DURHAM, N.H. — The Ohio State women’s hockey team found redemption, defeating rival Wisconsin 1-0 to win the program’s second National Championship Sunday at the University of New Hampshire.
The same two teams faced off for the title last season, with the Badgers taking a win by the same score.
After more than 50 minutes of scoreless hockey, a massive defensive effort by Ohio State’s Cayla Barnes cut off a breakaway opportunity for Wisconsin captain Britta Curl. Barnes quickly turned up the ice and fed the puck to Hannah Bilka, who pulled the defense wide and then laid the puck off to Joy Dunne, who scored on a shot remarkably like the one she lit the lamp with in OSU’s semifinal win over Clarkson. The wrist shot deflected up and over UW goalie Ava McNaughton’s shoulder with just more than seven minutes left in regulation.
It wasn’t lost on Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall that the two assists on the championship-winning goal went to two players who transferred to OSU with the express intent to win a National Championship. For Barnes in particular, Muzerall said the desire for a title was something that burned deeply and drove her all season.
One of the Buckeyes’ top pair defenders, Hadley Hartmetz, was injured in the second period when she and Wisconsin captain Britta Curl fell over along the boards behind Kirk. Hartmetz didn’t return to the game and Ohio State finished out with five defenders carrying the load. Even while taking on more minutes and the clock ticking down, Barnes didn’t let the moment overwhelm her and Muzerall said she knew in a closely contested game like this, her team would need to rely on experience and leadership. With so much time with the US National team in Olympic and IIHF World Championship competition, Barnes was the perfect person to be steady and strong at the blue line.
The OSU win is vindication for the Buckeyes, who have been working towards this moment since the final whistle blew in Duluth last season.
Ohio State goalie Raygan Kirk, who pitched a shutout on the #2 team in the country that averaged five goals per game of offense over the course of the season, called it the Buckeyes’ revenge tour and rookie Joy Dunne said that even though there were a number of players on this year’s roster that hadn’t experienced the disappointment of last season’s loss, they felt the resentment just as sharply and wanted to win the title for their graduating players.
It was a back-and-forth game as both teams looked for any opportunity for an advantage. Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson felt like his team was in a “perfect position” heading into the final period in a scoreless tie, knowing that winning 20 minutes meant winning the whole game. As the game wore on, he said he knew the game would come down to a single goal and whoever scored it first. He likened it to a chess match as the teams moved back and forth up and down the ice without finding much space or opportunity to set up.
“It was a battle for space on the ice. There weren’t a lot of quality scoring opportunities at both ends. It’s going to come down to one play. They made the play, they win the game and it hurts,” said Johnson.
Muzerall echoed the sentiment, saying that as the game wore on she felt that whoever scored in the third period was going to come out on top.
“It was such a good defensive side of the game from both teams. I didn’t think that there would be much goal scoring. I didn’t know but it was just a feeling of if we can get to that one and then bear down defensively, we could win this thing,” she said.
It was a particularly tough loss for Badger captain Britta Curl, who had the puck on her stick and felt like she was in a position to score the go-ahead goal and just seconds later watched Ohio State take the lead. The pandemic and time off centralizing for the Olympics meant that Curl was in her sixth year at Wisconsin and playing for a record fourth championship.
“I know I’m going to walk out of here proud of this group. That’s sports. Sometimes you lose. I told the girls I’d choose to be in that locker room every time,” she said.
The win was a special one for Kirk, who played for Robert Morris when the university canceled its hockey programs. She transferred to Ohio State knowing she’d be the third or fourth goalie on the depth chart and put in the work to earn the starting spot in the National Championship, said Muzerall.
Before the game, Muzerall talked about building a legacy for her program. One championship was great, but in isolation, wasn’t indicative of what she’s attempting to build.
“Legacies obviously take time. Two is fantastic. I want to push to three and more,” she said after her team won their second title in three years on Sunday night.
With several Ohio State campus leaders in attendance, Muzerall said she was feeling a lot of Buckey love and was looking forward to enjoying the moment.
Ohio State finished the season with a 35-4 record and set a new program record for wins in a season. Wisconsin finished with a record of 35-6. Attendance for Sunday’s game was 4,378, the third-highest ever for a championship game. The combined Frozen Four attendance was 7,931, which is second-highest in women’s Frozen Four history.
