No. 9 Buckeyes Fall to No. 2 Wisconsin

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The fifth meeting of the year between the Buckeyes and the Badgers lived up to the billing as both teams came out swinging, but it was No. 2 Wisconsin emerging victorious with a 3-2 defeat of No. 9 Ohio State on Saturday. The Buckeyes fall to 20-13-2 on the year while Wisconsin improves to 31-4-2.

Coach Muzerall on the Game

“Wisconsin came out flying, I think they had a bit of a chip on their shoulder after what happened in our last series. They caught us on our heels at times, but we had flashes of greatness and we needed to capitalize a bit more on those, but it was a playoff hockey game and I’m proud of them.”

“I couldn’t think of one issue this season that came from drama with these women. They’re just so connected, and fantastic human beings. This game won’t define who they are as people, and I told them that I’d be honored if my daughter grew up to be like them one day. I’m very proud of them.”

The Nitty Gritty

• Wisconsin struck first when Britta Curl scored on a power play to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead at the 10:18 point of the first.
• In the closing moments of the first Jincy Dunne fired a puck at the UW net, going wide and bouncing off the boards behind the net and right onto Tatum Skaggs’ stick where she fed it into the net, sending the Buckeyes into the break with a 1-1 tie.

Jincy Dunne puts some muscle on this one, setting Tatum Skaggs up perfectly to even things up! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/DQPXOg3G1P

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) March 9, 2019

• The tie held through the first 11:27 of the second until Charly Dahlquist redirected a puck from Lauren Boyle into the Wisconsin net to give OSU the 2-1 lead.

🚨 Another look at the goal from @charlydahlquist? Absolutely!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8f626RUrfK

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) March 10, 2019

• Some late period heroics for Wisconsin in the form of Sophie Shirley scoring with less than a minute to play sent the teams to their locker rooms tied at 2-2.
• Both teams looked for an edge throughout the third, but it was Wisconsin that scored the defining goal as Annie Pankowski scored with 4:30 left to play, handing OSU a 3-2 defeat.
• Goaltender Andrea Braendli finished with 39 saves in the game.
• Boyle led the way for the Buckeyes with two points, both from assists.
• Emma Maltais and Jincy Dunne also tallied assists for OSU.

First Period

Ohio State found itself down just past the midway point when Curl converted on a power play to give the Badgers the lead, but the Buckeyes responded with the goal from Skaggs late in the period to tie it up despite Wisconsin holding a 14-to-6 shots-on-goal advantage through one.

Second Period

The Buckeyes proved that they came to play in the second, taking the lead after Boyle fired one toward the net where Dahlquist sent the puck on its path into the net, giving OSU a 2-1 lead. It looked like the Buckeyes would carry that lead into the third, but Shirley’s goal with 46 seconds left on the clock sent the teams into the break tied up at 2-2.

Third Period

OSU withstood an early flurry of shot from Wisconsin and continued to claw away, trying to light the lamp and punch its ticket to the WCHA Championship game. Unfortunately the lone goal in the period came from Pankowski, and the Buckeyes fell 3-2.

What’s Next?

The Buckeyes now look to the NCAA selection show on Sunday to see if they’ll earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The show streams live on the NCAA website HERE.