Ohio State relied on aggressive forechecking and heads-up defense to defeat conference rival St. Cloud State, 2-0, Saturday afternoon at the National Hockey Center in game one of a two-game WCHA series.
Following the win, the Buckeyes regained fourth place in the conference standings and improved their record to 13-15-3 overall and 10-10-3 in the WCHA. The Huskies slipped to 15-14-2 overall and 10-9-2 in league play.
The Buckeyes spent the better part of the first stanza in the Husky zone, outshooting St. Cloud, 12-4. Erin O’Grady gave Ohio State the early lead at 7:45. She collected Emily Hudak’s cross pass and one-timed the puck past SCSU goalie Laura Gieselman for her 10th goal of the season.
Ohio State owned the second period, as an aggressive Buckeye forecheck dismantled nearly every Husky attempt at an offensive attack. The Huskies were reduced to just two shots on net to the Buckeyes’ 14. At 1:54, Emma Laaksonen nabbed the second tally of the game. The freshman defender was on the wrong side of an OSU turnover but found the puck again and skated it in for an unassisted goal, her 14th on the season.
Kelli Halcisak nearly gave the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead at 12:07 in the second, but Gieselman made an impressive glove save while lying on her back.
The Buckeyes held onto their two-goal lead in the third stanza. SCSU almost put one on the board five minutes in when Fiona McLeod went on a breakaway, but April Stojak stayed solid and made the save. The OSU goalie had 18 saves in the game and earned her fourth shutout victory of the season. Gieselman stopped 30 of 32 Buckeye shots.
OSU was unable to convert on its lone power-play opportunity in the second period, and held the Huskies scoreless on two chances. The Buckeyes outshot the host Huskies, 32-18.
Ohio State and St.,Cloud return to the ice at 11:05 a.m. EST Sunday in the series finale at the National Hockey Center.
