Buckeyes fall 3-2 after rallying to send the game into overtime

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State women's hockey team dropped a heartbreaker, losing 3-2 to No. 5 Minnesota Duluth just 31 seconds into overtime Friday at the OSU Ice Rink. The Buckeyes came back to tie the game twice, including their second goal with 6:29 left in the game, but the Bulldogs charged down the ice in overtime to take the victory.

Ohio State moves to 5-5-3 overall and 5-5-1-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Minnesota Duluth is 8-5-0 (6-3-0 WCHA).

The teams exchanged goals in the first period for a 1-all tie after 20 minutes. Minnesota Duluth got on the board first at 10:57 when Saara Tuominen snuck the puck in top-shelf from low in the left circle with assists by Jessica Wong and Mariia Posa.

Ohio State responded at 18:39 to even the score heading into the intermission. Seeing her linemates racing up the ice, senior Raelyn LaRocque fed the puck up to freshman Hokey Langan. She carried it into the UMD zone and passed it from along the far boards to sophomore Laura McIntosh at the right side, who deked the goalie and fired it into the net for her fifth goal of the season. The assists were the 11th of the season for both Langan and LaRocque.

The Bulldogs regained their one-goal lead 15:59 into the second period. Emmanuelle Blais knocked in a pass from across the slot by Laura Fridfrinnson with Posa tallying the second helper - her second of the night.

Sophomore Natalie Spooner then knotted the score once again in the third period. During a scramble in front of the net, she jammed in the puck at 13:31 for her eighth goal of the season. She was assisted by sophomores Kelly Wild (her fourth) and Melissa Feste (her fifth).

In the overtime session, the Buckeyes got into the UMD zone but could not maintain control of the puck. The Bulldogs then brought it up the ice, with Jaime Rasmussen scoring five-hole for the win off assists by Blais and Katherine Wilson.

Minnesota Duluth finished with a 36-26 advantage in shots. Both teams were scoreless on the power play with the Buckeyes 0-of-4 and Bulldogs 0-of-5.

It was a pair of rookie goalies in net as Chelsea Knapp (4-5-3) had a season-best 33 saves for Ohio State and Jennifer Harss (8-5-0) made 24 saves for UMD.

The Buckeyes and Bulldogs conclude their series at 7 p.m. Saturday at the OSU Ice Rink. Admission is free, and live video and stats are available on the women's hockey schedule page on www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com.  

Ohio State will be collecting non-perishable food items at the OSU Ice Rink to donate to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

Game Notes:

• It was the fourth overtime game of the season for Ohio State and its first OT loss (0-1-3).
• The Buckeyes are 0-3-4 all-time in overtime games vs. Minnesota Duluth.
• The Ohio State penalty kill had its eighth perfect performance of the season (5-of-5). The Buckeye PK is operating at 90.6 percent overall (58-of-64).
• Hokey Langan extended her point streak to seven games with 14 points (6g, 8a) in that span. Natalie Spooner is on a five-game streak (5g, 3a).
• Spooner needs three more goals to break into the Top 10 in the Ohio State career goals category. She has 29 goals in 43 career games.
• Raelyn LaRocque tied her career-high for points in a season, matching her 14 points tallied her junior season.