The No. 4 women’s hockey Buckeyes were back on the ice Sunday, looking to improve on Saturday’ disappointing outing against No. 1 Wisconsin. Ohio State hit the ice with a renewed sense of purpose and did skate a much better game, though the desired results did not follow.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| No. 1 Wisconsin | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
The Badgers peppered the Buckeye net in the opening period once again, putting 18 shots on net. This time, though, the Bucks punched back with eight shots of their own. The teams traded power plays in the frame but both defenses dug in and kept the score 0-0.
The deadlock was broken midway through the contest. As a power play expired, Mikaela Gardner collected a loose puck and shoveled it over the fallen Kassidy Sauve for a 1-0 Wisconsin lead. Alexis Mauermann added another goal for the Badgers before the second intermission.
| Buckeye Goal Scorer (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tatum Skaggs (Jincy Dunne, Emma Maltais) | 3 | 11:21 |
Sauve and the OSU defense continued to battle the Badgers in the third period. They thwarted another 16 attempts by Wisconsin, surrendering only one more goal. That came off the stick of ex-Buckeye Claudia Kepler. All together Sauve stopped a career-high 47 shots in the contest, besting her previous mark of 44.
| WCHA Standings | Gms | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Wisconsin | 8 | 24 |
| No. 6 Minnesota | 10 | 19 |
| No. 4 Ohio State | 8 | 17 |
| Minnesota-Duluth | 8 | 9 |
| Bemidji State | 6 | 3 |
| Minnesota State | 6 | 3 |
| St. Cloud State | 6 | 3 |
Determined not to be shutout for a second time, the Buckeye offense rallied. Tatum Skaggs found the back of the net with her sixth tally of the season. Ohio State had an excellent opportunity to further cut into the Badger lead. Seconds after scoring, the Bucks went on the power play. However, Wisconsin killed the penalty and retained its two goal advantage.
This was not the result the Buckeyes were after, but they did come out with a much better effort and gave Wisconsin a tougher game than they did on Saturday. Ohio State looks to keep regrouping and get back to its winning ways next week. The Bucks are set to host Minnesota State in a Friday-Saturday series at the OSU Ice Rink.
