Buckeyes Start WCHA Slate With Top-10 Tilt at Minnesota Duluth

No. 2 Ohio State at No. 6 Minnesota Duluth
Date: Oct. 13-14, 2023
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: AMSOIL Arena
Watch: B1G+
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Game Notes: Ohio State | Minnesota Duluth
Rosters: Ohio State | Minnesota Duluth

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2 Ohio State women's hockey team is back in action this weekend with a trip to Duluth, Minn. to take on No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Friday and Saturday at AMSOIL Arena. Both games, slated to start at 4 p.m. ET, will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

The series is the first of the 28-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season schedule for the Buckeyes and Bulldogs. This weekend also marks the Buckeyes' first trip back to AMSOIL Arena since the 2023 Frozen Four.

Buckeyes in a Nutshell

Ohio State opened the 2023-24 season with a top-five series against then-ranked No. 4 Colgate. The Buckeyes and Raiders split the series with Colgate taking game one, 3-2, and Ohio State winning the second game, 3-2, in overtime.
Sloane Matthews tallied the first Buckeye goal in each game of the season-opening series and leads the team with two goals and two points on the year.
Kiara Zanon tallied the Buckeyes' first power play goal of the season in the win at Colgate. Also among the newcomers tallying their first points in the first series of the season were Hannah Bilka (1g), Cayla Barnes (1a) and Jordan Baxter (1a).
Senior goaltender Raygan Kirk earned WCHA Goaltender of the Week and Goaltender of the Month honors following her performance in the win over Colgate. Kirk, a native of Ste. Anne, Manitoba, made 31 saves on 33 shots faced to help the Buckeyes to their first win of the season. The game was her 16th in goal for the Buckeyes and improved her career record to 13-2-1 for the scarlet and gray.
Ohio State holds at No. 2 in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live polls. Since the first poll of 2020, the Buckeyes have been ranked in the top-five for all but one week. For the last 35 weeks a poll has been published, Ohio State has been voted one of the top-two teams in the country.
This weekend's series is the second of three consecutive road series the Buckeyes have to start the 2023-24 campaign. After this weekend in Duluth, Ohio State is back in Minnesota to take on St. Thomas Oct. 20-21. The Buckeyes' home-opener is set for Oct. 27-28 against Minnesota at the OSU Ice Rink.
Set to start its 25th season of WCHA play, Ohio State is 269-295-63 all-time in conference play. Last season, the Buckeyes won a program-record 23 league games and earned the WCHA regular season title for the first time in program history.
Muzerall, who is in her eighth season at the helm of the Buckeyes, has earned a 161-70-19 career record. She has led the Buckeyes to two consecutive 30 win seasons for back-to-back school record win seasons.

Series History – Buckeyes vs. Bulldogs

Ohio State is 27-73-8 all-time against Minnesota Duluth.
Last season, the Buckeyes went 4-1 against the Bulldogs.
The last time the two teams met, Ohio State earned a 2-1 win to advance to the 2023 WCHA Final Faceoff championship game.
Ohio State has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two teams. Seven of the last eight games have been decided by one goal. Of those one-goal games is the 2022 national championship game, which Ohio State won 3-2 over Minnesota Duluth.
When the teams met in Duluth during the 2022-23 season, Ohio State earned its first series opener win at AMSOIL Arena in Muzerall's tenure. Prior to last season, the last time the Buckeyes won the first game of the road series at Duluth was on Jan. 29, 2016 (6-3).

Up Next
Following this weekend, Ohio State continues its six-game road stretch at St. Thomas Oct. 20-21. The Buckeyes and Tommies will meet at 4 p.m. ET Friday and 3 p.m. ET Saturday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.

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