The Ohio State women's ice hockey team will play Clarkson on Friday for its fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance, with the winner facing the winner of the other semifinal between Wisconsin and Colgate.
Head coach Nadine Museral has a chance to get revenge on Clarkson after the Golden Knights beat the Buckeyes 1-0 in the 2018 Frozen Four, Ohio State's first appearance in the Frozen Four. Dew. The matchup between the Buckeyes and Golden Knights in Minneapolis is the only previous matchup between the two schools.
After a crushing loss to Wisconsin in the WCHA Final Faceoff title game, Ohio State bounced back and defeated Minnesota-Duluth 9-0 in the regional final in Columbus on Saturday afternoon. Ta.
Jocelyn Amos scored 22 seconds into the game to give the Buckeyes an early lead. Olivia Mobley and Hannah Birka each scored in the first period, giving Ohio State a 3-0 lead sending the team into the first intermission. Birka scored his second goal of the game 29 seconds into the second period, and the Buckeyes continued to score for the rest of the game.
Ohio State's nine goals in Saturday's game tied the NCAA Tournament record for most goals in a single game. The Buckeyes closed out the 2023-24 home season with 18 wins, which also set Ohio State's record for most wins in a season on home ice. By stopping all 16 shots between Minnesota and Duluth, Ohio State goaltender Raegan Kirk recorded his ninth shutout of the season, the most in the nation. Kirk's goals against average is his 1.11 and his save percentage is .941.
Ohio State's opponent in Durham will be the Clarkson Golden Knights, who defeated Minnesota 3-2 in four overtimes to earn a spot in the Frozen Four. Clarkson fell behind 2-0 in the first period, but Haley Wynn scored a power-play goal at 16:27 of the first period to come back.
Dominic Petry tied the game with less than two minutes left in regulation time, sending the game into sudden-death overtime. After more than 60 minutes of scoreless overtime hockey, Petry scored a power-play goal at 5:44 of the fourth overtime, clinching Clarkson's spot in the Frozen Four.
This will be the Golden Knights' sixth appearance in Frozen 4 and the first since 2019. Clarkson will be looking to regain some of her dominance over the past decade, appearing in five Frozen 4s and winning the national title from 2014 to 2019. 3 of those seasons.
The Golden Knights are coached by Matt Desrosiers, who is in his 12th season as head coach at Clarkson. In fact, Desrosiers served as co-head coach with his wife, Shannon, but stepped down after the 2014 season to raise the couple's children.
Petry led Clarkson with 15 points this season, but Nicole Gosling and Haley Wynn were the team's leading scorers, with both skaters scoring 39 points on the season. The Golden Knights have a very balanced attack, with seven players scoring at least 10 goals this season. In addition to Petrie, Gosling and Wynn, double-digit scorers included Ann Czerkowski, Darcy Lapin, Brooke McKeege and Senna Catterall. Overall, Clarkson has outscored opponents 134-47 this season.
As good as Ohio State's goaltending duo of Raegan Kirk and Amanda Thiele are, Clarkson's duo is even better. Michelle Pasiechnik and Giulia Minotti combined for 13 shutouts this year.
Pasiechnik has started 31 games this season, posting a 1.29 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. Minotti played in 12 games, posting a goals-against average of 0.57 and a save percentage of 0.965. Pasiechnik started against Minnesota and stopped 61 shots for the Golden Gophers in the win.
Clarkson will face his toughest task of the season as he tries to slow down Ohio State's high-scoring attack. After Saturday's nine-goal victory over Minnesota against Duluth, the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 196-50 this season.
Hannah Birka and Joy Dunn share the team lead with 22 goals on the season. Jennifer Gardiner has scored 18 goals so far this year, Jenna Brioni and Jocelyn Amos each have 15, and Chiara Zanon has 14. Overall, the Buckeyes have nine players who have scored at least 10 goals this season.
The winner of the semifinal between the Buckeyes and Golden Knights will face the winner of the semifinal between Wisconsin and Colgate. If Ohio State plays the Badgers on Sunday, the Buckeyes could get revenge for the blowout they gave Wisconsin a few weeks ago and the loss in last year's title game.
time: 4pm ET
tv set: ESPN+
