MADISON, Wis. — No. 10 Ohio State played spoiler with a shootout victory over No. 1 Wisconsin after a 1-1 tie on Friday night. Ohio State had never beaten the Badgers in LaBahn Arena before the win and Wisconsin had outscored OSU 51-7 in the 12 games they’d played there, but history was no match for Ohio State goalie Andrea Braendli.
The rookie from Switzerland turned in a career night, amassing 52 saves and stopping all three of Wisconsin’s shootout attempts to lead the Buckeyes to victory
The Badgers outshot OSU 53-24, holding Ohio State to just five first period shots. Wisconsin scored first, taking advantage of a first-period power play. Junior Abby Roque scored her ninth goal of the season to put the Badgers up 1-0 midway through the first. Roque had been running point on the power play, moving around the ice, looking for a seam before dishing the puck off to Mekenzie Steffen and skating low into zone. She took a feed from Sophie Shirley at an angle nearly perpendicular to the goal line and wristed a soft shot top shelf to beat Ohio State goalie Andrea Braendli for the first goal of the game.
The game stayed that way for 40 minutes until Tatum Skaggs tied it up midway through the third on a fluttering, redirected puck that went over Kristen Campbell’s shoulder and into the net.
The Badgers continued to pepper the net with shots, but Braendli was stupendous, stopping a number of breakaways and odd-man rushes.
“She was so solid and relaxed against a fantastic opponent,” said Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall. “She was set for them so that when they held on to the puck and were composed, she was ready for that long reach and that delay. She was ready for them.”
The Badgers and Buckeyes are two of the top-scoring teams in the country, with Wisconsin averaging 3.81 goals per game and Ohio State averaging 2.83 goals per contest. But Friday night’s game was more defensive chess match than offensive blowout. OSU played a patient game where they waited for their chances and did their best not to let the Badgers get comfortable in the offensive zone.
“We knew we couldn’t just sit back and play defense. We talked about eliminating space and time. It’s a bigger rink, so we talked about cheating to the areas of the ice away from the puck and making sure that when the play moves to the next place, they don’t have that time,” said Muzerall.
It was a frustrating outcome for the Badgers, who had their sixth game this season with more than fifty shots on goal. This was the first time they topped the mid-century mark without scoring at least three goals, however.
“We have to be getting better chances,” said Roque. “Down the line we’re going to have to be able to put those pucks away. That was a playoff feel and you have to be able to win.”
It’s a quick turnaround for both teams as the puck drops on Saturday’s series – and regular season – finale at 2 pm.
Wisconsin holds their own fate in their hands. Win on Saturday and they share the title. Lose and their outcome rests on the results of Minnesota at Bemidji State.
Ohio State will be looking to play spoiler once again. Muzerall would like to see her team score more than one goal and capitalize on the opportunities they get, but overall, she expects the same outcome in game two.
“I don’t want to change too much, because it’s not broke, so let’s just build off that.”
