For the second time in three weeks, No. 10 Ohio State hung with a WCHA power deep into the third period but once again came up just short.
The No. 1 Gophers (21-1-2, 16-0-2 WCHA) utilized goals from each of their top-line players plus an empty-netter at the end in a 4-2 victory. The win completed a season sweep of OSU (12-11-1, 9-11-0). The defense held strong in front of senior goalie Brenda Reinen, who stopped 12 of 14 shots. Assistant captain Jeni Creary scored both Buckeye goals on two-attacker advantages.
The Buckeyes dug themselves a 2-0 hole in just over 16 minutes of action. Like usual, the Gophers took a 1-0 advantage on the power play when Natalie Darwitz fed co-captain Kelly Stephens for a five-hole redirection at 14:53. Co-captain Krissy Wendell scored shorthanded at 16:01 after Darwitz set her up with a winnable one-on-one battle. Wendell beat the last defender and then finessed the puck past OSU goalie Erika Vanderveer.
OSU bounced back and the cut deficit to one within the next minute. At 16:53 on a 5-on-3 advantage, Creary banked a shot off the far post and in. That’s all the scoring the game would see until the final three minutes. Vanderveer stopped all 12 shots she faced in the second period and 32 of 35 for the game.
Minnesota finally netted some insurance with 1:35 left as Darwitz redirected the rebound of a Stephens shot for the 3-1 advantage. That goal proved to be essential as Creary netted an extra-attacker goal with just 10 seconds left to bring the score to 3-2. Ohio State kept the net empty on the ensuing faceoff but could not repeat its good fortune as Gopher freshman Erica McKenzie scored with five seconds left to ice the 4-2 victory.
Next weekend features a border battle between the No. 1 Gophers and the No. 4 Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday. Both games are slated for 2:05 p.m. starts at Ridder Arena. Ohio State hits the road to take on St. Cloud State for the beginning of an eight-game road on Friday and Saturday.
