No. 2 Ohio State crushes No. 3 Wisconsin, 5-1, in Game 1 of two-game series

No. 2 Ohio State made a statement Friday night, taking down No. 3 Wisconsin, 5-1, in dominant fashion. 

The scoring started early. Sophomore Jenna Buglioni finished off a pass from senior Gabby Rosenthal to make it 1-0 OSU less than four minutes into the evening. 

No. 2 @OhioStateWHKY gets a strong start vs. the Badgers! 💥 pic.twitter.com/Innyd4IZ5u

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 18, 2022

Then, with 8:46 to play in the opening frame, senior Paetyn Levis showed off her wheels, streaking down the right side of the ice and beating Wisconsin goalie Kennedy Blair to make it 2-0 Buckeyes. 

Graduate student Liz Schepers extended the lead to 3-0 after finishing off a one-timer. 

Wisconsin did end the period on a positive. After Buckeyes defenseman Sophie Jaques turned the puck over while breaking out of her own end, Wisconsin sophomore Makenna Webster converted on a 2-on-1 to cut the OSU lead to 3-1 with 19.1 seconds left in the first. 

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The Badgers kept Ohio State’s scoring attack at bay for the first 18 minutes of the middle frame. But then Ohio State went on the power play and Jaques potted one to make it 4-1 with 1:57 to play in the second period. 

With 31.4 seconds to play, junior Kenzie Hauswirth scored her second of the season off a pass from Buglioni to extend the Ohio State lead to 5-1. 

Another look at this beauty from @KenzieHauswirth to end the second period 👀#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/dmsmHawZlt

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) February 19, 2022

Tempers flared in the third period. With 5:15 left in regulation, Ohio State and Wisconsin got into it around the Ohio State net after the Badgers failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3. It resulted in coincidental penalties. 

Ohio State goalie Amanda Thiele finished with 26 saves on 27 shots. Blair ended her night after two periods, giving up five goals on 20 shots. Junior goalie Cami Kronish took over for the final 20 minutes, stopping all 11 shots she faced. 

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The stage is set for a big showdown on Saturday with Wisconsin looking for revenge and Ohio State trying to stay hot. Ohio State leads Wisconsin by three points in the WCHA standings.