Ohio State Selected As No. 3 Overall Seed in 2021 NCAA Tournament
3/7/2021 9:17:20 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s hockey season will continue in the NCAA Tournament, as the Buckeyes earned an at-large bid and will be the tournament’s No. 3 overall seed. Ohio State will face sixth-seeded Boston College in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. in Erie, Pa.
Three teams from the WCHA made the eight-team field: No. 2 seed Wisconsin, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Minnesota Duluth. The 2021 championship will run from March 15-20 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa. Quarterfinal games will be played on March 15-16 followed by the semifinals on March 18 and the national title game on March 20. No. 1 Northwestern faces No. 8 Robert Morris while No. 5 Minnesota Duluth meets No. 4 Colgate in the first two quarterfinals on March 15. On March 16, the Buckeyes take on Boston College while Wisconsin meets seventh-seeded Providence.
The Buckeyes have now been selected for the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons. In 2018, Ohio State defeated Boston College, 2-0, in the first round to advance to the Frozen Four where they fell to Clarkson 1-0 in the tournament semifinal. Last year, as the WCHA Final Faceoff champions, they earned the league’s automatic bid and was the tournament’s No. 5 overall seed. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, canceled the tournament before it started.
Ohio State is 12-6-0 this season and has been ranked in the top five of the US College Hockey Online (USCHO) Poll each week of the season. It rose to No. 2 on Feb. 16 following a sweep of Minnesota, its highest ranking in program history. Fourteen of its 18 games to this point in the season have come against teams that are ranked inside of the top five in the USCHO poll. The Buckeyes are 8-6 in those contests.
The Buckeyes feature one of the nation’s most balanced offenses. Six players have 10 or more points, led by senior Tatum Skaggs (eight goals, nine assists, 17 points) and Patty Kazmaier Top 10 Finalist Emma Maltais (five goals, 10 assists, 15 points). Ten different players have multiple goals while nine have between nine and 16 points. Ohio State also possesses one of the nation’s best penalty kill units, holding opponents with a goal on 45 of 47 opportunities.
Ohio State’s run over the last two days at the WCHA Final Faceoff included a 7-2 win over No. 5 Minnesota Duluth. The Buckeyes broke the game open with a five-goal second period, which tied the program record for goals in a single period. Maltais and Sophie Jaques were named to the All-Tournament Team.
