Brittni Kuyper scored a goal and adding two assists to lead St. Cloud State over Ohio State 4-3 on Friday night at the National Hockey Center.
In a back-and-forth contest that featured highs and lows for both teams, St. Cloud (6-10-1, 4-8-1 WCHA) made Kuyper’s goal in the middle of the third period hold up for the game winner with a tenacious defensive effort as Ohio State (8-7-2, 5-6-2 WCHA) struggled to find the game-tying goal.
Midway through the third period, Ohio State took two penalties in quick succession, and the Huskies were quick to capitalize on the two-person advantage. After cycling the puck, a shot came in from the right side of the net by senior Ashley Stewart. OSU goalie Erika Vanderveer made the initial save facing the shot, but the rebound dropped behind her to a waiting Brittni Kuyper, who shoveled the puck into the empty net for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.
“I just kept shooting and shooting all night,” Kuyper said. “I was fortunate to get a tip early in the third and then later I was just in the right place to bash it home.”
A flurry of activity in the last minute by Ohio State was unable to find the net despite several good opportunities. A second breakaway opportunity for Harrigan was denied by St. Jacques late to preserve the victory.
St. Cloud State opened the scoring midway though the first period when sophomore blueliner Stacy Dey ripped a shot from the point directly off the faceoff which bounced off an Ohio State player in front and past Vanderveer, giving Dey the first goal of her collegiate career.
“I’m really ecstatic to get my first goal,” Dey said. “I just threw it toward the net hoping for a rebound, but it just went in. I was pretty excited.”
With just over a minute to play in the first, a pass from Ohio State sophomore Erin Keys to a speeding Jana Harrigan created a breakaway which began at center ice and ended with Harrigan patiently waiting for St. Cloud goalie Laura St. Jacques to commit before calmly depositing the puck in the back of the net, her 10th goal of the year. The score tied the game at one and extended her point-scoring streak to 10 straight games.
“It was just a great pass from the wing,” said Harrigan. “Can’t really get a better setup than that.”
Seconds after the ensuing faceoff, SCSU forward Denelle Maguet, last week’s WCHA Offensive Player of the Week, attempted to strike back, gaining a quick breakaway of her own deep in the Ohio State zone, but her shot was just wide of the net.
Both teams displayed their gritty sides during the second period, which featured several shoving matches resulting in 26 minutes in penalties handed out during the period. The chippy play cost both sides a goal, as Katie Maroney and Hailey Clarkson scored power play goals for Ohio State and St. Cloud respectively just over halfway through the second stanza. Maroney’s tally lengthened her goal-scoring streak to five straight games.
“I think both of our teams were just a little frustrated in the second,” said St. Cloud State coach Jason Lesteberg. “That’s just the way the game of hockey is. As a player, you can’t get frustrated with things that are out of your control.”
With under three minutes to play in the second, Ohio State would take a 3-2 lead after a shot from outside was blocked by a scrum in front of the net, and the puck was eventually poked in off the stick of Buckeye forward Mallory Peckels amidst the confusion in front of St. Jacques.
Six minutes into the third, Kuyper hit a rocket shot from the blue line that would be tipped in front of the net and in by junior Jacqueline Jensen, knotting the score at three apiece.
St. Cloud State won their third straight at home, while Ohio State dropped their second consecutive road game.
“I thought we had a really good second period across the board,” said Ohio State coach Jackie Barto. “Just a little disappointed with some of the things that happened in the third… we need to keep our cool and stay out of the box.”
The teams are back in action Saturday afternoon at the National Hockey Center.
