Ohio State comes back with three unanswered goals in last seven minutes for the victory
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Natalie Spooner scored twice in the final 2:02 of regulation, rallying the Ohio State women's hockey team to a 7-6 victory over Minnesota State Friday in the OSU Ice Rink. The Buckeyes trailed by two twice in the third period but scored three unanswered goal in the last seven minutes for the victory.
Ohio State improves to 3-3-3 overall and is 3-3-1 in WCHA action. Minnesota State suffers its first loss of the season and now is 3-1-1 on the year and 1-1-1 in league play. The teams will wrap up the series at 7:07 p.m. Saturday in the OSU Ice Rink.
The Mavericks led 4-3 after the second period and added a goal 1:59 into the third to take a 5-3 lead. OSU cut the lead to one on Hokey Langan's tally at 10:11. MSU responded less than two minutes later to regain the two-goal edge before Kelly Wild made the score 6-5 at 13:11 with a power-play goal for the Buckeyes. With the teams skating 4-on-4, Spooner scored to knot the score at 6-all at 17:58. The winner came at 19:17 as Spooner converted five seconds after a MSU penalty that gave the Buckeyes a 4-on-3 advantage.
Langan led the Buckeyes with four points on two goals and two assists. Laura McIntosh had three assists and Spooner (2g) and Wild (1g, 1a) each had two points.
Ohio State opened the scoring just 1:36 into the contest. Senior co-captain Raelyn LaRocque stole the puck behind the net and passed out to fellow senior co-captain Rachel Davis in the slot, whose shot beat the goalie on the far side.
The Mavericks tied the game at 10:11, just three seconds after the Buckeyes killed off a power play. Ashley Young got the puck along the boards and passed to Emmi Leinonen. The puck slipped off her stick but Moira O'Connor was there and able to put the puck into the net with the OSU goalie still on the other post.
The teams combined for five goals in the second period, with the Mavericks coming out ahead, 4-3. Lauren Smith scored shorthanded at 2:40. Young carried the puck the length of the ice to the Buckeye net and went wide but Smith was there to backhand it in. Ohio State tied the game 63 seconds later when McIntosh stick-handled through the MSU defense and found Langan at the far post for her fifth goal of the season. Wild picked up the second assist on the goal, which came at 3:43.
The Mavericks again went ahead, 3-2, on Amy Udvig's power-play goal after a scramble in front of the crease at 6:24. Smith extended Minnesota State's lead to 4-2 with a goal at 14:11 as her shot from the point went five-hole, set up by Young and Christina Lee.
Buckeye rookie Paige Semenza then found the back of the net for her first career goal at 16:33, getting to a loose puck in the crease. Christina Mancuso had the helper on the goal.
Moira O'Connor scored unassisted for the Mavericks 1:59 into the third period after a turnover down low to put MSU ahead, 5-3. Langan got her second of the night when she tallied on a backhand, set up by McIntosh, at 10:11. Young scored for the Mavericks at 11:51 after taking the puck up ice herself to regain the two-goal edge at 6-4. Wild found the back of the net at 13:11 when she scored from just outside the crease, set up by McIntosh and Langan, drawing the Buckeyes within one.
With time winding down, Spooner scored with the teams skating 4-on-4, tallying from the slot, set up by junior defensemen Teal Bishop and Shannon Reilly. On the winner, Langan won the faceoff to Davis, who passed to Spooner and beat the MSU goalie with a wrist shot that found the top corner.
For the game, the Buckeyes outshot the Mavericks, 36-22. Deidre Facklis had 16 saves for Ohio State in 60 minutes between the pipes. Alli Altmann had 29 stops in 59:45 for the Mavericks.
The Buckeyes were 3-for-6 with the man advantage and scored on three of their last four chances. MSU was 2-for-6.
Game Notes:
- The last time the Buckeyes scored seven goals in a game was a 7-3 win against North Dakota, Jan. 5, 2008.
- With her three assists, Laura McIntosh reached the 50-point mark in her career. She has 13 goals and 37 assists in 45 games.
- Rookie forward Hokey Langan has eight points (4g, 4a) in her last three games and now leads the team in points with 13.
- Natalie Spooner needs just four more goals to break into the Top 10 in Ohio State's career goals category. She has 26 goals in 37 career games.
- Junior goalie Deidre Facklis made her first start this season.
