Jan. 12, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Six Buckeyes had multiple-point games, led by junior defenseman Lisa Chesson with four assists, as the Ohio State women's hockey team upset No. 5 Minnesota, 7-1, Friday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. In their largest victory ever over the Golden Gophers, OSU scored three power play goals to pick up just its third win in Minneapolis in program history.

Ohio State improves to 8-7-2 in the WCHA and 13-8-2 overall, matching its win total from last season. Minnesota is 11-5-1 in the league and 14-6-1 on the season.

Four OSU defensemen combined for 10 of the team's 19 points. Along with Chesson's four assists, senior Amber Bowman (Innisfil, Ontario/Beatrice Jr. Aeros) has a goal and two assists while defensive partner Tessa Bonhomme (Sudbury, Ontario/Sudbury Lady Wolves) had a goal and assist. Sophomore Megan Hostasek (Kimberley, British Columbia/Warner School) added a point with an assist.

Senior goaltender Erika Vanderveer (Bradford, Ontario/Mississauga Jr. Chiefs) stopped 21 of 22 shots faced, including 12 UM power play shots, to improve to 12-5-1. It was the ninth time this season Vanderveer has limited opponents to one goal or less.

Just :18 after dropping the puck, the Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead on a goal by sophomore Morgan Marziali (St. Mary's, Ontario/London Devilettes). Bonhomme dumped the puck along the boards from the OSU zone. Junior Erin Keys (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) tapped the puck from behind the Gopher net to Marziali who flicked it in from the right side for her ninth goal of the year. Bonhomme picked up her 13th assist while Keys recorded her 16th.

The Gophers evened up the score at 1-all with a power play goal at 8:54. After making several point-blank saves, Jenelle Philipczyk scored five-hole on Vanderveer from the left doorstep on assists from Whitney Graft and Anya Miller.

Ohio State regained the lead and would not look back a mere :31 later when Keys tallied her 13th goal of the season. Chesson (Plainfield, Ill./Chicago Mission) passed the puck along the blueline to Hostasek, who fired it toward the Minnesota goal. While falling down at the left corner of the net, Keys tipped in the shot by Hostasek to move the score to 2-1. The assist was the first of four in the game for Chesson and the fifth helper of the year for Hostasek.

The Buckeyes upped their lead to 3-1 with a power play goal of their own at 11:12. Junior Mallory Peckels (Minocqua, Wis./Madison Capitols) fed the puck up the slot to Chesson who fired on goal from the top. Her rebound was picked up by Bowman on the right side and she slid into net for her sixth goal of the season. The assists were the 15th of the season for Chesson and 11th for Peckels.

After the three goals allowed, Minnesota also changed goalies at the 11:12 mark with Kim Hanlon entering the game in place of starting netminder Brittony Chartier. Chartier finished the game with two saves.

Ohio State held its 3-1 lead into the first intermission while Minnesota led, 12-9, in shots.

Bonhomme scored a power play goal in the second period to increase the OSU lead to 4-1. Chesson had a shot on goal from directly in front of the net that was saved by Hanlon. The slow rebound found its way to the left corner of the net where Bonhomme tucked the puck in at 12:40 for her 12th goal of the year. Chesson tallied her third helper of the game.

The Buckeyes maintained their three-goal lead into the second intermission while the Gophers still held the edge in shots at 21-16.

Ohio State opened with two quick goals in the third period to build its lead to 6-1. While on the power play, Peckels flipped the puck just over Hanlon into the back of the net at 2:52 for her fourth lamplighter of the season. She was assisted by Bowman, her team-leading 20th, and Chesson, who increased her season total to 17 with her fourth helper of the game.

Just :25 later, freshman forward Raelyn LaRocque (The Pas, Manitoba/Edmonton Chimos) scored her second goal of the year when she flicked the puck in from the left doorstep on a single assist to senior Krysta Skarda (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater), her second as well.

Marziali scored the final Buckeye goal, her second goal of the game and 10th of the season, at 8:48 when she tipped in a shot from the point by Bowman, who picked up the puck from Keys on the faceoff. The Buckeyes held the lead throughout the third period and limited the Gophers to just one shot on goal in the stanza for a final of 7-1.

The top line of Marziali (2g), Peckels (1g, 1a) and Keys (1g, 2a) combined for seven points. With her three-point night, Keys upped her season total to 30 and is just the 12th Buckeye in program history to reach the 30-point milestone in a season.

Overall, Minnesota had a 26-22 advantage in shots. Ohio State was 3-of-8 on the power play while the Gophers were 1-of-6.

Ohio State and Minnesota will conclude their series with a 7:07 p.m. (CT) game Saturday at Ridder Arena. It is the final regular season meeting between the two teams.

                         Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
                       2006-07 Ohio State Women's Hockey
          Ohio State vs Minnesota (Jan 12, 2007 at Minneapolis, Minn.)
 Ohio State (13-8-2, 8-7-2 WCHA) vs. Minnesota (14-6-1, 11-5-1 WCHA)
 Date: Jan 12, 2007  Location: Minneapolis, Minn.    Arena: Ridder Arena
 Attendance:1092   Start time:7:07 pm   End time:9:06 pm   Total time:01:59
 Goals by Period       1  2  3  Tot
 ----------------------------------
 Ohio State..........  3  1  3 -  7
 Minnesota...........  1  0  0 -  1
   1st period - 1, OSU, Morgan Marziali/9 (Erin Keys/16, Tessa
Bonhomme/13) :18. 2, MINN, Jenelle Philipczyk/4 (Whitney Graft/15,
Anya Miller/13) 8:54 (pp). 3, OSU, Erin Keys/13 (Megan Hostasek/5,
Lisa Chesson/13) 9:25. 4, OSU, Amber Bowman/6 (Lisa Chesson/14,
Mallory Peckels/11) 11:12 (pp). Penalties - Megan Hostasek, OSU
(interference) 3:12; Amber Bowman, OSU (tripping) 6:15; Amber Bowman,
OSU (hooking) 8:25; Michelle Maunu, MINN (hooking) 10:09; Kelli
Blankenship, MINN (checking) 16:52.
   2nd period - 5, OSU, Tessa Bonhomme/12 (Lisa Chesson/15) 12:40
(pp). Penalties - Erin Keys, OSU (interference) :09; Melanie Gagnon,
MINN (tripping) 4:11; Melanie Gagnon, MINN (tripping) 8:48; Dagney
Willey, MINN (tripping) 11:33; Anya Miller, MINN (interference) 17:38;
Megan Hostasek, OSU (cross-checking) 19:36.
   3rd period - 6, OSU, Mallory Peckels/4 (Amber Bowman/20, Lisa
Chesson/16) 2:52 (pp). 7, OSU, Raelyn LaRocque/2 (Krysta Skarda/2)
3:17. 8, OSU, Morgan Marziali/10 (Amber Bowman/21, Erin Keys/17) 8:48.
Penalties - Melanie Gagnon, MINN (tripping) 2:42; Becky Wacker, MINN
(checking) 9:15; Raelyn LaRocque, OSU (interference) 19:53.
   Shots on goal - OSU 9-7-10 26; MINN 12-9-1 22.
   Power plays - OSU 3 of 8; MINN 1 of 6.
   Penalties - OSU 6 (12 min); MINN 8 (16 min).
   Goalies - OSU, Erika Vanderveer 12-5-1 (59:36 minutes, 22 shots-21
saves) , EMPTY NET (00:24, 0-0); MINN, Brittony Chartier 12-5-1
(11:12, 5-2) , Kim Hanlon (48:48, 21-17).
   Penalty shots - None.
 A-1092  T-01:59
 Three stars: 1. Lisa Chesson    2. Erin Keys    3. Amber Bowman
 Referee:Dan Lick  Linesman:Karly Zufall; Shari Lichterman
 Win-Erika Vanderveer (12-5-1).  Loss-Brittony Chartier (12-5-1).