In a game between two evenly matched teams, it is often the unsung players who make the difference. Sometimes they make the plays away from the spotlight, and sometimes they turn a few heads by stepping into it.
In Friday night’s matchup between Yale and Ohio State, it was Buckeye sophomore forward Katie Maroney who embraced the spotlight. With 39 seconds remaining in overtime, the forward who had tallied two goals all season poked a rebound into the net and gave OSU a hard-fought 5-4 victory on its home ice.
“It’s amazing,” Maroney said of her game-winning goal. “It was just total shock. That goal was because of the whole team’s hard work.”
The Buckeyes (11-9-1) needed an overtime goal to defeat the Bulldogs (10-9-0) despite skating with a two-goal lead five minutes into the third period. Faced with a 4-2 deficit, senior defenseman Erin Duggan wristed a screen shot from the blue line that beat OSU sophomore goaltender Erika Vanderveer five-hole and put Yale within one goal. It was also Duggan’s third goal of the game.
“We’ve relied on her for four years and it’s not going to stop for the next couple of months,” Yale coach Hilary Witt said. “For some reason she’s got a knack for the net – she leads the team in goals and she’s a defenseman. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing”
It was Duggan again who helped Yale knot the game at four apiece. With 1:48 remaining, OSU’s sophomore defenseman Amber Bowman was called for tripping, giving Yale a man advantage. The Bulldogs pulled junior goalie Sarah Love for a 6-on-4 at 19:28, and it paid off. Duggan blasted a shot from the point that was screened, and when Vanderveer gave up the rebound sophomore center Kristin Savard was there to put it in with 22 seconds left in regulation.
“I just threw the puck at the net,” Duggan said. “I knew we had people down there. The key is knowing your players are going to be there.
“That was huge for us – to come back from two goals is a big thing for our program, so hopefully it will continue on,” Witt said.
The situation was similar to OSU’s last game against Minnesota Duluth in which the visiting Bulldogs netted a goal at 19:24 and handed OSU a bittersweet loss on its home ice.
This time, the Buckeyes refused to give in.
“I think we were kind of reminiscing about last week, when we lost, but coach just pulled us together and told us we can do it,” junior forward Jana Harrigan said. “We knew we could.”
Harrigan recorded a hat trick herself, accounting for the first three Buckeye goals. She also assisted on Maroney’s game-winner. OSU coach Jackie Barto praised her high-scoring junior, but noted that other players such as Maroney contributed to the win as well.
“[Harrigan’s] so steady. She plays hard in all three zones,” she said. “She’s creating so much right now. I think another positive is Crystal Sayther and Katie Maroney scoring. We need contributions from everybody and it’s nice to see a couple of goals from those girls.”
Both teams put the puck on net with high frequency: OSU outshot Yale, 40-39, including a 9-1 advantage during the overtime period. Love made several crucial saves to keep her team in the game, including a spectacular glove save on OSU’s freshman defenseman Tessa Bonhomme during an OSU power play during overtime.
“That glove save was unbelievable, but it’s no sweat to us,” Witt said. “We don’t even think it’s great because we see it so often. [Love is] incredible, and I don’t think she deserved that fate [of losing].”
The Buckeyes received a man advantage when sophomore left winger Kelsey Johnson pulled down a streaking Bonhomme, and neither coach seemed completely assured of the call.
“The only thing I’m going to say about that is that I don’t often see penalties in overtime,” Witt said.
“I was kind of surprised that he called that penalty there,” Barto said. “I want to give them credit for killing it off. Their goalie really held strong there and made some big saves.”
Yale successfully killed off the penalty, but was unable to pull out a victory. The Bulldogs will instead try to earn a victory Saturday.
“We played our best until the end and that’s what counts,” Savard said. “We didn’t win today, but we’re back tomorrow and we have another shot.”
