Buckeyes Win Game One of WCHA First Round, 5-1

Friday, February 27

Columbus, Ohio

6 p.m.

Ohio State

31-4-0

St. Thomas

12-22-1

St. Thomas (MN)

Ohio St.

Buckeyes Win Game One of WCHA First Round, 5-1

2/27/2026 9:22:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2 Ohio State women's hockey team won game one of its WCHA First Round series against seven seed St. Thomas, 5-1, Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd at the OSU Ice Rink.

Short Story
Ohio State started the night by recognizing its five 2026 Olympians prior to puck drop. Friday night marked the first game back for Olympic semifinalists Mira Jungaker, Jenna Raunio and Hilda Svensson of Sweden and Team USA gold medalist Joy Dunne.

Sara Swiderski led the team with four points and two goals and was plus-4 on ice in the win. The Buckeyes' second forward line of Olympians Dunne, Svensson and Sanni Vanhanen also added multi-point games.

Hailey MacLeod earned her 21st win of the season with seven saves against the Tommies. Ohio State allowed just eight shots on the day. Jenna Raunio had two of the team's three blocked shots in the game.

How it Happened

Ohio State took the lead at 14:50 in the first period. Sara Swiderski sent a shot from the point past St. Thomas goaltender Julia Minotti. She was assisted by Emma Peschel and Sloane Matthews.
Hailey MacLeod made three saves and the Buckeye penalty kill held the St. Thomas power play to zero shots on its lone opportunity in the opening frame to keep the Tommies off the board.
Swiderski extended the Buckeye lead at 15:48 in the second period. This time it was a slapshot from the top of the zone through traffic that lit the lamp and doubled the Ohio State advantage. Joy Dunne and Sanni Vanhanen earned the assists.
Just 35 seconds later, Ohio State was up, 3-0, on St. Thomas. Joy Dunne scored at 16:23 and was assisted by fellow Olympians Vanhanen and Hilda Svensson.
Ohio State's 3-0 lead into the third period was helped by the Buckeye defensive effort holding the Tommies to three shots again with MacLeod stopping each one.
St. Thomas scored the first goal of the third period, its only goal of the game, at 3:55.
Jordyn Petrie restored the Buckeyes' three-goal lead at 7:18 after redirecting a shot from Swiderski past Minotti.
Ohio State went on the power play in the final minutes of the game and Svensson capitalized on the player advantage with 35 seconds remaining in the game for the 5-1 Buckeye win.

Game Notes

Swiderski finished the game with a career-high four points. She scored the team's first two goals of the game for her first career multi-goal game and added assists on fourth and fifth goals of the day.
Dunne and Svensson picked up right where they left off, each recording a goal and an assist in the game to continue leading the team with 46 points each.
Ohio State improves to 39-37 all-time in the WCHA tournament and picks up its fifth win over St. Thomas this season.

Statistically Speaking
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 44, St. Thomas 8
Saves: St. Thomas (Minotti) 39, Ohio State (MacLeod) 7
Power Play: Ohio State 1-2, St. Thomas 0-2
Faceoffs: Ohio State 33, St. Thomas 19
Ohio State Scoring: Swiderski (2-2-4), Dunne (1-1-2), Svensson (1-1-2), Vanhanen (0-2-2), Petrie (1-0-1), Disher (0-1-1), Jungaker (0-1-1), Matthews (0-1-1), Peschel (0-1-1)

Up Next
Ohio State and St. Thomas meet for game two of the best-of-three WCHA First Round series tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. at the OSU Ice Rink. The game is sold out and can be streamed on B1G+.

#GoBucks