Ohio State, Minnesota Duluth Meet Friday in Final Faceoff Semifinals

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Minnesota Duluth
Date: March 8, 2024
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Ridder Arena
Watch: B1G+
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Rosters: Ohio State | Minnesota Duluth
Season Stats: Ohio State | Minnesota Duluth

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the second consecutive season, the No. 1 Ohio State women's hockey team faces off against No. 8 Minnesota Duluth in game one of the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals. The Buckeyes (31-3-0, 26-2-0 WCHA) and Bulldogs (20-12-4, 15-11-2) meet Friday at 2 p.m. from Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.

The game will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required) and will be televised locally in Minneapolis on FOX9+.

Buckeyes in a Nutshell

Ohio State advanced to the Final Faceoff with a sweep of eight seed Bemidji State last weekend in Columbus. The Buckeyes earned 10-1 and 8-0 victories over the Beavers to book their ticket to Minneapolis. The team's 10 goals in game one set a program record for goals in a postseason game.
Hannah Bilka continues to lead Ohio State with a career-high 42 points on the season. She also has a team-high 24 assists. Jenn Gardiner is close behind with 41 points and 23 assists. Both players have scored 18 times for the Buckeyes.
With 20 goals this year, Joy Dunne leads the team in scoring. The 2023-24 WCHA Rookie of the Year is the only rookie this season to record 20 goals. She ranks eighth in the Ohio State record book for season points by a freshman with 36.
Ohio State has scorers at every position and on every line. The team leads the country with nine players with 10 goals and 14 with 20 points on the year. All but one skater has over 10 points.
Jenna Buglioni was named the national Co-Player of the Month for February by the Hockey Commissioners Association on Wednesday. She led the team with 13 points and seven goals last month and tallied her first career hat trick against Bemidji State (Feb. 3). The Port Moody, B.C. native became the first Buckeye to score two shorthanded goals in a game in her career-high performance against the Beavers.
Raygan Kirk is the 2023-24 WCHA goaltending champion after finishing the regular season with the best goals against average in WCHA games (1.02). Kirk leads the country with a .962 goals against average in 19 games played this year. She also ranks first in win percentage (.947), second in shutouts (7) and fifth in save percentage (9.49).
Four Buckeyes were invited to the USA Hockey Senior Women's National Team Evaluation Camp that will be held March 27-30 in Lake Placid, N.Y. Defenders Cayla Barnes and Emma Peschel and forwards Hannah Bilka and Joy Dunne received invites from the national team.
The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a couple of statement wins at Ridder Arena this season. In January, Ohio State defeated Minnesota 7-0 and 6-1 after a month-long break.

Series History – Buckeyes vs. Bulldogs

Ohio State is 4-0-0 against Minnesota Duluth this season. The last time the teams met, Ohio State swept the Bulldogs with 3-0 and 1-0 wins in Columbus. Ohio State has only allowed two goals to Minnesota Duluth this year.
Friday marks the fourth time the teams will face off in the semifinals of the Final Faceoff. Last season, they met in the semifinals with Ohio State winning the matchup, 2-1.
In the all-time series, Minnesota Duluth leads with a 74-31-9 record. But Ohio State is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Bulldogs.

Ohio State in the Final Faceoff

Ohio State has advanced to the Final Faceoff 16 times in program history. This weekend is the Buckeyes' seventh trip to the semifinals in as many years.
The team has played in four conference tournament championship games under head coach Nadine Muzerall and has won the title twice (2020, 2022).
In last year's title game, Ohio State fell, 3-1, to Minnesota.
Ohio State is 35-35-0 all-time in the WCHA tournament.

Up Next
The winner of Friday's semifinal will play either Minnesota or Wisconsin in Saturday's Final Faceoff championship game. The title game is set for 3 p.m. and will be streamed on B1G+.

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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