Six Buckeyes Set to Play at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

COLUMBUS, Ohio – As the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games begin on Feb. 3, six past, present and future Ohio State women’s hockey players will be representing their home countries in the battle for gold.

Buckeyes In Beijing

The Buckeyes are sending a program record number of players to the Olympics this year. Among the six players at the games, five countries will be represented. Emma Maltais (Canada), Jincy Dunne (United States) and Sophie Lundin (Sweden) will make their Olympic debut in Beijing. Current Buckeye Andrea Braendli (Switzerland) makes her second Olympic appearance while Natalie Spooner (Canada) and Minttu Tuominen (Finland) make their third and fourth Olympic trips, respectively.

The Ohio State women’s hockey players headed to the Olympics this year have had their fair share of success at past games. Tuominen has two bronze medals for her career while Spooner earned gold in 2014 and silver in 2018. In all, Buckeyes have earned nine Olympic medals.

Andrea Braendli • Senior • Zurich, Switzerland  • Switzerland

• Played in 12 games this season before leaving for Beijing, posting a .924 save percentage
• Led the team to nine wins, including the Buckeyes’ sweep of Minnesota during which she made 62 saves
• 2021 finalist for the Hockey Commissioners Association’s Women’s Hockey Goalie of the Year Award
• The winningest goaltender in program history with 56 wins for her career so far. She owns the season win record with 20 victories during the 2018-19 campaign.
• Last summer at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championships, Braendli led all goaltenders with 181 saves on 200 shots faced. She played in all seven games of the tournament for the Swiss team and put on an incredible 55-save performance in the team’s opening game against the United States.

Jincy Dunne • 2020 Ohio State graduate • O’Fallon, Mo. • United States

• Making her Olympic debut this year in Beijing
• 2020 Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year and received the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
• Buckeye captain for four of her five seasons
• Two-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and is Ohio State’s first and only two-time AHCA First Team All-American
• Dunne is tied for third in the Ohio State record book with 99 career points as a defenseman

Sophie Lundin • Incoming Freshman • Helsingborg, Sweden • Sweden

• Helped the Swedes qualify for the 2022 Olympics, and their first top-level event in three years, in November.
• Played in all three of Sweden’s games of the qualification tournament and scored one goal
• Overall, she finished the tournament with a +6 on ice rating, good for second best among all skaters
• Played the last six seasons for Djurgarden Stockholm.
• A member of Sweden’s 2016 Youth Olympic Games gold medal team.
• Has also skated for her country in the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championships and the 2017 and 2018 U18 Women’s Worlds

Emma Maltais • 2021 Ohio State graduate • Burlington, Ont. • Canada

• Making her Olympic debut this year
• Two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top 10 Finalist
• USCHO and ACHA All-American as a Buckeye
• She owns the Ohio State record for single-season points (59) and assists (40) which she hit during the 2019-20 season
• Plans to return to the Ohio State roster for the 2022-23 campaign for her final season of eligibility
• Made her first appearance at the world championships as a member of Hockey Canada’s senior national team last summer, skating in five games of the tournament and helping the team to a gold medal finish

Natalie Spooner • 2012 Ohio State graduate • Scarborough, Ont. • Canada

• Makes her third trip to the Olympics
• 2014 gold-medalist in Sochi and 2018 silver medalist in PyeongChang
• Two-time world champion and eight-time world medalist has been a member of the Canadian national team program since 2007
• Recorded her 100th point for Canada at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championships
• The first Canadian to compete for the National Women’s Team, the National Women’s U-22 Team and the National Women’s U-18 Team
• As a Buckeye, she recorded 163 points on 100 goals and 63 assists
• The only Buckeye to have scored 100 goals in her time at Ohio State and still stands as the leading goal scorer in program history

Minttu Tuominen • 2013 Ohio State graduate • Helsinki, Finland • Finland

• Making her fourth trip to the Olympics this year
• At Ohio State, she played in 124 games and recorded 16 goals and 33 assists
• Four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, three-time WCHA All-Academic Team honoree and two-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete
• Has with two Olympic medals in her collection, earning bronze in 2010 and 2018
• At the 2018 games in PyeongChang, she scored one goal and added two assists to tie for fourth among defensemen in scoring

Women’s Hockey Olympic Schedule

Women’s hockey will start Feb. 2 from the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing. The women’s tournament will also be played at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing.

Wednesday, Feb. 2 – Preliminary Round

11:10 p.m. ET – Switzerland vs. Canada

Thursday, Feb. 3 – Preliminary Round

3:40 a.m. ET – Sweden vs. Japan

8:10 a.m. ET – United States vs. Finland

11:10 p.m. ET – Switzerland vs. Russian Olympic Committee

Friday, Feb. 4 – Preliminary Round

11:10 p.m. ET – Finland vs. Canada

Saturday, Feb. 5 – Preliminary Round

3:40 a.m. ET – Sweden vs. Czechia

8:10 a.m. ET – United States vs. Russian Olympic Committee

Sunday, Feb. 6 – Preliminary Round

8:10 a.m. ET – United States vs. Switzerland

11:10 p.m. ET – Canada vs. Russian Olympic Committee

Monday, Feb. 7 – Preliminary Round

8:10 a.m. ET – Sweden vs. China

8:10 a.m. ET – Switzerland vs. Finland

11:10 p.m. ET – Canada vs. United States

Tuesday, Feb. 8 – Preliminary Round

8:10 a.m. ET – Sweden vs. Denmark

8:10 a.m. ET – Finland vs. Russian Olympic Committee

Thursday, Feb. 10-Saturday, Feb. 12 – Quarterfinals

Sunday, Feb. 13-Monday, Feb. 14 – Semifinals

Wednesday, Feb. 16 – Medal Games

6:30 a.m. ET – Bronze medal game

11:10 p.m. ET – Gold medal game