Hokey Langan and Laura McIntosh each have a goal and two assists

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's hockey team led twice early in the game and had a 43-30 advantage in shots, but could not hold on as the Buckeyes fell to No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, 5-3, Saturday at the OSU Ice Rink. The Bulldogs take all four points in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association series as Ohio State failed to get a point out of a conference series for just the second time this season.

The Buckeyes move to 5-6-3 overall and 5-6-1-0 in the WCHA, while Minnesota Duluth is 9-5-0 with a 7-3-0 league record.

Sophomore Laura McIntosh and freshman Hokey Langan had hand in all three Buckeyes goals, scoring a goal and adding two assists each. The pair combined with linemate Raelyn LaRocque to opening the scoring 12:57 into the game as LaRocque passed the puck through the slot to McIntosh at the crease who knocked it in for her sixth lamplighter of the season.

Just as the first period was coming to an end, UMD's Vanessa Thibault scored shorthanded from a pass by Emmanuelle Blais on a breakout with just eight seconds left on the clock to tie the score at 1-1.

In an action-packed second period, Langan and McIntosh combined again with Langan scoring low in the slot at 2:21. But Minnesota Duluth responded just 11 seconds later when Saara Tuominen shot the puck into the upper right corner to tie the score once again.

Laura Fridfinnson then gave the Bulldogs their first lead by scoring twice at 10:18 and 12:05 for a quick 4-2 score.

Junior defenseman Shannon Reilly cut the lead to 4-3 at 14:39, ripping a shot from the top of the slot that zipped past UMD netminder Jennifer Harss for her first goal of the season. McIntosh and Langan picked up the assists.

Minnesota Duluth regained its two-goal lead at 16:31 when Thibault netted her second goal of the game off passes by Kacy Ambroz and Gina Dodge.

The Buckeyes came out looking to battle back in the third period and had plenty of scoring chances, but could not get anything past Harss. Ohio State had 38 shots attempted in the final stanza, with 15 shots on goal.

For the game, both teams were 0-of-2 on the power play. OSU rookie Chelsea Knapp made 25 saves while falling to 4-6-3 this season. Harss finished with 40 and is 9-5-0 for the Bulldogs.

Ohio State continues its homestand next weekend with a non-conference series against St. Lawrence of the ECAC, Nov. 20-21. It is the final home series for the Buckeyes in 2009, not returning to the OSU Ice Rink until a Jan. 2-3 series vs. Robert Morris.

Games vs. SLU begin at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. Admission, as always, is free and the Saturday game will be the "Game of the Week" for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Games Notes:

• The 43 shots on goal were a season-high for the Buckeyes.
• It was only the second series Ohio State was held without a power play goal this season.
• The Buckeye penalty kill was a perfect 7-of-7 in the series and has successfully killed off 18 of their opponents' last 19 attempts. The PK is operating at 90.9 percent overall (60-of-66)
• Rookie forward Hokey Langan extended her point streak to eight games, tying for the third-longest in Buckeye history. She has seven goals and 10 assists in that span.
• Also on a point streak is senior co-captain Raelyn LaRocque at four games. Natalie Spooner's streak came to an end at five games.
• Langan is two points away from breaking into OSU's Top 10 for freshman scoring. The Chatham, Ontario native leads the team in points (22), goals (9) and assists (13).