Ohio State Takes Series Opener at Minnesota Duluth With 2-1 Win

Box Score | Schedule | Roster | Season Stats

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 1 Ohio State women’s hockey team earned a 2-1 win over No. 8 Minnesota Duluth Friday evening in Duluth, Minn. The Buckeyes (14-1-2, 13-1-1 WCHA) earned their fifth straight conference win with the victory over the Bulldogs (11-6-0, 5-6-0 WCHA) at Amsoil Arena.

How it Happened

The first goal of the game went to the Buckeyes with just 1:27 to play in the opening period. Ohio State capitalized off its first power play opportunity of the day as Paetyn Levis scored off assists from Emma Peschel and Emma Maltais.

Ohio State put up eight shots on goal in the second period, but nothing got past Bulldog goaltender Emma Soderberg. Ohio State’s netminder Raygan Kirk made eight stops of her own in the frame to keep Minnesota Duluth scoreless as the Buckeyes kept the 1-0 lead after 40:00 of action.

Maltais extended the Scarlet and Gray lead and added her second point of the game with a goal at 4:03. Gabby Rosenthal and Makenna Webster earned helpers on the goal to make it a two-goal advantage for the Buckeyes.

Minnesota Duluth ended up pulling Soderberg in the final minutes of the game for the extra skater. The Bulldogs managed to score their first and only goal of the game with 59 seconds to play. Despite the late push by Duluth, Ohio State was able to fend off the comeback attempt.

Kirk tallied 19 saves in the final frame to keep the Bulldogs to just one goal on the day and backstop the Buckeyes to the 2-1 lead.

Game Notes

• Goaltender Raygan Kirk posted a season-high save total for the second consecutive game. She made 33 stops for the Buckeyes to improve her season save percentage to .928. Her record is now 5-0-1 for Ohio State this year.
• With one goal in Friday’s game, forward Paetyn Levis is one point short of 100 for her career. She has tallied 17 points this season on 7 goals and 10 assists for the Buckeyes. Her career totals are now 41 goals and 58 assists.
• Emma Maltais is one assist closer to the Ohio State record for career assists after adding a helper against Duluth. The record currently stands at 123 by Laura McIntosh, and Maltais has now tallied 119 for her career.
• Maltais led the Buckeyes with two points in the contest on a goal and an assist. Her game-winning goal in Friday’s game is her 14th of her career, which puts her one short of second in the Ohio State record book for career game-winning goals and two shy of tying Natalie Spooner’s record of 16.
• Despite not being a 3-2 victory for Ohio State, which the previous three matchups between the two teams resulted in, the game was decided by one goal for the fifth time in the last six meetings between Ohio State and Minnesota Duluth.
• Friday’s win marks the first time the Buckeyes have won the opening game of the series against Minnesota Duluth in Duluth in head coach Nadine Muzerall’s tenure. The last time Ohio State took game one in Duluth was the 2015-16 season with a 6-3 win on Jan. 29, 2016.
• Jenna Buglioni led the Buckeyes with three blocked shots on the day.
• The Buckeyes improve to 4-1-2 against ranked opponents this season with the victory over Minnesota Duluth.

Statistically Speaking
Total Shots: Ohio State 53, Minnesota Duluth 45
Shots on Goal: Minnesota Duluth 34, Ohio State 27
Saves: Ohio State (Kirk) 33, Minnesota Duluth (Soderberg) 25
Power Play: Ohio State 1-2, Minnesota Duluth 0-2
Faceoffs: Minnesota Duluth 26, Ohio State 21
Ohio State Scoring: Maltais (1-1-2), Levis (1-0-1), Peschel (0-1-1), Rosenthal (0-1-1), Webster (0-1-1)

Up Next

The Buckeyes and Bulldogs meet for game two of the series Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The matchup will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required).

#GoBucks