Ohio State is headed to the Frozen Four again after a 9-0 win over Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
On their home ice at the OSU Ice Rink, the Buckeyes showed why they were given the No. 1 seed led by Hannah Bilka and Olivia Mobley, who had two goals each, Mobley also adding an assist to send them to the Frozen Four for the fourth straight season.
It didn’t take long for the scoring to start when Jocelyn Amos found the back of the net just 22 seconds into the game with an assist from Stephanie Markowski.
It took until 13:25 to extend the lead, but Mobley scored her first goal to make it 2-0 before Bilka scored her first just over two minutes later. The Buckeyes went into the first intermission up by three.
Bilka started the second period the same way the Buckeyes started the first with her second goal of the game, needing 29 seconds to extend the lead. Makenna Webster and Emma Peschel were credited with the assist.
Hadley Hartmetz – scoring on the power play – Jordan Baxter and Mobley scored the other three goals in the second period, giving Ohio State a 7-0 lead with just 20 minutes left to play.
Joy Dunne added another power play goal for the Buckeyes in the third period at 4:29, and Kelsey King scored the ninth and final goal of the game with just over five minute remaining.
Raygan Kirk was in net for the Buckeyes for the full 60 minutes and had 16 saves after giving up six goals against Wisconsin in the WCHA conference championship.
The Frozen Four will take place in Durham, N.H., and the Buckeyes will play No. 4 Clarkson on Friday, March 22 at either 4 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
If Ohio State can win that game, it would be on its way to its third straight national championship and would be looking to come back from a loss last season. The Buckeyes would match up against either No. 2 Wisconsin, who they lost to in the conference championship this year and the national championship last season, or No. 3 Colgate.
