Ohio State salvages split against the Fighting Sioux; Raelyn LaRocque finishes series with four points
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's hockey team moved into second place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings after defeating North Dakota by a score of 3-1 Saturday at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
The victory salvaged a split with the Fighting Sioux and put the Buckeyes between league-leader Minnesota (12 points) and Wisconsin (10 points) in the WCHA standings. Ohio State is now 5-4-3 overall with a 5-4-1-0 mark in the conference. North Dakota moves to 3-6-1 both overall and in the WCHA.
After up-and-down play by both teams to start the game, Hokey Langan got the Buckeyes on the board 13:12 into the first period. The rookie from Chatham, Ontario, walked the puck into the UND zone and fired a shot from the faceoff circle that went over the right shoulder of Stephanie Ney.
Ohio State had back-to-back power plays in the last five minutes of the stanza and capitalized on the second opportunity to carry a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Senior co-captain Rachel Davis centered the puck to sophomore Natalie Spooner who scored from slot at 18:58.
North Dakota erased the shutout at 9:01 of the second period. Ashley Furia put the Sioux on the board with a power play goal, putting in a rebound from the left corner of the crease. Ashley Holmes and Susanne Fellner picked up the assists.
The Buckeyes came back and scored just 1:23 later when senior co-captain Raelyn LaRocque swept in loose puck after shot by sophomore defenseman Brittany Carlson from the point. Sophomore Laura McIntosh collected the second assist.
Ohio State ended the second period on a high note, successfully killing off 1:49 of a 5-on-3 UND power play during the last five minutes of the stanza.
In the third period, the Buckeye defense limited North Dakota to just three shots on goal with freshman goaltender Chelsea Knapp making the stop on each to maintain the 3-1 win. She finished with 15 saves to improve to 4-4-3 this season.
For the game, Ohio State had a 19-16 edge in shots and was 1-of-2 on the power play. The Sioux were 1-of-5 with the man-advantage and Stephanie Nay (2-4-1) totaled 16 saves.
After four road series in the opening six weeks of the season, the Buckeyes return to Columbus for a two-week homestand. Next weekend, Ohio State takes on No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in a WCHA series Nov. 13-14. Games begin at 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at the OSU Ice Rink and admission, as always, is free.
During their series with Minnesota Duluth, the Buckeyes also will be collecting non-perishable food items both nights to donate to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.
Game Notes:
- Ohio State is 5-2-1 in its last eight games.
- Extending their point streaks - Laura McIntosh (6 games), Natalie Spooner (4 games), Brittany Carlson (3 games)
- McIntosh increased her team-leading assist total to 11.
- After reviewing the goals Friday, Raelyn LaRocque was awarded another assist for three points in the game - a career high. She added her second goal of the weekend Saturday for a four-point series. LaRocque entered the UND series having tallied just two points in 12 career games vs. the Sioux.
- Hokey Langan finished the UND series with a plus-6 rating. LaRocque was just behind her at plus-5.
- The power play goal was Ohio State's 15th of the season and the Buckeyes continue to lead the WCHA overall on the PP at 23.1 percent.
