MINNEAPOLIS – WCHA regular season champion Ohio State recorded a 2-1 win over No. 4 seed Minnesota Duluth in the first semifinal of the 2023 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena on Friday afternoon. With the win, the Buckeyes secure their place in Saturday’s WCHA championship game.
 
Ohio State (31-4-2) put away both of its goals during a 64-second span midway through the second period, holding a 2-0 lead until late in the third period when the Bulldogs scored their lone goal with an extra attacker and an empty net. Despite the late tally to make it a one-goal game, OSU skated to the 2-1 victory.
 
“We knew it was going to be that type of game,” Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall said. “When I look at our conference, Duluth to me is one of the top four teams in the country. They’re extremely gifted defensively, and they have great coaching where they’re very disciplined. You know you’re going to get a great game every time you play them.
 
“I thought that we played a little safe today. I don’t think we made many errors, but we were playing a little reserved, which is not our style. We need to be a little more relentless and not be afraid to push for the win, but it was an exciting game.”
 
Emma Maltais and Brooke Bink scored goals for the Buckeyes, and OSU received a 26-save effort from goaltender Amanda Thiele. Ohio State had the advantage in shots on goal, outshooting the Bulldogs, 36-27, for the game.
 
Meanwhile, Minnesota Duluth (25-9-3) was led by a 34-save effort from Emma Soderberg, and Nina Jobst-Smith scored the team’s lone goal late in the third period. The Bulldogs were perfect on the penalty kill, holding Ohio State scoreless on four opportunities with the skater advantage.
 
“It was another great game with OSU,” Minnesota Duluth head coach Maura Crowell said. “I thought it was back and forth. There were moments that we had a lot of momentum, especially in the second half of the game, and moments that they had a lot of momentum. We made a push at the end there with a beautiful goal at the six on five, and sort of ran out of time there.
 
“It was a really good hockey game, and it’s nice to know our season’s not over. We keep learning, and we’ll get ready for the next one.”
 
The teams exchanged quality opportunities during a scoreless first period but headed into the first intermission locked in a 0-0 tie. For the opening period, Ohio State had a 17-7 advantage in shots on goal, and Soderberg’s 17 saves included five stops during a pair of Buckeye power plays.
 
“I’d say Soderberg is arguably one of the best goaltenders in the country,” Muzerall said. “She made some key saves at key moments for them. We knew it would be a back-and-forth game.”
 
Midway through the middle frame, the Buckeyes found a way to solve Soderberg. Bink intercepted a pass in the slot and was able to knock the puck past the UMD netminder, putting the Buckeyes up 1-0 with 9:10 remaining in the period.
 
Just over a minute later, the Buckeyes double their lead to 2-0. Ohio State again capitalized on a turnover, intercepting a clearing attempt by the Bulldogs. Maltais caught a clearing attempt by the Bulldogs and fired a slapshot from the top of the slot through traffic. She beat Soderberg on her glove side, scoring the unassisted goal with 8:06 remaining in the period.
 
The Buckeyes maintained the two-goal lead until the Bulldogs pulled Soderberg for an extra attacker late in the game and were able to capitalize six-on-five. With 2:48 remaining, Jobst-Smith collected a pass from Kylie Hanley at the point, made a nice move to find her lane through the slot, and fired a shot through traffic past Thiele.
 
Despite the late push, the Bulldogs could not find the equalizer. UMD will learn its NCAA tournament fate during the NCAA selection show on Sunday, March 5.
 
Ohio State will face the winner of the second WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal matchup between No. 2 seed Minnesota and No. 3 seed Wisconsin in the WCHA championship game at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 4 at Ridder Arena. Tickets for Saturday’s championship game can be purchased online HERE, in-person at the Ridder Arena Box Office, or by phone at 1-800-U-GOPHER. All tickets purchased in advance will be issued electronically.
 
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on Twitter and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at the new wcha.com.