No. 1 Buckeyes Dominate No. 2 Minnesota in 7-0 Road Win

Friday, January 12

Minneapolis, Minn.

7 p.m. (6 p.m. CT)

Ohio State

17-2-0, 14-1-0

Minnesota

16-4-1, 10-4-1

Ohio St.

Minnesota

No. 1 Buckeyes Dominate No. 2 Minnesota in 7-0 Road Win

1/12/2024 10:50:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Box Score | Schedule | Roster | Season Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 1 Ohio State women's hockey team rang in the new year with a statement win over second-ranked Minnesota Friday night at Ridder Arena. Despite not playing a game in 33 days, the Buckeyes (17-2-0, 14-1-0 WCHA) shut out the Gophers (16-4-1, 10-4-1-1 WCHA), 7-0, to earn their largest margin of victory in series history.

How it Happened

Ohio State showed no evidence of its long break, scoring four goals on the Gophers in the first period.
Joy Dunne tallied two of the team's goals in the opening frame, scoring the first of the game at 5:46 and the Buckeyes' fourth of the period at 15:29. Both of her goals came from in front of the net, deflecting a shot on the first and burying a rebound on the second.
Ohio State goaltender Raygan Kirk made a one-on-one stop on Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy right after the Buckeyes' first goal of the game to keep the Gophers from tying the game early, seemingly setting the tone for her performance in between the pipes for the Buckeyes the rest of the night. She finished the day with 20 saves to earn the shutout.
Halfway through the first, Kelsey King picked off a Minnesota pass through the slot in the Buckeyes' defensive zone and skated the puck right to the Gophers' net. Her initial shot was stopped by Lucy Morgan, but the rebound was knocked in by Kenzie Hauswirth at 10:17.
Hannah Bilka lit the lamp at 14:17 after her and Jenn Gardiner played a couple give-and-gos. The duo initially connected in front of the Gophers' net, giving Bilka a chance to score, but her shot was saved. The rebound was grabbed by Gardiner behind the net, and she again found Bilka, who one-timed the pass past Morgan for the goal.
Ohio State scored four goals on 10 shots on goal in the first period and held Minnesota to six.
The Gophers outshot the Buckeyes in the second period, 12-10, but it was Ohio State who came out with a couple of goals.
Joy Dunne completed her hat trick in the second period, scoring her second consecutive goal for the Buckeyes at 12:47 in the second. She took the puck from Ohio State's blue line and took a shot that Gopher goaltender Skylar Vetter appeared to glove down, but Dunne tapped the loose puck into the net.
Bilka added her second of the day with less than a minute to play in the middle frame. She circled around the Gophers' zone before taking a shot from the top of the faceoff circle to light the lamp at 19:03.
In the final period, Ohio State showed no sign of slowing down, taking 13 shots on goal in the final frame, its most shots in a period of the game. The team only allowed two on Kirk from Minnesota.
Mobley delivered the final Ohio State goal, scoring at 2:40 in the third. She rifled in a shot from the faceoff dot that went over the glove of Vetter.

Game Notes

The Buckeyes' 7-0 win is the largest margin of victory over the Gophers in the all-time series. Ohio State previous earned a 7-1 win over Minnesota on Jan. 12, 2007, in Minneapolis.
Dunne recorded her second multi-goal game of her career with three goals in the game. It is her second hat trick of her career.
Dunne's four-point game tied her career best for points in a game. The last time she recorded four points – Nov. 3, 2023 at Bemidji State – was also the last time she scored a hat trick.
Bilka also had a multi-goal game, with two goals against the Gophers. It is her second multi-goal game of the season.
Ohio State went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against Minnesota's top-ranked power play.
Kirk's shutout is her fourth of the season. She is the eighth goaltender nationally to record four shutouts this year.
Mobley is now two points shy of 100 for her career after scoring a goal and adding an assist in Ohio State's win. The goal is the 40th of her career and sixth of the season.

Statistically Speaking
Total Shots: Ohio State 64, Minnesota 37
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 33, Minnesota 20
Saves: Minnesota (Vetter, Morgan) 26, Ohio State (Kirk) 20
Power Play: Ohio State 0-2, Minnesota 0-3
Faceoffs: Ohio State 33, Minnesota 22
Ohio State Scoring: Dunne (3-1-4), Bilka (2-0-0), Mobley (1-1-2), Hauswirth (1-0-1), Amos (0-1-1), Baxter (0-1-1), Brengman (0-1-1), Gardiner (0-1-1), Hartmetz (0-1-1), King (0-1-1), Markowski (0-1-1), Matthews (0-1-1)

Up Next
Ohio State and Minnesota play the final game of their regular season series tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed for free on B1G+ and will be carried on FOX9+ in Minnesota.

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