Defending champ OSU tops Northeastern in women's Frozen Four
Ohio State players smother defenseman Hadley Hartmetz (6) after she scored in the second period against Notheastern in a national semifinal of the women's NCAA Frozen Four college hockey tournament at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minn., Friday, March 17, 2023. Credit: AP/Shari L. Gross
DULUTH, Minn. — Sloane Matthews, Makenna Webster and Hadley Hartmetz each scored and defending champion Ohio State eased by Northeastern 3-0 on Friday in the NCAA women's Frozen Four.
Top-seeded Ohio State (33-5-2) seeks its second championship in program history on Sunday in an all-WCHA final.
Ohio State came out aggressively in the first period, getting the first 11 shots on goal as Northeastern didn’t have a shot through the opening nine minutes.
Matthews scored her sixth goal of the year to open the scoring just 1:16 into the game when she buried a rebound from national goalie of the year Gwyneth Philips. It was the first shot of the game. The Huskies appeared to tie it at 1-all with 5:39 left in the first, but Ohio State challenged and it was overturned for a hand pass.
Ohio State improved to 24-0-1 this season when leading after the first period.
Webster scored her 15th goal of the season at 11:16 of the second on a one-touch shot off a pass from Jennifer Gardiner. Hartmetz’s shot from the blue line capped the scoring with 1:16 to go in the second.
Amanda Thiele made 16 saves for her fourth shutout of the season.
Northeastern (34-3-1), the No. 1 defense in the country, hadn’t allowed more than two goals in a game since a 3-0 loss to Providence on Nov. 15.
