 "Photo: Ishmael Ali Elias")
A series split with a conference opponent that entered with a record of 2-8-2 and just one conference victory is not exactly what the Ohio State women's hockey team was hoping for when it entered play last weekend. It was not all bad, however, considering the team faced another of the nation's best goaltending duos in Bemidji State's Jill Luebke and Emily Brookshaw.
Ohio State has faced six of the best goaltenders in the nation in just eight series this season, with that trend continuing against the Beavers. Friday the Buckeyes defeated Luebke 4-2 before falling to Brookshaw 5-2 Saturday. OSU Senior forward Jana Harrigan and freshman forward Morgan Marziali notched two points in Friday night's game and added another in Saturday's contest. Harrigan's point in the second game extended her point streak to nine games.
The split moves the Buckeyes' record to 8-6-2 overall and 5-5-2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while the Beavers now sit at 3-9-2 with a WCHA record of 2-8-0.
Freshman goaltender Liana Bonnano continued her steady play in net. She saved 59 of the 66 Beaver shots she faced in the second and third starts of her OSU career.
"The coaches have always been confident in me, they've just been waiting for the right time to put me in," Bonnano said. "I just go out there and play for them when they call on me."
Bonnano said she was getting used to being in net.
"You get more comfortable with every start you make," she said. "You get better at communicating with your teammates."
The OSU power play struggled all weekend against the Beaver penalty kill and finished 0-for-8 on the series.
"We have been trying some new things on the power play," Marziali said. "We are just getting to know the new plays but once we get to know it, I'm sure everything will start clicking."
The Buckeyes scored first Friday night when freshman forward Hayley Klassen backhanded the puck past Luebke for her fifth goal of the season. Harrigan picked up her team-leading 12th assist on the goal, while sophomore Shelby Aldous got her third.
"One key for us is to get going at the beginning of the game," Marziali said. "Getting a few good passes and good looks will set the tone for the rest of the game."
The Beavers tied the game on a one-timer to knot the score going into the first intermission. But junior forward Katie Maroney put the Buckeyes back out in front with her fifth goal of the season on a breakaway set-up by Marziali. Junior defenseman Amber Bowman extended the lead to 3-1 after the Buckeyes killed off a 5-on-3 Beaver power play for 55 seconds. The goal was Bowman's seventh of the season, and Marziali picked up her second assist of the game.
Bemidji State scored a goal with a little more than a minute remaining to pull within one, but Bonnano held off the Beavers' late 6-on-5 attack after they pulled Luebke, and Harrigan won a key face-off and skated it down the ice to seal the game with an empty netter for the 4-2 victory.
Things did not go quite as well for the Buckeyes in Saturday's contest. The Buckeyes again took an early 1-0 lead but were not able to hold off the Beavers.
"Our team defense as a whole didn't do the little things at the end of that game," Barto said. "We didn't take care of the puck."
Maroney scored the game's first goal, her sixth of the season, extending her goal streak to four games. Marziali picked up her third assist of the series while senior forward Katie Sershen got her first point of the season.
Bemidji State responded with two goals to hold a 2-1 lead after one period even though the Buckeyes held a 16-8 lead in shots. Harrigan then tied the game at two with 10:05 left in the second period on a backhanded goal for her ninth goal of the season. Both Bowman and Klassen picked up assists on the goal and the Buckeyes seemed to be in business. However, the Beavers added another goal to hold a 3-2 lead going into the final period.
The Buckeyes tried to tie the game in the third period but could only manage eight shots against Brookshaw, who turned all of them away. The Beavers, however, managed to put two more pucks past Bonnano for the 5-2 victory.
"We had a few mental breakdowns at the defensive end," Bonnano said. "But hopefully we can work through that in the next game."
The Buckeyes will not play this upcoming weekend because of finals, but they conclude the Autumn quarter portion of their schedule the following weekend against St. Cloud State.
"The two-week layoff is definitely a positive for us," Barto said. "It gives the girls a chance to focus on their finals, but also it gives us a chance to get some of our injuries healthy."
The Dec. 9-10 match-up in St. Cloud, Minn. is the second time the Buckeyes have faced the Huskies this season. They swept them in a two-game series at home to open the season back on Oct. 7-8.
"We beat them twice already this season so we know what they do, but they are going to be ready for us," Barto said. "They play on an Olympic-size rink so it will be more of a skating game than it was in October. We are going to need to be stay sharp, be quick out there, and play up-tempo hockey."
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