Sophomore forward Joy Dunne gets set on the ice during the No. 2 Buckeyes 5-4 overtime victory over St. Thomas Feb 8. 2025, at the OSU Ice Rink. Credit: Grace Hamor | Lantern Reporter
For 48 minutes on Saturday, No. 2 Ohio State women’s hockey created chances but could not get on the board.
Down 2-0 against No. 11 St. Cloud State University with 12 minutes left in regulation, it might have seemed a loss was coming, but there is no quit in these Buckeyes.
The OSU ice rink erupted as Ohio State scored four goals in the third period to remind everyone what kind of team they are: determined, gritty and never out of the game.
“They will fight all the way to the end, but then also produce and be able to perform under serious pressure,” head coach Nadine Muzerall said.
Saturday’s 4-2 comeback completed a weekend that showed both sides of the Buckeyes. On Friday, Ohio State looked untouchable in a 5-1 win, with 11 players tallying points, including senior defender Brooke Disher, who started at center after junior captain Jocelyn Amos was unavailable to play, and scored her first goal of the season.
Muzerall said the players who filled new roles over the weekend responded exactly how she hoped.
“That was a proud moment as a coach,” Muzerall said. “They did that because we knew we needed them, and they did it very well.”
Less than 24 hours later, with freshman goaltender Taylor Kressin making her first collegiate start, the Buckeyes dominated in possession and shots, but trailed.
Muzerall said she was urging the team to score a goal for her, if not for themselves.
“You have to rally for the girl next to you,” Muzzerall said. “We always say play for the girl next to you, arm in arm, we are linked. I think they pulled through, also for Taylor, because she played great and looked in control.”
The momentum shift the Buckeyes needed came from junior forward and assistant captain Joy Dunne, who said the team was overcomplicating plays going into the third period.
Dunne scored a hat trick in the final 12 minutes, her first of the season. Freshman forward Hilda Svensson assisted on all four Buckeye goals, including the game-winning one with 13:48 minutes remaining from senior captain Emma Peschel.
“It was very simple, just to get pucks to the net,” Dunne said. “It was going to be dirty goals, which they were. I literally said [to Hilda] ‘Hey, if you have the puck. I’m going to go to the net,’ and funny enough, that’s how it worked out.”
Svensson said coming back from a 2-0 deficit showcases the Buckeye hockey character.
“I feel like we had good patience today,” Svensson said. “We knew we were down 2-0, but we still believe in our team, and we know that we can score. Today, we needed one period. We knew that and just trusted the system.”
The Buckeyes play their next series Friday and Saturday at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
