The Buckeye women will try and bring home their third national title in four years this weekend, while the men battle Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Not only are the men’s and women’s basketball seasons heading into their final act as the NCAA Tournaments are beginning, the men’s and women’s hockey seasons also are getting ready to come to a close.
On Sunday a women’s hockey champion will be crowned in Minneapolis. On the men’s side, conference tournament finals are being played, and soon the bracket for the NCAA Tournament will be revealed. Ohio State is not only playing in the women’s Frozen Four, the men’s team will move on to the NCAA Tournament after they play in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game on Saturday night.
Women’s hockey
Ohio State’s women’s hockey team is in the midst of an impressive run under head coach Nadine Muzerall. With their 6-1 win over St. Lawrence on Saturday, the Buckeyes secured a spot in their fifth straight Frozen Four, and sixth overall under Muzerall.
To earn their fourth straight championship game appearance, Ohio State will take on Cornell on Friday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, with the winner meeting the winner of the other semifinal between Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday.
In their first NCAA Tournament game on Saturday, the Buckeyes hosted St. Lawrence at OSU Ice Rink. The game got off to a rough start when the Saints opened up the scoring 6:26 into the game when Aly McLeod scored a power play goal. The lead didn’t last long, as Sloane Matthews leveled the score seven minutes later. Joy Dunne’s goal with just over a minute left in the first period ended up being the game-winning goal.
After a scoreless second period, the Buckeyes added on to their lead in the third period when Jocelyn Amos, Makenna Webster, Dunne, and Jordyn Petrie netted goals. Dunne became the first Ohio State woman to record multiple goals in an NCAA Tournament game, and her four points were the most by a Buckeye in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. Goaltender Amanda Thiele made 13 saves to earn the victory, improving her record to 6-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
Now Ohio State turns their attention to Cornell, who earned a spot in the Frozen Four by defeating Minnesota-Duluth 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored by Alyssa Regalado 3:24 into the third period, marking just the second goal of the season for Regalado.
By stopping all 28 shots she faced, goalie Annelies Bergmann recorded her 10th shutout of the season. The Big Red will be making their first Frozen Four appearance since 2019, and their fifth in program history.
Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Ohio State and Cornell have already met once this season, with the Buckeyes winning 7-3 in late October in the Icebreaker Tournament Championship Game. Jocelyn Amos recorded two goals and two assists in the game, while Sloane Matthews and Kiara Zanon each had a goal and two assists. So far this season, Cornell has allowed 47 goals to opponents, with seven of those tallies coming in their loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus.
If Ohio State is able to put pucks past Bergmann like they did in the first meeting, they should be in good shape to make the final. Bergmann has been one of the best goalies in the country this year, posting a 1.28 goals against average and a .945 save percentage.
If Bergmann isn’t on top of her game, the Big Red might have trouble keeping pace with Ohio State since Cornell doesn’t have quite as much firepower as the Buckeyes. Lindzi Avar leads the team with 15 goals, and is one of five Big Red players with at least 10 goals this year.
By comparison, Ohio State has six players with at least 10 goals, but three have scored at least 17 goals. Jocelyn Amos leads the team with 27 goals, followed by Joy Dunne’s 26 goals.
Time: Friday 5:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN+
Men’s hockey
The Ohio State men’s hockey team also has a very important game this weekend. On Saturday, the Buckeyes take on Michigan State in East Lansing in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game.
To earn a place in the title game for the third time in program history, Ohio State beat Penn State 4-3 in overtime at Value City Arena on Saturday night. If the Buckeyes are able to beat the Spartans on Saturday, it will be their first-ever Big Ten Tournament title. The previous appearances in the championship game came in 2014 and 2018.
The semifinal game between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions was a thrilling battle. Ohio State jumped out to a lead when Gunnerwolfe Fontaine scored halfway through the first period. Penn State would come out of the gates firing in the second period, with Ben Schoen scoring at the 2:08 mark, followed by JJ Wiebusch’s power play goal at 9:05 of the period giving the Nittany Lions the lead.
The third period was a wild ride, as Nathan Lewis tied the game halfway through the period. Then Patrick Guzzo gave the Buckeyes the lead a couple minutes later. The advantage wouldn’t last long, though. Matt DiMarsico tied the game back up just a few minutes later. After a tense close to the third period and overtime, Fontaine netted the game-winner at 14:31 of the first overtime period to give Ohio State the win on their home ice. Logan Terness made 23 saves to push his record to 10-8-1 on the season.
Now the Buckeyes will square off with Michigan State, who beat Notre Dame 1-0 on Saturday to keep their dream alive of winning their second straight Big Ten Tournament. The only goal of the victory over the Fighting Irish was scored by Issac Howard 19 seconds into the third period.
Trey Augustine made 18 saves to record his third shutout of the season. If Michigan State is able to win this year’s Big Ten Tournament, they’ll join Notre Dame, who won back-to-back tournament titles in 2017 and 2018, along with Michigan in 2022 and 2023 as schools to win the conference tournament in back-to-back years.
If the four games they played in the regular season are any indication on what we’ll see on Saturday night, Ohio State could have their work cut out for them in East Lansing. The Buckeyes lost three of four meetings with the Spartans, with their only triumph being a 4-2 victory in Columbus on Jan. 30.
Ohio State allowed four goals in each of the other three games the schools played. Then again, not a lot of teams have been able to get the better of Michigan State this year, as the Spartans have a 25-6-4 record, and will be one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.
Both squads have shown plenty of offensive prowess this season, with each rostering four players with at least 10 goals. Issac Howard is the most dangerous offensive threat, recording 24 goals and 47 points for Michigan State. The Buckeyes are led in points by Gunnerwolfe Fontaine, who has 36 points, and Riley Thompson has netted a team-high 17 goals.
The title game tilt will likely come down to who is better between the pipes. Trey Augustine has a 2.02 goals against average and .927 save percentage for the Spartans. Logan Terness counters with a 2.25 goals against average and .925 save percentage for the Buckeyes.
Time: Saturday 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Network