Ohio State Shuts Out Northeastern, Advances to National Title Game

Friday, March 20

University Park, Pa.

4 p.m.

Ohio State

36-4-0

Northeastern

29-9-1

Northeastern

Ohio St.

Ohio State Shuts Out Northeastern, Advances to National Title Game

3/20/2026 8:09:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 1 Ohio State women's hockey team started the 2026 Women's Frozen Four off with a 5-0 shutout of No. 5 seed Northeastern in the first of two semifinals Friday evening at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pa.

With the win, the Buckeyes advance to their fifth straight national title game appearance.

Short Story
Ohio State jumped out to a 4-0 lead with four goals in the final 10 minutes of the first period. Neither team scored in the second period and the Buckeyes added another early in the third for the 5-0 win.

Buckeye goaltender Hailey MacLeod recorded the shutout with 15 saves on the day. She stopped eight in the first period, with four in the opening 10 minutes of the game to hold off Northeastern's strong start.

Five different players scored for the Buckeyes and 10 players recorded a point against the Huskies.

How it Happened

Both teams had chances early in the game, with MacLeod stopping five shots in the first 10 minutes and Northeastern's Lisa Jönsson making six. MacLeod stopped a breakaway chance five minutes into the game and finished the frame with eight saves.
Ohio State's first goal of the 2026 Frozen Four was scored by Joy Dunne at 10:14. She capitalized on a rebounded shot by Jocelyn Amos to put the Buckeyes in the lead.
From that point on, it was all Ohio State in the period. The Buckeyes almost added their second goal with 7:27 to play in the period, but it hit the post and stayed out.
Kaia Malachino doubled the Buckeye lead at 16:33. As Northeastern attempted to make its way into the Buckeye zone, Malachino recovered the puck at the red line and skated it herself into Husky territory and sent a shot under the glove of Jönsson.
Ohio State extended its lead a minute later with a goal from Sanni Vanhanen at 17:36. She and Hilda Svensson rushed side-by-side into the Northeastern zone and Vanhanen tapped a pass from Svensson past Jönsson for the 3-0 Buckeye advantage.
In the final seconds of the first period, Emma Peschel made it a four-goal lead for Ohio State. With just .6 seconds left to play in the period, she sent a slapper into the Northeastern goal to complete the period.
Both teams were held scoreless in the middle frame, with MacLeod making four saves in the second period to keep Northeastern scoreless.
In the third period, Sara Swiderski scored the Buckeyes' fifth and final goal at 2:31. She sent a shot from the blue line and it hit a Husky defender to deflect into the goal.
MacLeod made three saves in the third as Ohio State held Northeastern to just 15 shots on the day.

Game Notes

Ohio State is now 14-4 in the NCAA tournament and 7-4 in the Frozen Four with Friday's win over the Huskies.
The shut out is just the fourth in program history in the NCAA tournament. Ohio State has shut out Northeastern both times the teams have met in the tournament.
MacLeod now has five shutouts the year. She is 25-3-0 this season in net for the Buckeyes.
The win is Ohio State's single season record 36th of the year. The team is 36-4-0 headed into the final game of the season.

Statistically Speaking
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 42, Northeastern 15
Saves: Northeastern (Jönsson) 37, Ohio State (MacLeod) 15
Power Play: Ohio State 0-3, Northeastern 0-4
Faceoffs: Ohio State 26, Northeastern 18
Ohio State Scoring: Dunne (1-1-2), Malachino (1-1-2), Peschel (1-0-1), Swiderski (1-0-1), Vanhanen (1-0-1), Amos (0-1-1), Baxter (0-1-1), Jungaker (0-1-1), Matthews (0-1-1), Svensson (0-1-1)

Up Next
Ohio State will play in Sunday's national championship game at Pegula Ice Arena. The Buckeyes will face off against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 3 Penn State. The game is set for 4 p.m. on ESPNU.

#GoBucks