After spending the past four weekends on the road, the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team returns to action at 7:05 tonight in the OSU Ice Rink against the No. 1-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Buckeyes (14-10-2, 10-9-1 in WCHA) have played some intense opponents during their stretch away from home ice. With the exception of the Jan. 31 single-game loss to Mercyhurst, the team has split each two-game series during the road trip.

Last weekend, the Buckeyes split a two-game series with Minnesota State-Mankato. OSU lost 4-1 in last Friday’s contest and won 2-0 on Saturday.

Sophomore center Jana Harrigan, who leads the Buckeyes with 21 points this season, scored the lone OSU goal Friday and scored one goal Saturday. On Monday, she was one of four players nominated by the WCHA as Offensive Player of the Week.

“Saturday’s game was a good game,” Harrigan said. “We came out and did what we needed to do. We came out stronger than on Friday, and we capitalized on opportunities from the other team.”

Buckeye junior goaltender Melissa Glaser recorded her third shutout of the season at Saturday’s game.

“My teammates were a huge part of it,” Glaser said. “I give credit to them for being there to direct the shots away.”

The Buckeyes and their opponents this weekend – the Golden Gophers – met in Minneapolis in the first WCHA game of the season. The two-game series held over the weekend of Oct. 17-18, resulted in a 6-3 victory and a 7-0 shutout for Minnesota.

“A lot has changed between their game and ours,” Glaser said. “We need to concentrate on what they’re doing now. We’ll really need to play as a team.”

In preparation for this weekend’s series, the Buckeyes have been studying the Golden Gopher’s game tapes, Glaser said.

The Buckeyes are looking forward to defending home ice.

“Playing back at home will be great,” said OSU coach Jackie Barto. “It will be a challenge to play the No. 1 team in the country. A big thing for us will be playing defensively. We’ll need some good scoring opportunities, as well as being able to take away their speed.”

Harrigan said the Buckeyes will be victorious.

“We’re going to take them down,” Harrigan said. “We’re going to shut them down in the defensive zone.”

Next weekend, the Buckeyes host WCHA opponent Wisconsin at 7:05 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at home for the last conference game of the season.