I suppose the storybook season had to come to an end sometime. The women's hockey Buckeyes were eliminated in the NCAA semifinals by defending national champ and No. 1 seed Clarkson. Ohio State fell 1-0 in overtime.
| Scoring by Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Ohio State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 1 Clarkson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The squads dueled through two goalless periods. The back-and-forth battle brought scoring chances for both sides. Clarkson's were of a little higher quality but the Golden Knights couldn't get any of them past Kassidy Sauve.
The Buckeye goaltender was brilliant. Sauve made difficult saves look routine. She bailed the Bucks out of a bad situation late in the second period when Clarkson had them hemmed in their own end for more than two minutes. Sauve calmly stood on her head to keep the score 0-0.
While Ohio State didn't have quite as many Grade A chances as the Knights, the Buckeyes were the only team to get the puck past a goaltender. They beat All-American netminder Shea Tiley twice, though neither shot counted. Charley Dahlquist rang the inner goalpost. Jincy Dunne blasted a bomb to the back of the net but the goal was negated due to a delayed penalty on the Bucks.
The action continued fast and furious in the third period. Ohio State outshot Clarkson 18-7. Multiple Buckeye lines sustained pressure on Tiley. The Golden Knights generated another three or four odd man attacks against Sauve. Both goalies kept the nets clean. The scoreless deadlock rolled into overtime.
The extra session did not begin auspiciously for OSU. The Bucks faced an early penalty kill against the Knights' potent power play. But Sauve and the PK unit hung tough and shut down the advantage. At the other end of the ice Maltais rocketed another shot off the pipe behind Tiley.
Then, at the 16:12 mark a Buckeye rush was broken up by Clarkson. The Golden Knights turned the play back up the ice quickly. Loren Gabel got behind the OSU defense. Elizabeth Giguere hit her with a perfect pass. Clarkson’s leading scorer netted the game-winning tally.
The loss was clearly devastating for the Bucks, though there was much to praise in their game. They performed well overall. At no time did they look like an underdog against the nation's top-ranked team.
If just one play had gone their way, they would have been skating in the national championship game. Who would have believed that from a team predicted in the preseason to be the best of the WCHA also-rans?
Periodically this season pundits speculated that Ohio State was not as good a team as it appeared. That the Buckeyes were the beneficiaries of Olympic teams plundering the rosters of the nation's top programs. Well, you can try that argument regarding Wisconsin and Minnesota, but not Clarkson. The Golden Knights' roster was untouched by the Olympic arms race. Tonight's battle proved the Bucks were the real deal all along.
Ohio State smashed expectations in 2017-18, setting new program-best marks right and left. The Bucks broke team records for most wins in a season (24) and best regular season conference finish (second). They earned their first NCAA tournament appearance and advanced to their first Frozen Four.
Sauve took over pretty much every goaltending record in the OSU book, solidifying her status as the greatest netminder in Buckeye history. Emma Maltais and Tatum Skaggs burned up the scoring charts and joined the ranks of Ohio State's all-time best freshman scorers.
Rarely were accolades given without a Buckeye included in the group of honorees. OSU boasts countless weekly conference laurels in addition to WCHA players of the month awards. Nadine Muzerall was the conference’s Coach of the Year, Maltais its Rookie of the Year. Jincy Dunne became the seventh All-American in program history.
One of the most impressive things about this Buckeye team is that more than 80% of it will return for the 2018-19 season including six of the crew’s top seven scorers. The entire top line - Maltais, Dahlquist, and Tatum Skaggs - should be back.
Veteran scorer Maddy Field and underrated rookie Liz Schepers ought to return as well, plus Sauve in net and Dunne and Lauren Boyle on defense. Ohio State will also add a crop of eager young rookies next fall headlined by skilled defender, team USA alum, and Ms. Hockey finalist Madison Bizal.
Notice has been served. Muzerall and this Buckeye program are coming. Watch out, NCAA.
