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Barring a postseason showdown, the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team will have to wait until next season to exorcise its demons with the Wisconsin Badgers.
No. 5 Wisconsin took out the brooms on the Buckeyes (10-11-3 overall, 7-10-3 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) this weekend at the OSU Ice Rink, sweeping OSU by way of a 3-2 win Friday and a 4-1 victory Saturday.
Wisconsin (16-6-2, 12-4-2) – the two-time defending NCAA champion – is unbeaten against the Buckeyes in 15 contests, dating back to October 2004.
“We still need to play 120 minutes on the weekend,” OSU coach Jackie Barto said. “We didn’t play very well in the first and second periods Saturday. We had a lot of unforced turnovers. When you do that against a good team, they’re going to get opportunities.”
Senior forward Erin Keys, who scored all three OSU goals, led a late rally Friday, but the final buzzer came too soon. Keys’ two third-period goals had the Badgers on their heels, but OSU failed to capitalize on several scoring chances.
The Buckeyes were not able to carry over any of the momentum they displayed late in Friday’s game, as they found themselves in an early 3-0 hole Saturday. After a fourth Badger goal, Keys found the back of the net midway through the final stanza to avoid a shutout. Senior defenseman Tessa Bonhomme and junior forward Morgan Marziali each had assists on all three goals in the series.
In spite of their poor record against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes say it is only a matter of time before the Badgers’ recent dominance is put to rest.
“They’re good and we know that,” Marziali said. “I think we have the potential (to beat them). It’s just (a matter of) coming out and doing it. They’re a tough, fast team, and the way to stop them is to be physical.”
Although the Buckeyes did play physically tough on Saturday, the Badgers’ speed and advantage in the shots-on-goal column were too much. Wisconsin outshot OSU 46-21. Junior goalie Liana Bonanno had a career-high 42 saves for the Buckeyes.
It was the Buckeyes’ third straight loss and first at home on a Saturday this season.
“We’re going to focus on taking it day-by-day from here on out,” Bonhomme said. “I think we’re too focused on the end result. We need to learn to play hockey play-by-play and focus on what we’re doing in that moment.”
On a positive note, Bonhomme now has a six-game point streak. Her three assists pushed her point total to a team-high 34.
Keys, who last weekend became the fifth Buckeye in team history to eclipse the 100 career points mark, has 16 goals and 32 points this season. However, she left the game late Saturday with a wrist injury. Details on the severity of her injury will be released later this week.
The Buckeyes will travel to New York this weekend to take on Niagara University (6-12-4) in their final non-conference series of the season.
Frank Blechschmidt can be reached at [email protected].
