Ohio Stat Defeats Quinnipiac, 4-3, in 2OT; Frozen Four Next

Saturday, March 12

Columbus, Ohio | OSU Ice Rink

Ohio State

30-6-0

Quinnipiac (NCAA Quarterfinals) **

26-10-3

OT 1

OT 2

Quinnipiac

Ohio St.

Ohio Stat Defeats Quinnipiac, 4-3, in 2OT; Frozen Four Next

3/12/2022 10:11:33 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Additional Info: Box Score | Season Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio – What a game, and No. 1 Ohio State is heading back to the Frozen Four! Buckeye center Clair DeGeorge scored from just above the left side goal line 2:05 into the second overtime to give the Buckeyes, enjoying their first No. 1 ranking in school history and their first time hosting an NCAA tournament game, a 4-3 victory over the No. 7 Quinnipiac Bobcats Saturday evening in front of a packed and noisy OSU Ice Arena crowd of 778.

DeGeorge’s goal was her second of this tense affair with assists going to Liz Schepers and Riley Brengman. The shot was the last of a school-record 77 taken by the Buckeyes and the first shot of the second overtime after Ohio State recorded 19 in the first overtime and 57 during the regulation periods.

The win, Ohio State’s eighth consecutive and its 11th in its last 12 games, sends the program to the Frozen Four for the third time and the second consecutive year. Ohio State, now 30-6 overall, will meet No. 5 Yale, a 2-1 victor over Colgate, on Friday, March 18, at Pegula Ice Arena in State College, Pa. No. 3 Northeastern and Minnesota-Duluth will meet in the other Frozen Four semifinal.

“My team, their relentless pursuit to win was impressive today,” three-time WCHA coach of the year Nadine Muzerall said. “Knowing that you’re that dominant, you could get frustrated and get on top of eachother. But they were excited and they were supportive. Nobody cared who put the puck in the net. Nobody cared about ice time. They were just a unified front and wanted to win and I am very proud of how they did it.”

How it Happened – Regulation

Ohio State peppered the Quinnipiac goal with 20 first period shots, but the Bobcats held the early lead on an unassisted goal by Ann-Frederik Naud at 3:01 of the first. The Buckeyes kept the pressure on Bobcat goalie Corinne Schroeder, though, and tied the score at 1-all when Riley Brengman found the back of the net from about 20 feet out and just after an Ohio State power play had ended. Brengman intercepted a pass in the Bobcat end and rifled a laser past Schroeder for her fourth goal of the year with just 56 seconds left in the period.

A fast-paced second period followed and ended with the two teams tied, 2-all. Just 4:30 into the period Clair DeGeorge put the Buckeyes in front, 2-1, with a power play goal and her 14th goal of the season. Assists went to Madison Bizal and Sophie Jaques. The Bobcats came right back less than three minutes later, though. Sadie Peart barged her way to the net from the left side and jammed home her 19th goal of the season at 6:54 to tie the score. Ohio State fired 21 more shots for a two-period total of 41 compared to 15 for Quinnipiac.

Ohio State quickly regained the lead in the third period. Jaques gathered the puck at the blue line, skated in from the right and fired a shot from a sharp angle to give the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead just 2:19 into the third. The goal was Jaques’ 21st on the year. Assisting on the play was Liz Schepers. It looked as if the goal would be enough as Ohio State continued to dominate in shots, 16-5, for the period. But the Bobcats went on a power play with just over two minutes to play in the period, pulled goalie Schroeder and scored 40 seconds later after a crowded scrum in front of Amanda Thiele. Scoring was Taylor House with the assists going to Kendall Cooper and Olivia Mobley.

Overtime 1

Both teams had opportunities and good fortune, the most fortunate for Buckeye fans being the crossbar getting in the way of a Kendall Cooper drive 12 minutes into the period. Ohio State continued to dominate on shots, sending 19 at Schroeder, including one off the pipe, while allowing just two to reach Thiele. Despite the discrepancy, good opportunities to score were similar yet neither team could capitalize.

Overtime 2

The game was over quickly. Just 2:05 in DeGeorge scored the game-winner off assists from Schepers and Brengman.

Game Notes

Liz Schepers’ assist on Ohio State’s third goal, by Sophie Jaques, was her fifth consecutive post-season game with at least one point and her school record-extending 18th career post-season point.
Riley Brengman had a two-point game, scoring the Buckeyes’ first goal of the game and assisting on the game winner.
Brengman’s first goal was her first in exactly one month. Her last tally came Feb. 12 in the win over Bemidji State, a win that started the Buckeyes’ current eight-game winning streak.
It appeared for a while as if Jaques, the Patty Kazmaier Award candidate and fresh off game-tying and game-winning goals in the WCHA championship game last weekend, had done it again with a third-period goal to give Ohio State a 3-2 lead. Quinnipiac finally tied it at 18:38.
Jaques joined Brengman with a two-point game, netting a goal and an assist.
Paetyn Levis’ assist on DeGeorge’s game-winner was her team-leading eighth point of the post-season.
Three Buckeyes had at least 12 shots apiece: Schepers led with 15 and was followed by 14 from Gabby Rosenthal and 12 by Paetyn Levis.
Quinnipiac goalie Corinne Schroeder’s 73 saves are the sixth-most saves in NCAA history.
Ohio State completes its 2021-22 home game schedule with a school record 17 wins against just two defeats.
Ohio State’s opponents have scored first in each of the last three games. Ohio State is now 7-3 in games when the opponent scores first.
The game was the first NCAA women’s hockey tournament game hosted by Ohio State.
Ohio State is now 6-0 all-time vs. Quinnipiac since first meeting in the 2003-04 season. Before this evening, the last four games have all been decided by one goal.
3 Northeastern advanced with a 4-2 win over Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth won at Minnesota, 2-1, in other quarterfinal action Saturday.