After shutting out Minnesota 4-0 in a WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal on Thursday evening, Ohio State and Wisconsin meet in St. Paul this afternoon for the conference crown, as well as an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers will be looking for their third straight conference tournament title, while Ohio State is seeking its third WCHA Tournament title, and first since 2022.
Ohio State earned its spot in the final with a 4-0 win over Minnesota on Thursday. Sloane Matthews got the scoring
started for the Buckeyes, netting a power play goal at the 7:06 mark of the first period. With the goal, Matthews recorded her 100th career point as a Buckeye, becoming the first member of this year’s squad to reach triple digits in points during their career.
Matthews also closed out the scoring for Ohio State on Thursday with a power-play goal late in the third period. Between the two goals from Matthews were tallies from Kala Malachino and Jocelyn Amos. Emma Peschel assisted on three of the four Buckeye goals against the Golden Gophers, while Amos had a goal and two assists to tie Peschel for the team lead with three points in the victory.
For as strong as the Ohio State offense was against Minnesota, Hailey MacLeod was just as good in goal, stopping all 22 shots she faced to earn her second shutout of the season against Minnesota. MacLeod not only has five shutouts on the season, but she also notched her 23rd victory of the season, which is a program record.
Joining Ohio State in today’s title game is rival Wisconsin, which will be seeking its third straight WCHA Final Faceoff triumph. After sweeping Bemidji State in the first round in Madison, the Badgers had little trouble with Minnesota State on Thursday, winning the first semifinal 7-2. Kristen Simms and Kelly Gorbatenko each had two goals in the game and finished with three points in the victory. Caroline Harvey joined Simms and Gorbatenko as Badgers to record a trio of points in the win.
Not only will Wisconsin be looking for the conference tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but head coach Mark Johnson is also just one win away from becoming the first women’s collegiate hockey coach to reach 700 victories in a career. It’s fitting he’ll have the chance to do so against Ohio State, as the Badgers and Buckeyes have met in the last three NCAA Tournament Championship Games, and Ohio State has pushed Wisconsin more than any other team in the country recently.
During the regular season, Ohio State and Wisconsin met four times, with the Badgers winning three of the games. Wisconsin beat the Buckeyes 2-1 and 6-1 in early December before the holiday break. In the first game, Ava McNaughton held Ohio State scoreless for 59 minutes until a late goal from Jocelyn Amos pulled the final score to 2-1. The Badgers wouldn’t have nearly as much trouble the next day, opening up a 5-0 lead before Ohio State scored its only goal of the game.
In the return series in Madison in early February, both teams were shorthanded because of the number of players they each had suiting up in the Olympics in Italy. Ohio State won the series opener 4-1 behind goals from Jordyn Petrie, Sloane Matthews, Maxine Cimoroni, and Kassidy Carmichael. Wisconsin returned the favor with a 4-1 win the following day to win the regular season series. Of Ohio State’s four regular-season losses this season, only one came to a team that wasn’t Wisconsin.
To truly appreciate how dominant these two teams have been this season, of the Top 10 Finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award given to the top player in women’s college hockey, five come from the two programs meeting today in St. Paul. Ohio State’s Joy Dunne was named a finalist, while Caroline Harvey, Kristen Simms, Laila Edwards, and Lacey Eden were nominated from Wisconsin.
To truly illustrate how far ahead of their competition Ohio State and Wisconsin have been this year, the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 166-61 this season, and Wisconsin has a 199-51 edge on opponents. Combined, the two teams have 15 players with at least 10 goals so far this season. Joy Dunne has 26 goals to lead the Buckeyes, and Wisconsin counters with Lacey Eden, who has 27 goals.
Today’s WCHA Final Faceoff Championship Game is slated to start at 3 p.m. ET and can be seen on B1G+.
