No. 1 Ohio State took center ice Saturday after defeating No. 8 Minnesota Duluth, 9-0, in the NCAA quarterfinal round at the Ohio State Ice Rink.Credit: Cameron Moonlantern Reporter
The next stop for No. 1 Ohio State women's ice hockey is Durham, New Hampshire.
Graduate forward Hannah Birka and senior forward Olivia Mobley led the Buckeyes to a 9-0 victory over No. 8 Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament at the Ohio State Ice Rink on Saturday.
Freshman forward Jocelyn Amos scored off a pass from graduate defenseman Stephanie Murkowski just 22 seconds into the game, leading the Bulldogs (21-14-4, 15-11-2 WCHA) to victory. It was overwhelming.
Ohio State (33-4-0, 26-2-0 WCHA) held a 3-0 lead in the first with Mobley and Birka adding two more points at 13:25 and 15:53, respectively. I entered a break. Senior goaltender Raegan Kirk saved all three shots on target in the first.
“It was a very impressive win,” said Ohio State head coach Nadine Museral. “It’s not just about the score being 9-0, it’s about how the young women played together and how they started the game. It was great to see how many players were acting away from the puck.”
The fast start continued, with Birka scoring Ohio State's fourth point just 29 seconds into the second period. Eleven minutes later, graduate defenseman Hadley Hartmets added a score on the power play to give the Buckeyes a 5-0 lead.
“Every detail was important. We were happy to see them take the penalty and we were happy to see them score two on the power play,” Muselal said.
Ohio State added two more points in the second period, with freshman forward Jordan Baxter scoring his fifth of the season at 12:48 and Mobley capping off the period with a putt at 16:44.
Kirk saved 11 more shots in the second period, a much-needed performance after giving up six points against Wisconsin on March 9.
“The recovery from last weekend was definitely great,” Kirk said. “We all needed to bounce it off and feel the puck and step in a little bit. It was huge today and all the special teams guys were huge for us as well.”
Museral praised the goaltender and said Kirk's play in key moments got Ohio State on the road to victory.
“[Kirk] We stopped the run when the score was only 2-0,” Muselal said. “That was great about her and she looked so fresh on the ice. I think she was a triumph of character.”
The Buckeyes scored eight and nine goals in the third period, with freshman forward Joy Dunn scoring on the power play and graduate forward Kelsey King scoring Ohio State's final goal of the 2023-24 season at home. decided.
Muzeral said he endured the Bulldogs' efforts to make the games more physical and that Ohio State understands there will be more games this season.
With the win, Ohio State moved to 6-0-0 on the season against Minnesota-Duluth and broke the previous program record of five points in a tournament game.
“It's never easy to beat someone in our league, let alone six times,” Muselal said. “We've never done that against Duluth, because they're a very respectable opponent and have a long history of success.”
Birka, who won the tournament for the first time in his college career, said the moment was special.
“As a fifth-grader, I know how difficult it is to participate in this tournament,” Birka said. She said, “At the same time, my goal is to win the national championship.''
Ohio State will travel to the University of New Hampshire campus on Thursday to take on No. 4 seed Clarkson at the Whittemore Center. Puck drop will take place at 4 or 7:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN+.
