At first glance, Friday’s women’s hockey game at St. Thomas Ice Arena seemed like just another dominant performance by No. 2 Ohio State against an overmatched St. Thomas team.
But the 5-1 final – the Buckeyes’ 13th consecutive win against the Tommies – doesn’t tell the story of how competitive the game was until Ohio State put it away with a pair of goals in the final ten minutes.
After playing two close games against No. 8 St. Cloud State last weekend (a 1-1 tie and a 3-1 loss), Tommies coach Joel Johnson believes his team continued to move in the right direction against the Buckeyes.
“They’re the No. 2 team in the country for a reason,” Johnson said, “but what I think we showed ourselves today is that in the long run — maybe tomorrow, maybe in two weeks, in two months – We showed that if we compete defensively, we have a chance to win.
“But we have to score. Maybe that’s someone doing a special action, but normally it’s someone doing a lucky jump. We didn’t understand that, and other teams are responsible for the bad luck we got. Eventually the tide will turn.”
Tommies sophomore righty Madison Brown, who scored St. Thomas’ goal, liked the way the Tommies competed.
“I think they’re a super-competitive team,” she said, “but I think we just went for it. That was also our goal: to play as strong as we could.”
Both teams were rocked by a terrifying incident midway through the second period, when Tommie’s freshman defenseman Cailin Mumm was injured after checking into the boards from behind. Medical personnel quickly came to her aid after she was left on the ice and quickly called for a stretcher to be brought out.
Mom was eventually helped onto her skates, but she left the ice on the stretcher. Few details were provided afterward, but evidence suggests Mumm avoided serious injury.
“Cailin is in good spirits,” Johnson said. “She’s going to fight back and be healthy. I know both teams were concerned. I appreciate the State of Ohio reaching out to you. And so was our medical staff
excellent response to the situation.”
The Tommies, trailing 2-1, started a five-minute power play, but the teams went four-on-four 26 seconds later when St. Thomas center Cara Sajevic was sent off for a check. The Tommies were on the power play again when Ohio State’s Jenna Buglioni scored on a short-handed breakaway.
“Before the short-handed goal, we got into a four-on-four situation, which I didn’t like for several reasons,” Johnson said. “And then the whole tenor of the game changes. They are an experienced team, they played like that and scored the short goal.
“I thought this was the turning point in the game.”
The Tommies had some good scoring chances in the game, but couldn’t get anything past Buckeyes goaltender Amanda Thiele after Brown gave the Tommies a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period.
“We’re going to have opportunities, but someone has to bury the puck,” Johnson said.
Brown said the focus against a team with as much firepower as Ohio State should be good defense, which she said can lead to good scoring opportunities on the other end. But there are things she believes the Tommies can do better offensively.
“Getting people in front of the net, screening the goalie and being there for rebounds,” she said. “And getting more shots on net is critical.”
The Tommies, who have been outscored 69-10 in their 13 losses to the Buckeyes, will have another attack on them Saturday afternoon.
“I would like to play the same game and score,” Johnson said. “I would like to wear them out, play four lines, play six ‘D’ and have them compete with us for 60 minutes.”
Originally published: November 1, 2024 at 6:27 PM CDT