No. 5 Ohio State came away with two conference points on Friday night. The overall game was a little rough. In the end, though, the home team pulled off a shootout victory over visiting St. Cloud State.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Cloud State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| No. 5 Ohio State | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
The Buckeyes registered more shots than the Huskies in the first period. They also significantly out-attempted the visitors. However St. Cloud was the first team on the board. Midway through the frame Abby Theissen netted the opening goal for a 1-0 Huskies lead.
| Buckeye Goal Scorers (Assists) | Pd | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tatum Skaggs (Emma Maltais, Jincy Dunne) | 2 | 19:23 |
| Julianna Iafallo (Emma Maltais, Tatum Skaggs) | 3 | 11:57 |
| Grace Zarzecki | SO |
Ohio State promptly took a penalty for too many players on the ice. Former Buckeye Dana Rasmussen scored on the ensuing power play. At the 19:30 mark OSU briefly appeared to cut into St. Cloud’s lead but the officials waved off the last minute goal.
St. Cloud carried a 2-0 edge into the second period. The Bucks kept hammering away at Huskies’ netminder Janine Alder. With seconds remaining on the clock they finally broke through. Red hot rookie Tatum Skaggs notched her twelfth goal of the season with assists from Emma Maltais and Jincy Dunne.
Skaggs and Maltais had more to contribute. In the third period they helped orchestrate a game tying goal. The freshmen sent a shot toward the St. Cloud net. Buckeye veteran Julianna Iafallo deftly redirected it past Alder for a 2-2 score.
The Bucks survived a close call late in the game. St. Cloud put a puck in the net but the goal was disallowed because of goaltender interference. Neither side prevailed in the extra session so the game officially ended in a tie. Grace Zarzecki secured the bonus conference point for the Buckeyes with a fifth round shootout winner.
The Huskies owned the special teams battle tonight. That victory was key to their success. St. Cloud went 1-for-2 on the power play. The visitors' penalty killers held Ohio State scoreless in three chances, including one in overtime.
OSU outshot the Huskies 43-31 in the game, led by the trio of Maltais, Maddy Field, and Dani Sadek with seven shots each. Skaggs (goal and an assist) and Maltais (two assists) headlined the Buckeye scoring chart.
The teams skate their regular season finale tomorrow afternoon. Heading into the contest Ohio State leads the series 2-0-1-1. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 3pm ET.
