The first real test of the season came early. Minnesota arrived at 4-0 and Ohio State at 6-0 when the 2 teams met Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena. Head coach Boom May called the series a measuring stick but said the Gophers would treat it like any other game. He also warned that the Buckeyes have "high-end talent on top of grit." Freshman forward Adrianna Milani said the team would be "best tested against the Buckeyes."
Milani didn't make anyone wait to find out. She scored 14 seconds into Friday's game. Madison Kaiser made it 2-0 less than 4 minutes later, assisted by Allard. Chloe Primerano then scored on the power play with 5 seconds left in the first period, so Minnesota went to the locker room up 3-0.
Milani's second goal made it 4-0. Ohio State got going in the second period: Joy Dunne scored on a power play and Jenna Raunio added another, cutting the lead to 4-2. Minnesota pulled away late. Allard scored with less than 5 minutes left to make it 5-2, and Kaiser's second goal finished off a 6-2 win, Ohio State's first loss of the season. Milani had 2 goals and 2 assists, Primerano had a goal and 2 assists, and the Gophers scored on 3 power plays.
Saturday started the other way around. Ohio State led 3-0 early on a goal from Jungåger and 2 from Dunne. Then Minnesota scored 4 times in the second period. Maddie McCullough scored first, then Avery Hovland and senior Emma Kreisz, and Bartz's goal in between put Ohio State back up 4-3. Sarah Paul tied it 4-4.
Paul scored again in the third period to put the Gophers ahead 5-4. Ohio State answered with 2 goals in less than a minute and held on to win 6-5 and split the weekend. Paul finished with 2 goals, Kreisz had a goal and an assist, and Julia Schalin had 3 assists. "The fact that we didn't give up and fold up our tent today was huge," May said.
The good news: this young roster scored 11 goals in 2 nights against the country's top-ranked team. The not-so-good news: it gave up 6 on Saturday, including 2 in quick succession while protecting a lead in the third period. The Gophers stay home next and play Lindenwood in a nonconference series at Ridder on Oct. 22-23. Thursday's game starts at 6 p.m. and streams on B1G+.
