The Ohio State women’s hockey team has some work to do if it wants to compete in the postseason tournament this year.
The Buckeyes are below .500, but they are 4-4-1 in their last nine games.
The holiday break consisted of four games, but the Buckeyes won only one, while losing three one-goal contests.
“We’re close and we just need to find that one step to put us over the edge,” said goalie April Stojak.
The Buckeyes split a series of games with Princeton on Dec. 13 and 14. In the first half of the doubleheader, they could not muster a single goal, but the second game brought change.
The Buckeyes came out and set the tone. Emma Laaksonen scored two goals, while Jeni Creary and Jana Harrigan each added a goal as OSU shut out the Tigers 4-0. Stojak stopped all 20 shots she faced.
The Buckeyes received a long break, not playing again until Jan. 2 against Dartmouth. The Buckeyes lit up the scoreboard with five goals, but Dartmouth was one better. One bright note during the game was Creary, who recorded a hat trick.
Next up was St. Lawrence, but OSU had the same result in another one-goal defeat by the Saints. Creary and Shana Frost tallied goals, but St. Lawrence scored three of its own.
The Buckeyes are 6-12-2 overall and 4-6-2 in the WCHA. Their next games come this weekend when the Buckeyes travel to Minnesota to take on St. Cloud State. OSU snatched a pair of victories from the Huskies earlier this year, winning both in Columbus.
While they fell three times over break, the Buckeyes out-shot each of their opponents. They also added several power-play goals.
“We just need to keep shooting,” OSU women’s hockey coach Jackie Barto said. “We need to stay strong with our defense, keep creating opportunities, and our goal is always going to be to out-shoot our opponent.”
Creary has been on a roll lately, scoring five goals over break.
“I’m not really thinking I’m going to go out and score three goals this game, and three goals this game,” she said. ” Whatever happens, happens. I just need to keep working hard.”
