Gopher Women Top Ohio State 3-1

MINNEAPOLIS (Gophersports.com) – The No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gopher women’s hockey team earned its 24th win of the season and secured home ice for the WCHA First Round with a 3-1 victory over visiting Ohio State Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.

Freshman Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn.) led the way with three points and senior Rachel Ramsey (Chanhassen, Minn.) had two assists.

The Gophers took five of six WCHA points from the Buckeyes this weekend after recording a 3-1 shootout win and a 3-3 overtime tie in game one of the series. With 57 league points and six regular-season games remaining, Minnesota (24-1-4, 17-1-4-2 WCHA) cannot finish lower than fourth in the league standings.

"We gave a great effort tonight. I'm very proud of the way our players responded, competed and battled," head coach Brad Frost said. "I was really excited to see them respond after getting out-battled for a lot of the game yesterday. Great five points on the weekend, and we're looking forward to the week coming up."

Minnesota held a 1-0 lead after the first period. The lone first-period goal came at 8:57 when sophomore Kate Schipper (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored her fifth goal of the season. Ramsey and Pannek assisted the play. Schipper scored off a rebound from OSU goaltender Kassidy Sauve. By the end of the first period, the Gophers had out-shot the Buckeyes, 17-1.

"That first goal was a great finish by Schipper," Frost said. "That was a big goal for her. She needed it. She's been fighting it a little bit. I thought she did a great job tonight."

The Gophers extended their lead to 3-0 in the second period before Ohio State got on the board. Pannek struck at 12:13 of the second period to put the Gophers ahead by two, and Ramsey again had the assist on the goal for her second point of the night.

Just 2:30 later, the Gophers scored their third goal of the evening, this time from junior Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.). The power-play goal marked Brandt's WCHA-leading 24th goal of the season. Pannek was credited with the assist, and by the end of the second period, Minnesota increased its advantage in shots on goal to 30-5.

The teams combined for five penalties in the third period, and the Buckeyes got on the board with a four-on-four goal from Claudia Kepler. However, the game would come to an end with a final score of 3-1 for the Golden Gophers' victory. Minnesota outshot Ohio State, 44-17, for the game.

"Through two periods, we really carried the play," Frost said. "The third period got a little squirrely with penalties, but overall I thought we played the way we know we can."
Minnesota travels to North Dakota next weekend. The Gophers' next home series will be Feb. 13-14 against the No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.