET start while Saturday’s series finale will begin at 3:07 p.m. ET. Both games will be streamed on BTN Plus.
The Basics
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Minnesota // Friday, Jan. 29 // 6:07 p.m. ET // Columbus, Ohio
Watch Live // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Minnesota // Saturday, Jan. 30 // 3:07 p.m. ET // Columbus, Ohio
Watch Live // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
? Weekend preview with head coach Nadine Muzerall
Buckeyes in a Nutshell
- Winners of three straight games, Ohio State enters the weekend series vs. Minnesota with an 8-4 overall record.
- A pair of underclassmen are leading the Buckeyes in scoring this year: freshman Jenna Buglioni (six goals, four assists) and sophomore Jennifer Gardiner (four goals, six assists) each have 10 points thus far.
- Senior Tatum Skaggs, who scored twice in last Friday’s 3-0 win over Minnesota State, has nine points on the season and is second on the team with five goals. She is also the Buckeyes’ active career leader in goals scored with 62.
- Liz Schepers, Riley Brengman and Madison Bizal all have seven points on the season. Bizal leads the team with six assists.
- A total of 16 players have at least one point this season and 11 players have scored a goal.
- In goal, junior Andrea Braendli has made 244 saves to go with a 1.59 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. She has a career record of 43-19-7.
Scouting Minnesota
- The Gophers (8-3) enter this weekend’s series following an off weekend. The last time it played, Minnesota dropped games at Wisconsin Jan. 8-9.
- The Gophers have the WCHA’s No. 2-ranked scoring offense at 2.82 goals per game and have scored 31 times in 11 games.
- Senior Grace Zumwinkle is Minnesota’s leading scorer with 10 points on the season (eight goals, two assists).
The Ohio State/Minnesota Series
- Ohio State and Minnesota opened the 2020-21 season Nov. 21-22 in Minneapolis by splitting a pair of games at Ridder Arena.
- The Buckeyes dropped the opening game, 4-0, but came back with a 2-1 win on Nov. 22 thanks to goals from Liz Schepers and Tatum Skaggs in the first period.
- Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Buckeyes have won eight of 16 games against the Gophers with an 8-7-1 edge in the series.
Gopher Connections
- Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall was a two-time All-American and national champion as a player at Minnesota and then spent five years behind the bench as an assistant coach for the Gophers.
- The first women’s hockey player to be inducted into the University of Minnesota’s Hall of Fame, she helped guide her former team to four national championships and five-consecutive spots in the title game.
- During her tenure she coached five Olympians, none of whom had made Olympic rosters prior to her arrival.
- While serving as a member of Minnesota’s staff, the Gophers accrued a record of 182-14-8, including a perfect 41-0-0 record during the 2012-13 season.
- Muzerall still sits atop Minnesota’s all-time goals scored list with 139.
- Assistant coach Emily West was a Gopher as well, helping the team win a national championship as a player in 2012.
- She graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and environment.
Stacking Up Nationally
- Riley Brengman and Madison Bizal are tied for 19th nationally in points per game by defensemen (0.58).
- Jenna Buglioni is fifth nationally among freshmen in points per game (0.83). She already has three multi-point games this season (vs. Bemidji State Jan. 1 and Jan. 2 and vs. Minnesota State Jan. 23).
- Goalie Andrea Braendli’s 1.59 goals-against averaged ranks ninth in the country while her .935 save percentage is 14th.
More Numbers
- Ohio State has outshot its opponents in 10 of 12 games this season.
- The Buckeyes hold a 492-289 total edge in shots this season.
- Ohio State is the only team in the country that hasn’t allowed a power play goal thus far and is 25 for 25 on the penalty kill.
Fast Starts
- In both games of last weekend’s sweep of Minnesota State, the Buckeyes scored goals within the first minute of regulation.
- On Friday, Tatum Skaggs scored 31 seconds into the game; the next day, Liz Schepers was five seconds faster, lighting the lamp in just 26 seconds.
- The Buckeyes have outscored opponents 14-7 so far this season in the first period.
Career Record Book Watch
- Andrea Braendli became the program’s all-time leader with 43 career wins last Saturday. She is also the WCHA’s active career leader in wins.
- Tatum Skaggs’ 62 career goals rank fourth on Ohio State’s all-time list. Jana Harrigan (2003-06) is No. 3 with 68. The program’s leader is Natalie Spooner with 100 (2009-12).
- Emma Maltais’ 147 career points is fourth all-time. She’s 14 away from passing Jana Harrigan for third place.
- Three more assists will give Maltais 100 in her career. She’d be just the second player in program history with 100 assists, joining Laura McIntosh (2009-12).
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