Special teams impacted the No. 9 University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team early and often, and No. 2 Ohio State University reaped all the benefits in a 6-2 loss Friday night inside OSU Ice Rink in Columbus, Ohio.
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The Buckeyes jumped all over UMD's five minute major 4:13 into the game, scoring power play goals 2:19 apart to push ahead 2-0. By the midpoint of the frame, the Bulldogs trailed 3-0, and OSU added a fourth at 18:19 to closeout the first period.
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UMD finally stopped the Buckeyes scoring streak at 11:28 of the second period when Grace Sadura tipped in a shot from Kate Kosobud at the 11:28 mark to make it a 4-1 game. But OSU added a fifth at 18:19 – Jocelyn Amos' second of the game – to close out the second period 5-1.
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Amos scored the Buckeyes sixth and final goal 3:05 into the third, but UMD finally broke its scoreless power play streak at 12:31 on a Rae Mayer one-time finish to put a cap on the night's scoring at 6-2.
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All told, UMD went just 1-of-9 on its power play, while the Buckeyes went 2-of-4. Both teams put 34 shots on goal, but starting goaltender Eve Gascon played just the first 20 minutes, making 11 saves on 15 shots. Freshman Sophia Villanueva had 17 stops against 19 shots in 40 minutes of action. OSU goaltender Hailey MacLeod had 32 for the Buckeyes, who had just 13 skaters available.
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The Bulldogs (13-11-3, 9-9-3), playing without their Swedish Olympians – forward Thea Johansson and defenseman Ida Karlsson – for the first time, will conclude the series tomorrow afternoon with 2:00 p.m. CST puck drop.
