Gophers women’s hockey team ties Ohio State, but Buckeyes win the shootout

The Gophers women’s hockey team and Ohio State skated to a 1-1 tie before the host Buckeyes won a shootout on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

The Buckeyes, ranked No. 4, won the series opener on Friday, 4-3.

The Gophers, ranked second, remained short of a significant milestone: 500 WCHA victories. They entered the series against Ohio State with a 499-107-49 in WHCA games. The Minnesota program also is nearing its 800th all-time victory; the Gophers are at 781.

“I’m really proud of our team,” said Gophers coach Brad Frost. “I thought we played some really, really good hockey throughout the game. That’s two games in a row we’ve outshot Ohio State, and they’re a high shot volume team, but they defended well. We started to get to the net a little more in the third period, with Josefin [Bouveng] getting that goal to tie it up, and then chances after that both ways, but really proud of our group and how they responded in the third.”

Jordyn Petrie scored to give the Buckeyes (5-2-1, 3-2-1 WCHA) a 1-0 lead in the first period.

After a scoreless second period, Bouveng’s unassisted goal early in the third period tied the score.

Ohio State won the shootout 2-1 to earn the extra point in the WCHA standings. Abbey Murphy scored in the shootout for the Gophers (4-1-1, 0-1-1).

Hannah Clark had 29 saves in goal for the Gophers.

“She gave us a chance,” Frost said. “That’s all you can ask for in a top-four matchup like that. She was really steady, really solid. They scored early in the first and she shut the door the rest of the way. She gave us plenty of chances in the shootout to win that. I’m proud of her and her effort here today.”

The Gophers play host to top-ranked Wisconsin next weekend at Ridder Arena.