Ohio State, ranked No. 10 in the preseason, fell, 3-1, to the Toronto Varsity Blues in an exhibition contest Saturday at the OSU Ice Arena.
Rookie right wing Jeni Creary scored for the Buckeyes at the 18:26 mark of the second period.
Jill Savin put the Varsity Blues on the board first with a power-play goal from Stephenie Summerhill and Deandra Locicero at 9:14 in the first stanza.
Two minutes later, at the 11:32 mark, Susie Laska upped Toronto’s lead to two on her even strength tally from Urszula May.
With less than two minutes remaining in the second period, Creary beat out a 3-on-1 in front of the Toronto net and managed to get a shot off. A UT defender picked up the rebound but Shana Frost caused a turnover and fed the puck to Jennifer Desson along the boards. Desson sent a pass to Creary, who was waiting to take the shot. Creary converted at 18:26 and the Buckeyes skated into the second intermission down, 2-1.
At 5:04 in the third, Andrea Patry put the finishing touches on the Blues’ victory with a goal from Bree Kruklis and Carla Paginello.
Ohio State outshot Toronto, 27-16. April Stojak tended the goal for the Buckeyes for 30:18, had four saves and allowed two goals. Melissa Glaser played 28:48, stopped nine Blues’ shots and allowed one goal. Alison Houston had the win for Toronto with 26 saves.
Ohio State was 0-for-1 on the power play, while Toronto converted once on three chances.
Ohio State opens the regular season with a two-game series against conference foe Bemidji State. The Buckeyes and Beavers face off at 3:05 p.m. (EDT) Oct. 12 and 13. At 7:05 p.m. Oct. 26 and 27, the Buckeyes open their home schedule with a two-game series against Wisconsin.
