No. 1 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
Date: March 19, 2023
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: AMSOIL Arena
Watch: ESPNU
Live Stats: NCAA.com
Game Notes: Ohio State | Wisconsin
Rosters: Ohio State | Wisconsin
COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the second straight year, the Ohio State women’s hockey team will play in the last game of the season for a national championship. The Buckeyes (33-5-2) will play WCHA foe Wisconsin (28-10-2) on Sunday, March 19 at 4 p.m. from AMSOIL Arena in the 2023 Frozen Four title game.
The game will be televised on ESPNU. Clay Matvick, A.J. Mleczko and Hillary Knight will be on the call.
Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament
- The Buckeyes advanced to the national title game with a 3-0 win over Northeastern in Friday’s Frozen Four semifinal. Amanda Thiele posted 15 saves for her fourth shutout of the year and Hadley Hartmetz, Sloane Matthews and Makenna Webster tallied the goals for Ohio State.
- Ohio State earned its fourth Frozen Four appearance with a 5-2 win over Quinnipiac in the NCAA quarterfinal in Columbus on March 11. Sophie Jaques tallied two goals with Emma Peschel, Lauren Bernard and Gabby Rosenthal also scoring. Thiele made 21 stops for the Buckeyes.
- Friday’s semifinal win improves Ohio State’s record to 7-2 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 looks to defend its 2022 national title Sunday against the Badgers.
- 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.
Buckeyes in a Nutshell
- Jenn Gardiner, a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, is the Buckeyes’ points leader with 57 headed into the final game of the season. Sophie Jaques and Emma Maltais are tied for second with 48.
- Maltais has recorded a team-high 37 assists this year. Gardiner follows close behind with 36.
- Jaques owns a team and career-high 24 goals for the 2022-23 season. Four Buckeyes have recorded 20+ goal seasons, including Gardiner, Paetyn Levis and Gabby Rosenthal with 21 goals each.
- Jaques has scored 61 goals for her career, making her the WCHA record holder for career goals by a defenseman.
- Amanda Thiele earned the Buckeyes’ second shutout in the NCAA Tournament and first since their tournament debut against Boston College in 2016.
- Thiele’s 20 wins in goal this season for Ohio State are a career high and tie for the most goaltender wins in a single season by a Buckeye.
- Sloane Matthews became the first Buckeye freshman to score a goal in the Frozen Four with the first tally of Friday’s semifinal win over Northeastern.
- Ohio State leads the country with a .330 power play percentage and .578 face-off win percentage.
- Buckeyes Gardiner and Jaques were named All-Americans by the AHCA on Thursday. Jaques is a First Team member for the second consecutive year and Gardiner is a Second Team honoree for the first time.
- 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 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 33 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 was 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. Badgers
- The Buckeyes and Badgers meet for the fifth time this season in Sunday’s national championship game.
- Ohio State won the regular season series against Wisconsin, 3-1.
- The Buckeyes have won six of the last seven match ups between the two programs.
- The teams have met once before in the Frozen Four, with No. 2 seeded Wisconsin defeating the Buckeyes in overtime, 3-2, in the 2021 tournament.
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
Sunday marks the end of the 2022-23 NCAA women’s ice hockey season. The winner of Sunday’s game will be crowned the 2022-23 national champion.
#GoBucks
