Ohio State Hosts Bemidji State in WCHA Quarterfinals

No. 1 Ohio State vs. Bemidji State
Date: March 1/2/3, 2024
Time: 6 p.m./3 p.m./3 p.m. ET
Venue: OSU Ice Rink
Watch: B1G+
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Rosters: Ohio State | Bemidji State
Season Stats: Ohio State | Bemidji State

COLUMBUS, Ohio – It's officially the postseason for the No. 1 Ohio State women's hockey team. The Buckeyes (29-3-0, 26-2-0 WCHA) host Bemidji State in the WCHA Quarterfinals this weekend at the OSU Ice Rink.

The best-of-three quarterfinal games are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, if needed. Games will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

Ohio State is the top seed in the WCHA Tournament after winning the 2023-24 regular season title. Bemidji State is seeded eighth. The winner of the series will earn a spot in the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff, held March 8-9 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.

Buckeyes in a Nutshell

The Buckeyes finished the regular season with their best conference record in program history. The team earned a career-high 26 league wins this season.
Last weekend, the Buckeyes split a series against No. 2 Wisconsin. Ohio State won the first game, 3-1, and dropped the second game, 4-2. Ohio State won the regular season series against the Badgers, 3-1.
Raygan Kirk was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Week for her performance against the Badgers. She earned her 16th win of the season last Friday and held Wisconsin to just one goal. She made 28 saves in the game, her third most of the entire season.
Lauren Bernard and Jenna Buglioni were named among the final players of the month by the WCHA this week. Bernard recorded a team-high eight assists and scored 11 points in February. She blocked eight shots and finished the month +20. Buglioni led the team with 13 points and seven goals. She tallied her first career hat trick against Bemidji State (Feb. 3) and became the first Buckeye to score two shorthanded goals in a game.
Hannah Bilka leads Ohio State with 39 points on the season. She also has a team-high 23 assists. Bilka is fifth among active NCAA players with 101 assists for her career.
Freshman Joy Dunne paces the Buckeyes with 18 goals this year. She is third in goals scored by rookies nationally.
Kirk leads the Buckeye goaltending unit with a 16-1-0 record on the year, a 1.02 goals against average and a .949 save percentage. Amanda Thiele follows closely behind with a 13-2-0 record, a 1.63 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.
Ohio State leads the country in scoring margin, defeating its opponents by an average of 3.69 goals per game, and win percentage (.906).
While the team is third nationally in goals, assists and points, only one player – Bilka – is ranked in the top-20 in points. Instead, the Buckeyes have players scoring up and down the line chart. Every skater has tallied a goal and 12 of 19 skaters have recorded at least 20 points on the year.
Ohio State is 33-35-0 all-time in the WCHA tournament. This year marks the second straight year the team will have the top seed in the tournament and the eighth time the team will host quarterfinal games.

Series History – Buckeyes vs. Beavers

Ohio State is 4-0-0 against Bemidji State entering the weekend. The last time the teams met in Columbus was Feb. 2-3, with the Buckeyes outscoring the Beavers, 20-1.
The Buckeyes have not allowed more than one goal to the Beavers in each of the last eight meetings.
The teams met in last year's WCHA quarterfinal round, with the Buckeyes winning 4-1 and 2-1 to advance to the Final Faceoff.

Up Next
The winner of this weekend's quarterfinal round will advance to the 2024 WCHA Kwik Trip Final Faceoff March 8-9 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The semifinals are set for 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 8. The championship game will be played at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, March 9.

The Final Faceoff champion will receive the WCHA's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA National Collegiate women's hockey tournament.

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