Ohio State junior forward Sara Saekkinen (25) drives the puck down the ice in their game against Minnesota on Jan 26. Credit: Cori Wade | For The Lantern
No. 9 Ohio State (17-11-0, 10-9 WCHA) swept St. Cloud State (8-20-2, 3-16 WCHA) with two shutout performances on the road.
Game 1
Ohio State got back in the winning column with a 4-0 shutout against St. Cloud State on the road to snap a five-game losing streak.
A three-goal third period sealed the deal for an Ohio State team trying to get back into NCAA Tournament contention.
St. Cloud State sophomore goalie Emma Polusny made 49 saves as Ohio State put a season-high 53 shots on net.
Freshman forward Paetyn Levis pushed the Buckeye lead to two in the first minute of the third period with her third goal of the season on assists from senior forwards Jacyn Reeves and Madison Field.
Ohio State scored two more times in the third period, with an even-strength score from freshman defenseman Sophie Jaques in the 16th minute and a power play strike from team points leader sophomore forward Emma Maltais two minutes later to finish off the Huskies.
Buckeye junior forward Rebecca Freiburger began the scoring for Ohio State in the first period. Her third goal of the year came nine minutes into the game courtesy of assists by freshman forward Gabby Rosenthal and sophomore forward Liz Schepers.
After inconsistent goalie play saw Ohio State utilize all three goaltenders on the roster in the past five games, freshman Andrea Braendli played all 60 minutes and made 22 saves en route to her fourth shutout of the season.
The Huskies, who have been outscored 92-54 on the season, put up just 22 shots to Ohio State’s 53 on the night.
Game 2
Ohio State completed its season sweep of St. Cloud State with a 5-0 victory at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Saturday night.
Senior forward Madison Field, who tallied three points in the Buckeyes’ Nov. 2-3 home sweep against the Huskies, scored a seventh minute first period goal to put Ohio State up one in the early going.
The leading goal scorer for Ohio State, sophomore forward Tatum Skaggs, added to the Buckeye lead in the second period with her 14th goal of the season assisted by Jaques and redshirt junior defenseman Jincy Dunne.
The Buckeyes repeated their third period dominance from Friday night with another three-goal period, bookended by power play goals from senior forwards Charly Dahlquist and Jacyn Reeves.
Sophomore forward Liz Schepers notched her second point of the series with an empty net goal 17 minutes into the final period.
For the second straight night, St. Cloud State was outshot by 20 or more, with a 48-28 deficit.
St. Cloud State junior goalie Janine Alder made 43 saves coming off a 50-save performance against No. 1 Wisconsin.
Ohio State comes back home for a series against Bemidji State with a puck drop at 6:07 on Friday.
