No. 1 Buckeyes Defeat Mavericks, 6-1

Saturday, December 9

Columbus, Ohio

6 p.m.

Ohio State

15-2-0, 12-1-0

Minnesota State

7-11-0, 3-10-0

Minnesota St.

Ohio St.

No. 1 Buckeyes Defeat Mavericks, 6-1

12/9/2023 9:55:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 1 Ohio State women's hockey team took down Minnesota State, 6-1, Saturday night at the OSU Ice Rink. The Buckeyes improve to 15-2-0 on the year and 12-1-0 in WCHA play with the win over the Mavericks (7-11-0, 3-10-0 WCHA).

How it Happened

Ohio State and Minnesota State finished the first period nearly even in shots on goal (Ohio State led 13-12), but the Buckeyes capitalized on their chances and took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
Jenn Gardiner was first on the board for the Buckeyes. She and her linemates Jocelyn Amos and Hannah Bilka took advantage of a mistake on the blue line by Minnesota State to start the scoring play. After the Mavericks attempted to reset in their own zone, Amos regained the puck and found Bilka rushing into the slot. Bilka passed the puck off to a waiting Gardiner on the right side of the net. Gardiner scored at 4:01 into the game.
Jenna Buglioni followed that with a goal at 7:52. Stephanie Markowski sent the puck from deep in the Buckeyes' zone to Buglioni at center ice. Buglioni beat her defender and staved off two more Mavericks as she rushed into the offensive zone herself and finished blocker side of Minnesota State goaltender Lauren Barbro.
The Buckeyes next four goals were scored by defensemen, with Cayla Barnes scoring the final goal of the first, linemates Lauren Bernard and Hadley Hartmetz lighting the lamp in the second period, and Stephanie Markowski recorded the Buckeyes' final tally of the night in the third.
Barnes found the back of the net with just 28 seconds left in the first period. She was wide open in front of the goal for Makenna Webster to pass her the puck. Sloane Matthews added the second assist on the goal.
Bernard's goal came at 3:45 in the second off a rebounded shot from Hadley Hartmetz. After skating along the boards in the Mavericks' zone, Bilka found Hartmetz at the blue line, where she fired a shot on target. The rebound dropped right in front of Bernard at the top of the goalie crease and she knocked into the goal for the Buckeyes' fourth tally of the night.
Hartmetz scored at 11:39 in the second period to give Ohio State a 5-0 lead. She was left wide open on the left side of the slot and one-timed a pass from Bilka past Barbro.
The Buckeyes final goal of the night came at 12:30 in the third period. A turnover at center ice put the puck on Buglioni's stick and started an Ohio State rush. Buglioni slowed it down, passing back to Markowski, who was coming into the zone off the bench, at the blue line. Markowski then skated the puck down and took a shot through traffic from the right faceoff dot to light the lamp.
Ohio State goaltender Raygan Kirk held Minnesota State scoreless for 56:46, but the Mavericks' Kianna Roeske managed to score with 3:14 to play in the game to make the final score 6-1.

Game Notes

Hannah Bilka led the Buckeyes with three points in the game on three assists. She has recorded five three-plus assist games in her career.
Five Buckeyes recorded multipoint games: Markowski (2A), Hartmetz (1G, 1A), Bilka (3A), Buglioni (1G, 1A) and Gardiner (1G, 1A).
Ohio State is undefeated in Saturday games in the first half of the season. The win over Minnesota State is the team's ninth Saturday win and seventh series opening win of the season.
Kirk made 29 stops against the Mavericks for her second best save total of the season. The win is her eighth of the year.
Ohio State only committed one penalty on the day, a season low for the team.

Statistically Speaking
Total Shots: Ohio State 88, Minnesota State 37
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 46, Minnesota State 30
Saves: St. Cloud State (Barbro) 40, Ohio State (Kirk) 29
Power Play: Ohio State 0-1, St. Cloud State 0-1
Faceoffs: Ohio State 40, Minnesota State 27
Ohio State Scoring: Bilka (0-3-3), Buglioni (1-1-2), Gardiner (1-1-2), Hartmetz (0-2-2), Markowski (0-2-2), Barnes (1-0-1), Amos (0-1-1), Brengman (0-1-1), Matthews (0-1-1), Webster (0-1-1)

Up Next
The Buckeyes and Mavericks meet for game two of the series tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at the OSU Ice Rink. Tickets for Ohio State women's hockey home games can be purchased HERE. The game will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

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