No. 2 Ohio State at Minnesota State

Date: February 4/5, 2022
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Mayo Clinic HSEC
Watch: Friday (B1G+) | Saturday (B1G+)
Live Stats: MSUMavericks.com
Notes: State of Ohio | state of minnesota
Lists: State of Ohio | state of minnesota
Season Stats: Ohio State | state of minnesota

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s hockey team embarks on a five-game road trip to Minnesota this week, starting this weekend in Minnesota State. The Buckeyes and Mavericks face off at 7 p.m. ET Friday and 3 p.m. ET Saturday at the Mayo Clinic HSEC in Mankato, Minnesota. Matches will be broadcast on B1G+ (subscription required).

Buckeyes in a nutshell

• Ohio State enters the series 19-5-0 overall and 15-5-0 in WCHA contests. Minnesota State holds an overall record of 12-13-0 and a conference record of 8-13-0.
• Ohio State is third in the conference standings with a .750 point percentage. The Buckeyes trail Wisconsin (.762) and Minnesota (.758).
• In national polls, the Buckeyes are back in sole possession of second place. They get 163 votes and six first-place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. The team receives 136 votes in the USCHO.com poll, with three first-place votes in their favour.
• The Buckeyes are coming off a split series against Minnesota last weekend at OSU Ice. Ohio State won Game 1 2-1 in overtime and fell 5-3 to the Gophers in Game 2.
• Sophie Jaques continues to lead the Buckeyes in points (44), goals (16) and assists (28). The defenseman also ranks second in the nation in points per game (1.83) and assists per game (1.17).
• This week, Jaques was named the WCHA Defender of the Week for his performance against the Gophers and the conference Defender of the Month for January. She led the Buckeyes with 14 points during the month, including a team-high four against Minnesota. The senior has posted a +9 on the ice in the first six games of 2022 and helped the team to four wins.
• After the five-game trip, Ohio State meets Wisconsin for its final regular-season home series Feb. 18-19 at OSU Arena.

Notable remarks

• Ohio State leads the nation in assists (194), goals (117) and points (311). The team also records a national power play percentage of .335, a scoring margin of 3.21 and an offense of 4.88.
• With 15 WCHA wins so far this season, the Buckeyes set a conference record single-season winning streak. The previous record was 14 WCHA wins in the 2017-18 season.
• Amanda Thiele, who was named to the Goalkeeper of the Year Watch List in January, leads the WCHA with a .938 save percentage. The second played 11 games this season for Ohio State, going 7-2-0. She is second in the league in goals against average (1.33).
• Thiele’s career-high 36 saves in the overtime win over Minnesota last weekend is a team record this season.
• Although second in the nation in points per game, Sophie Jaques leads defensemen nationally in points this season.
• Jenn Gardiner is second on the team in points (35) and assists (23).
• Paetyn Levis is second behind Jaques with 14 goals this year.
• Liz Schepers has scored in 14 of the last 15 games. Jaques has two or more points in 14 of Ohio State’s last 16 games.

Buckeye Record Watch

• Sophie Jaques is one point shy of Tessa Bonhomme’s 2007-08 season points by a defensive-best 45 points.
• She is also seven points off her career 100 (93). The elder would become the third Ohio State defenseman to reach the century mark.
• Liz Schepers is Buckeye’s record holder for career games played with 156 or more.
• She is two assists away from breaking into the top 10 in career assists by a Buckeye (63).

History vs. Minnesota State

• The Buckeyes and Mavericks met earlier this season in Columbus with Ohio State picking up 6-3, 9-0 wins to sweep the series
• In the series, graduates Liz Schepers and Clair DeGeorge recorded their 100th career points. Schepers is the 13th player in program history to score 100 points in a Buckeye jersey.
• Goaltender Amanda Thiele recorded her first career shutout in a 9-0 win over the Mavericks.

2022 Winter Olympics

• A total of six Buckeyes will compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, representing five different countries.
• Current Buckeye Andrea Braendli will play for Team Switzerland while Emma Maltais will skate for Canada.
• Three alumni will also represent Ohio State, including Jincy Dunne (USA), Natalie Spooner (Canada) and Minttu Tuominen (Finland).
• Incoming rookie Sofie Lundin also made the Olympic roster and will play for Sweden.
• Maltais, Dunne and Lundin will make their Olympic debuts this year in China.

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