The Ohio State women’s hockey team celebrate after beating Northeastern university 5-0 Friday. Courtesy of: Ohio State athletics.
With a fifth straight advance to the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Championship on the line, No. 1 Ohio State left no doubt.
The Buckeyes erupted for four first-period goals and never looked back, defeating No. 5 Northeastern 5-0 in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals Friday at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Despite an early push from Northeastern, including a breakaway opportunity against goaltender Hailey MacLeod, the Buckeyes quickly flipped momentum. Ohio State fired nine shots in response before forward Joy Dunne opened the scoring with 9:46 remaining in the first period, cleaning up a rebound in front of the net.
That was just the beginning.
Ohio State continued attacking the net, recording 10 shots before forward Kaia Malachino scored the team’s second goal unassisted at 3:27.
Forward Sanni Vanhanen extended the scoring streak nearly a minute later.
Though the Buckeyes held a 3-0 lead late in the first period, they didn’t relent, as defenseman Emma Peschel added a goal in the final seconds to push the lead to 4-0 entering intermission.
Ohio State’s defense was just as sharp as its offense, as the Huskies struggled to generate shots, totaling eight through the first two periods.
Despite having two power-play opportunities, Northeastern struggled to generate offense, adding just four shots in the second period while allowing nine.
The Buckeyes opened the third period with continued offensive pressure, as defenseman Sara Swiderski capped Ohio State’s scoring outburst with 17 minutes remaining to make it 5-0.
Ohio State finished with 42 shots while limiting Northeastern to 15 saves, with Dunne leading the Buckeyes with eight shots.
The Buckeyes will face the winner of No. 3 Penn State and No. 2 Wisconsin in the championship game Sunday at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania. If Ohio State faces Wisconsin, it will mark the fourth consecutive season the two teams meet in the national championship game.
