No. 1 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
Date: March 19, 2023
Time: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: AMSOIL Arena
View: ESPNU
Live Stats: NCAA.com
Game Notes: State of Ohio | Wisconsin
Rosters: State of Ohio | Wisconsin
Columbus, Ohio – For the second year in a row, the Ohio State women’s hockey team will play for a national championship in the final game of the season. The Buckeyes (33-5-2) play WCHA nemesis Wisconsin (28-10-2) in the Frozen Four 2023 title game on Sunday, March 19 at 4:00 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena.
The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. Clay Matvick, AJ Mleczko and Hillary Knight will be on the phone.
Ohio State in the NCAA tournament
- The Buckeyes advanced to the national title game with a 3-0 win over Northeastern in Friday’s Frozen Four semifinals. Amanda Thiele made 15 saves in her fourth shutout of the year and Hadley Hartmetz, Sloane Matthews and Makenna Webster all scored for Ohio State.
- On March 11, Ohio State celebrated its fourth appearance in the Frozen Four by beating Quinnipiac 5-2 in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Columbus. Sophie Jaques scored twice, Emma Peschel, Lauren Bernard and Gabby Rosenthal also scored. Thiele made 21 stops for the Buckeyes.
- Friday’s semifinal win improves Ohio State’s record to 7-2 in the NCAA tournament.
- The Buckeyes made their first tournament appearance in 2018. Diploma forward Emma Maltais was a member of the 2017-18 team that not only secured a tournament spot for the first time in program history, but also reached the Frozen Four in the same season.
- This year’s Buckeye roster consists of 10 players competing for Ohio State for the third time.
- Ohio State is looking to defend its 2022 national title against the Badgers on Sunday.
- Ohio State is No. 1 overall in the tournament for the second year in a row. The program also hosted NCAA tournament games for the second straight year after hosting it for the first time in 2022.
- This year’s tournament marks the fourth consecutive tournament Ohio State has participated in. The team has contested five of the last six tournaments.
Horse chestnuts in a nutshell
- Jenn Gardiner, a top 10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, is the Buckeyes’ points leader with 57 points in the final game of the season. Sophie Jaques and Emma Maltais are second at 48.
- Maltais have recorded a team-high 37 assists this year. Gardiner follows close behind at 36.
- Jaques owns a team and 24 career goals for the 2022-23 season. Four Buckeyes have 20+ scoring seasons, including Gardiner, Paetyn Levis and Gabby Rosenthal with 21 goals each.
- Jaques has 61 goals in her career, making her the WCHA record holder for career goals by a defender.
- Amanda Thiele earned the Buckeyes’ second shutout in the NCAA tournament and first since their tournament debut against Boston College in 2016.
- Thiele’s 20 goaltender wins this season for Ohio State is a career high and a tie for most goaltender wins in a single season by a Buckeye.
- Sloane Matthews became the first Buckeye freshman to score in the Frozen Four, with the first record of Friday’s semifinal win over Northeastern.
- Ohio State leads the country with a .330 percentage in power play and a .578 percentage in faceoff wins.
- Buckeyes Gardiner and Jacques were named All-Americans by the AHCA on Thursday. Jacques is a member of the First Team for the second year in a row and Gardiner is a Second Team Honoree for the first time.
- Ohio State won its first WCHA regular-season title this year, posting a conference record of 23-4-1. The Buckeyes secured the Julianne Bye Cup with a 3-1 win over Wisconsin on February 19.
- The Buckeyes were runners-up in the 2023 WCHA Final Faceoff Tournament. The team lost 3-1 to Minnesota in the championship game. Jacques was named a member of the All-Tournament Team.
- Ohio State has won 33 games this season, marking the second straight year, and for the second time in program history, the Buckeyes have at least 30 wins in a single season. The Buckeyes have five 20-plus winning seasons under head coach Nadine Muzerall. The team finished the regular season with a program-record 23 conference wins.
- After leading the Buckeyes to another record-breaking season, Muzerall was named a finalist for national coach of the year 2022-23.
- Ohio State is one of three WCHA teams set to play in the 2023 Frozen Four. The No. 1-seeded Buckeyes play in the first semifinal, and the No. 2-seeded Minnesota and Wisconsin meet in the second semifinal.
- Hockey Canada announced last week that the Maltais will play at the 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championships in Brampton, Canada this summer. This will be their third World Cup at senior level.
Series History – Buckeyes vs. Badgers
- The Buckeyes and Badgers meet for the fifth time this season in Sunday’s national championship game.
- Ohio State won the regular-season series against Wisconsin 3-1.
- The Buckeyes have won six of the last seven encounters between the two programs.
- The teams have met before in the Frozen Four, with Wisconsin, seeded at No. 2, defeating the Buckeyes 3-2 in overtime in the 2021 tournament.
Jacques named Patty Kaz’s top 3 finalist
- For the second year in a row, Sophie Jaques was nominated as one of the top three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
- She joins Northeastern’s Alina Mueller and Colgate’s Danielle Serdachny as the remaining finalists for the award.
- Jaques has led defenders in goals and points all season.
- She is one of the top power-play scorers in the country with a national-leading nine power-play goals in Ohio State’s top power play.
- The Toronto, Ont. native is the 2022-23 WCHA Defender and Player of the Year.
Next
Sunday marks the end of the 2022-23 NCAA women’s ice hockey season. The winner of Sunday’s game will be crowned the 2022-23 National Champion.
#GoBucks
