No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Northeastern
Date: March 17, 2023
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Venue: AMSOIL Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: NCAA.com
Game Notes: Ohio State | Northeastern
Rosters: Ohio State | Northeastern
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 1 Ohio State women’s hockey team heads to Duluth, Minn. this week for the 2023 Frozen Four. The Buckeyes (32-5-2, 23-4-1 WCHA) will play Northeastern (34-2-1, 24-2-1 Hockey East) at 3:30 Friday from AMSOIL Arena in the first semifinal game of the Frozen Four.
Both semifinal games will be carried on ESPN+. Clay Matvick, A.J. Mleczko and Hillary Knight will be on the call.
Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament
- Ohio State earned a 5-2 win over Quinnipiac in last weekend’s NCAA quarterfinal matchup to advance to the Frozen Four. Sophie Jaques tallied two goals with Emma Peschel, Lauren Bernard and Gabby Rosenthal also scoring. Amanda Thiele made 21 saves for the Buckeyes.
- The win improves Ohio State’s record to 6-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Buckeyes made their first tournament appearance in 2018. Graduate forward Emma Maltais was a member of the 2017-18 team that not only earned a tournament berth for the first time in program history, but also reached the Frozen Four the same season.
- This year’s Buckeye roster features 10 players who are making their third Frozen Four appearance for Ohio State.
- Ohio State is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament for the second consecutive year. The program also hosted NCAA tournament games for the second year in a row, after hosting for the first time in 2022.
- This year’s tournament is the fourth straight that Ohio State has been in. The team has made five of the last six tournaments.
- The Buckeyes are playing in their fourth Frozen Four in program history and look to defend their 2022 national title.
Buckeyes in a Nutshell
- Jenn Gardiner, a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, leads the Buckeyes with 56 points on the year. She ranks sixth nationally in total points this season.
- Emma Maltais paces the team with 36 assists this year. She is fourth nationally in assists per game (.97).
- Sophie Jaques leads the team with a career-high 24 goals for the 2022-23 season. The defenseman is second on the team in points with 48.
- Jaques has scored 61 goals for her career, making her the WCHA record holder for career goals by a defenseman.
- Amanda Thiele has earned a record of 19-3-1 in goal for Ohio State this season. Her 19 wins are a career. She has made 453 saves on the year for a .910 save percentage and a 1.92 goals against average.
- Ohio State leads the country with a .333 power play percentage and .578 face-off win percentage.
- The team is top-five in the country in assists (257), goals (166), power play goals (34), scoring margin (2.46), scoring offense (4.26) and points (423).
- Ohio State won its first regular season WCHA title this year, earning a 23-4-1 conference record. The Buckeyes secured the Julianne Bye Cup with a 3-1 win over Wisconsin on Feb. 19.
- The Buckeyes were the runner-up in the 2023 WCHA Final Faceoff Tournament. The team fell to Minnesota in the championship game, 3-1. Jaques was named a member of the all-tournament team.
- Ohio State has won 32 games this season, marking the second consecutive year, and second time in program history, the Buckeyes have earned at least 30 wins in a single season. The Buckeyes have five 20+ win seasons under head coach Nadine Muzerall. The team finished the regular season with a program-record 23 conference wins.
- After leading the Buckeyes to another record-breaking season, Muzerall has been named a finalist for the 2022-23 National Coach of the Year.
- Ohio State is one of three WCHA teams who will play in the 2023 Frozen Four. The No. 1 seed Buckeyes will play in the first semifinal and No. 2 seed Minnesota and Wisconsin will face-off in the second semifinal.
- Hockey Canada announced last week that Maltais will play at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championships this summer in Brampton, Canada. This will be her third world championships at the senior national team level.
Series History – Buckeyes vs. Huskies
- Ohio State and Northeastern have met 12 times prior to Friday’s semifinal matchup and not since the 2006-07 season.
- The Buckeyes are 7-3-2 against the Huskies all-time.
- The last time the teams met, Ohio State swept the series with 9-3 and 7-1 wins to open the 2006-07 campaign.
- Northeastern was Ohio State’s first opponent of the inaugural 1999-00 season.
- Friday marks the first time the teams will meet on neutral ice.
Jaques Named Patty Kaz Top-Three Finalist
- For the second consecutive year, Sophie Jaques has been named a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
- She joins Alina Mueller of Northeastern and Danielle Serdachny of Colgate as the remaining finalists for the award.
- Jaques has led defensemen in goals and points the entire season.
- She is the one of the best power play scorers in the country with a nation-leading nine power play goals on Ohio State’s top-ranked power play.
- The Toronto, Ont. native is the WCHA’s 2022-23 Defender and Player of the Year.
Up Next
The winner of Friday’s semifinal will play in the national championship game on Sunday, March 19 at 4 p.m. ET. The victor of the semifinal matchup will play either Minnesota or Wisconsin on Sunday.
#GoBucks
