On Friday the fourth ranked Buckeyes put their undefeated status on the line at St. Cloud State. Following an even first period Ohio State exploded for four goals in the second period. The Bucks cruised to victory and improved to 6-0-1 on the season.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Ohio State | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| St. Cloud State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The opening period was scoreless. Ohio State's Kassidy Sauve and St. Cloud's Janine Alder matched each other save for save. The Buckeyes held a slight edge in pucks on net, 10-8.
This was not the case in the second period. The Bucks utterly dominated the middle frame. They hounded the Huskies all over the ice. They forced turnovers left and right, several of which led directly to goals.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Emma Maltais (Julianna Iafallo, Maddy Field) | 2 | 4:39 |
| Maddy Field (McKenna Wesloh) | 2 | 6:46 |
| Rebecca Freiburger (Lauren Spring) | 2 | 11:00 |
| Lauren Spring (Rebecca Freiburger, Elise Riemenschneider) | 2 | 16:59 |
OSU shelled Alder with 26 shots. Four of them ended up in the back of the net. Emma Maltais and Maddy Field started the scoring with goals two minutes apart.
First Maltais zapped the top corner of the net. Then Field tucked the puck behind Alder to net her fifth goal of the year. Freshman McKenna Wesloh assisted on the score. The point was her first as a Buckeye.
A few minutes later the Bucks put the game completely out of reach. Both Rebecca Freiburger and Lauren Spring each lit their first lamps of the season. Each play began with a Spring-forced turnover. Elise Riemenschneider picked up her first point of the season with a helper on the Bucks’ fourth goal.
Ohio State kept the pressure on in the period, though the team didn’t add to its score. The Bucks put another 12 shots on goal to bring its game total to 48. St. Cloud recorded 26 shots, all of which were stopped by Sauve. The net wizard picked up her third shutout of the season and career goose egg No. 15.
Neither sided registered a special teams tally. The Buckeyes were 0-for-2 on the day. The Huskies were 0-for-1.
Ohio State got goals from three different lines in the win. Field, Freiburger, and Spring each recorded a goal and an assist. Field and Maltais paced OSU in individual shots with nine each.
The teams resume their series tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET. The tilt can be streamed live online on a pay-per-game basis via St. Cloud Athletics.