Behind the phenomenal play of goaltender Eve Gascon, the No. ? University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team kept it close, but could not overcome No. 3 Ohio State Friday night, suffering a 3-1 loss at AMSOIL Arena in the series opener.

"I thought our second and third period were really good," said UMD head coach Laura Schuler, who is now 2-3 against OSU. "We just have to make sure we come out like that from the get-go. I think we showed how we can play in the second and third, but obviously we were on our heels in the first and that's not ok. We've got to find a way to make sure we are playing consistently throughout the entire game, and I think if we do that, it's a different outcome."

Gascon's season-high 50 save performance gave the Bulldogs a chance to equalize late into the third period, despite a first period by the Buckeyes that produced a goal and a 21-1 shot on goal advantage. After the Buckeyes scored midway through the first, OSU doubled that lead on a goal from Joy Dunne at 3:38 of the second period. 

The Bulldogs started to punch back in the second frame, and outshot the Buckeyes 14-12 – the lone period UMD wasn't hampered with penalties.

UMD's comeback took a twist midway through the third period when it lost Caitlin Kraemer to a game misconduct, and UMD was forced to penalty kill for seven minutes. In fact, UMD had four penalties for nine minutes served in the final frame, but still managed to pull within a single goal at 3:35 – just over three minutes before Kraemer had to exit the ice. 

Rae Mayer's pass to Thea Johansson in the crease was one-timed right back to Mayer, and the rising rookie ripped it past OSU goaltender Hailey MacLeod to make it a 2-1 game with plenty of time left in the third. UMD pushed back, but was forced to penalty kill for almost half the frame. The Bulldogs attempted to equalize with less than two minutes left in the game by pulling Gascon, but the Buckeyes scored an empty net goal with 48 seconds left to seal their win.

Gascon – who averaged 44.2 saves against Ohio State one season ago – was unrelenting in net with her 50 stops. Gascon also helped UMD stay perfect on the penalty kill in game despite four scoreless Buckeye power plays. 

"Eve is just such a competitor, she's so elite," said Schuler after the game. "She is so poised in the net and so mature, and continues to lead our team from the day she got to UMD. We're so lucky to have a goalie like that, but we need to be better in front of her."

The Bulldogs (10-5-0, 6-5-0) and Buckeyes (12-1-0, 10-1-0) will do it all over again tomorrow afternoon with a 3:02 p.m. puck drop scheduled at AMSOIL.