Ohio State then-redshirt sophomore goaltender Kassidy Sauve stares down a rolling puck against St. Cloud State on Feb. 4 at the OSU Ice Rink. Credit: Lantern File Photo
The No. 8 Ohio State women’s hockey team (15-5-4, 8-2-4 WCHA) closed a weekend series against No. 9 Robert Morris (12-6-3, 6-2-2 CHA) with a 5-2 win Saturday afternoon at the OSU Ice Rink.
This was Ohio State’s first series sweep since its beat Minnesota State on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11.
Within the first five minutes of the game, a pass from freshman forward Tatum Skaggs found junior forward Charly Dahlquist, who scored to give the Buckeyes the first goal of the game.
Less than a minute later, Skaggs scored her first goal of the game to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead early in the first period.
Less than halfway through the opening period, Ohio State extended its lead to three goals when sophomore forward Rebecca Freiburger scored a power-play goal off assists from Dahlquist and junior defender Lauren Boyle.
Despite playing short-handed, Robert Morris junior defender Kirsten Welsh buried the puck in the net to give the Colonials their first goal of the game and the last of the first period.
Robert Morris senior forward Jessica Gazzola, fired one into the back of the net, scoring another goal for the Colonials with just under five minutes left in the second period.
Nearly eight minutes into the third period, freshman forward Emma Maltais received a pass from Boyle and scored the Buckeyes’ fourth goal of the game.
Just after the goal, a slashing penalty on Welsh sent the Robert Morris defender to the penalty box. Less than a minute later, redshirt sophomore defender Jincy Dunne scored Ohio State’s fifth and final goal of the game on the power play. Maltais and senior defender Dani Sadek were credited with assists.
Ohio State will defend its home ice in a weekend series against No. 5 Minnesota. The puck will drop for the first game at 6:07 p.m. Friday at the OSU Ice Rink.
