COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio State University’s women’s hockey team is the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season champs, downing No. 6 Wisconsin 3-1 Sunday to win the conference’s Julianne Bye Cup. It marks the Buckeyes’ first regular season conference title in program history.
The Buckeyes (28-4-2, 23-4-1 WCHA) scored three goals in the last five minutes of the game, overcoming a 1-0 Badgers lead. Emma Maltais, off a pass from Jenn Gardiner, scored the Buckeyes’ first goal, tying the game at the 15:43 mark. It was the second game in a row in which Maltais scored the tying goal.
Graduate defenseman Madison Bizal scored both the go-ahead and insurance goals, both in the final minute of the game.
Maltais is now the first Buckeye player to reach 200 points for her college career, a program record.
With the win, the Buckeyes take the top seed in the WCHA tournament which starts next weekend, ending the season with 70 conference points. Ohio State will host St. Thomas for a best-of-three quarterfinal series in Columbus. Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, and, if needed, 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets go on sale Monday.
