Ohio State
26-6-0
St. Cloud State (WCHA Quarterfinals) **
9-22-3
Levis’ Five-Point Game Powers Buckeyes to 6-0 Quarterfinal Shutout of Huskies
2/25/2022 10:22:01 PM | Women's Ice Hockey
Box Score | Schedule | Roster | Season Stats
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A five-point game from Paetyn Levis sent the No. 2 Ohio State women’s hockey team past St. Cloud State, 6-0, on Friday night at the OSU Ice Rink. The Buckeyes (26-6-0, 21-6-0 WCHA) take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three quarterfinal series of the WCHA playoffs against St. Cloud State.
How it Happened
Jenna Buglioni scored the Buckeyes’ first goal of the postseason at 2:28 into the game. The sophomore flew in behind the St. Cloud State net to pick up the mishandled puck, sneaking it between the legs of Husky goaltender Emma Polusny.
Following Buglioni’s tally, Paetyn Levis began her scoring spree with two goals in the final four minutes of the first period. For her first goal of the day, the senior went backdoor on Polusny off helpers from Clair DeGeorge and Lauren Bernard with 3:34 on the clock. The Rogers, Minn. native added another goal with under two minutes in the period. She redirected a pass into the slot from Madison Bizal to slip the puck into the Husky net.
Levis tallied the team’s fourth goal of the day for her first career hat trick at 14:58 in the second period. For her fourth goal of the day, she found herself wide open in the slot after a shot from Sophie Jaques was saved and rebounded right to her stick to set up the scoring opportunity. She put the Buckeyes up 5-0 on the Huskies at 7:32 in the third period.
Liz Schepers closed out the day scoring with 3:14 to play in the game. With :19 left on the Buckeye power play, the captain collected a backhanded pass from Levis to send her team up 6-0.
Overall, the Buckeyes allowed just 13 shots from St. Cloud State while unloading 60 of their own on the Huskies. Ohio State won the faceoff battle as well with a 41-18 record in the game.
Amanda Thiele earned the start for Ohio State, making 13 saves in the shutout win.
Game Notes
- With the win, Ohio State improves to 29-35-0 all-time in the WCHA tournament.
- Paetyn Levis’ four goal game is the team’s second such performance of the year. Liz Schepers previously scored four goals against the St. Cloud State in the last meeting between the teams on Feb. 8. Levis leads the Buckeyes with 22 goals on the year, tied for 10th in season goal scoring by an Ohio State skater.
- Levis’ hat trick is the team’s fourth of the year, matching the program record hat tricks in a season set in the 2009-10 season.
- In just one game, Levis has recorded the second-most goals scored in a single postseason run by a Buckeye and the third-most points.
- Lauren Bernard dished out a career-high three assists in the game. Her three-point game ties her career-high for points in a single game which she achieved earlier this year against Lindenwood (1/8/22).
- Amanda Thiele posted her fourth shutout of the year in the team’s win on Friday night. The game marked her first start in the postseason for her career.
- Ohio State finished 2-for-6 on the power play against St. Cloud State for the team’s ninth game of the year with at least two power play goals. The Buckeyes are now .361 on the power play this year.
- Clair DeGeorge and Liz Schepers led the team with a career-high tying +4 on ice in the WCHA quarterfinal victory.
- Sophie Jaques added an assist in the win for the Buckeyes, bringing her season total to 54 points. She is now tied for second in season points by an Ohio State skater. The record is held by Emma Maltais, who scored 59 points in the 2019-20 season.
Statistically Speaking
Shots: Ohio State 60, St. Cloud State 13
Saves: St. Cloud State (Polusny) 54, Ohio State (Thiele) 13
Power Play: Ohio State 2-6, St. Cloud State 0-0
Faceoffs: Ohio State 41, St. Cloud State 18
Ohio State Scoring: Levis (4-1-5), Bernard (0-3-3), Bizal (0-2-2), Schepers (1-1-2), Buglioni (1-0-1), DeGeorge (0-1-1), Hartmetz (0-1-1), Jaques (0-1-1)
Up Next
The Buckeyes and Huskies meet tomorrow at 3 p.m. from the OSU Ice Rink for game two of the best-of-three quarterfinal series. Tickets for Saturday’s game can be purchased online or at the ticket window at the southeast corner of St. John Arena.
#GoBucks
