The game unfolded differently, but the end result was the same as the No. 3 Minnesota women’s hockey team lost at No. 2 Ohio State Saturday, completing a two-game series sweep at the hands of the Buckeyes.
Unlike Saturday, when the hosts scored the game’s first four goals before Minnesota’s late rally fell well short, the Gophers scored first in Columbus, Ohio, only to see the hosts blitz back past them by the end of the second period en route to a 3-1 win.
Chloe Primerano put the Gophers up 1-0 on a power play goal at 12:09 of the first period, but Ohio State knotted the score less than 150 seconds later.
The contest remained 1-0 for the first two-thirds of the middle frame before the Buckeyes took the lead for good at 15:54. Ohio State all-but sunk the dagger with a power-play tally 11 seconds before intermission. That strike proved to be the final score of the day.
Goaltender Hannah Clark made 23 saves for Minnesota (24-7-1 overall, 18-7-1 WCHA) while her counterpart, Hailey Macleod, made 21 saves for the Buckeyes (28-4, 22-4).
The loss ensured a third-place finish for the Gophers in the WCHA regular-season standings. Minnesota returns home for the final pre-playoff series of the season next weekend, with tenth-ranked Minnesota-Duluth paying Ridder Arena a visit. The Gophers/Bulldogs series opens Friday night at 6 p.m., with Saturday’s regular-season finale slated to start at 2 p.m. Friday night’s game will be televised on both Fox 9+ and BTN+.
Related Articles
Women’s hockey: Tommies blanked by No. 10 UMD
Gophers hockey: Men win in shootout, women fall in 2 vs. 3 battle
Men’s hockey: For St. Thomas’ Chase Cheslock, it’s all about the assist
Women’s basketball: Gophers win seventh straight game
Men’s basketball: Tommies fall at Omaha
Leave a Reply