While all of the amusement parks in the state of Ohio may be closed for the winter, there was at least one place during the weekend where central Ohioans could take part in a breathtaking thrill ride.
The end game of the weekend series at the Ohio State Ice Rink between the Buckeyes women’s ice hockey team and the St. Cloud State Huskies produced more peaks and valleys than any rollercoaster that calls Cedar Point home.
The No. 10 Buckeyes’ (14-9-3 overall, 9-8-3 WCHA) wild ride began when they took a 3-0 lead Friday night before allowing the Huskies (8-12-6, 4-12-4) to storm back and tie the game for a 3-3 final score, a devastating downhill dive for a team looking to hit its stride down the stretch.
“It was without a doubt a disappointing tie,” said OSU hockey coach Jackie Barto said. “We didn’t take care of the defensive end, and we didn’t take care of the puck. They put more pressure on us (after the first period), and we knew what they were doing, but we just weren’t poised with the puck.”
It didn’t take long for the Buckeyes to recover from their plunge and begin an upward climb that resulted in a crucial win over the Huskies.
“It’s always disappointing when you start a game off great like we did (Friday night) and end up with a tie, which really isn’t what the team was looking for,” said junior forward Jody Heywood. “We just knew we needed to come out (Saturday) and make a statement, and we did that.”
The Buckeyes were led on Saturday night by the play of junior forward Shelby Aldous and junior defenseman Lisa Chesson, who each had two goals, but the weekend play of senior goaltender Erika Vanderveer might have been the deciding factor in the series.
Vanderveer withstood 39 shots on Friday night to help save against a loss, and stopped all 15 shots she faced on Saturday before being replaced by sophomore Liana Bonanno.
“It’s great having (Vanderveer) behind us,” Aldous said. “She’s a great goalie, and she gives us the confidence to forecheck as hard as we can, and we’re really confident that she’s going to make all the key saves, and even some that we didn’t even know she could make.”
Although the Buckeyes were able to take three out of the four points in the series, they know that to catch the three teams in front of them in the conference race, sweeping the teams below them in the standings is a necessity.
“We talked about that in the locker room (Friday night),” Barto said. “We have to take care of business versus the teams below us if we want to be in the top three (of the conference).”
Although the team wasn’t able to manage a sweep versus the Huskies, the win in the series finale prevented potentially disastrous consequences a loss would have entailed, and gives the Buckeyes confidence going forward.
“We played with a purpose (Saturday), showed a lot of heart, and won the battle,” Barto said. “It was a must-win game for our team. There was a lot of disappointment in the locker room (Friday night). We didn’t compete the way we needed to (on Friday), and we needed a game of this caliber.”
Jon Wagner can be reached at [email protected].
