Women's Hockey Series of the Week: No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 1 Ohio State

Two top-5 powerhouse teams are set to go head-to-head in a Big Ten series matchup.

The No. 3 Minnesota Golden Gophers will make their way to Columbus, Ohio to face off against the current No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Gophers look to remain undefeated after sweeping both UConn and Boston University in what could've been two split series.

Both series had one comfortable game, topping UConn 4-1 with a 5-2 win against the Terriers. Yet, the other two games featured a one-goal differential.

Minnesota is an aggressive offensive team, shooting the puck nearly 40 times per game and successfully netting an average of 3.3 each one.

Senior forward Abbey Murphy is the Gophers lead scorer with five goals on the season. Eight other teammates just have one goal.

A major success factor for this team is the players between the pipes.

Skylar Vetter is Minnesota’s lead netminder and only conceded three goals throughout her three starts. During those games, Vetter saved 31 total shots.

They also have freshman Hannah Clark practice some reps in the net. She found herself on the ice twice allowing two goals on 12 shots.

On the other end of the rink, the Buckeyes opened their season defeated before winning four straight games.

The team successfully netted a whopping 23 goals throughout their first six games of the season with the help of nine different players.

Impressively, three players account for nearly half of that total. Jenna Buglioni, Jocelyn Amos, and Jordyn Petrie all have four goals to their name.

Part of that success stems from the amount of shots they put on the cage. In total, Ohio State shot the puck 247 times with an average of 41.2 per game. They accompany that with great defense by holding their opponents to only 17.3 shots each game.

However, the Buckeyes have struggled with the man advantage. They have just one goal on 16 attempts which needs to be better if you're the best team in the nation.

Minnesota has great discipline and is not a team to concede many penalties. In fact, they only gave up 11 so far which makes it crucial for Ohio State to capitalize on the chances they are given.

These two teams face off quite a bit, with Ohio State accumulating a 25-67-6 all-time record against the Gophers dating back to 1999. Recently, however, the Buckeyes have had the better of them, winning six of their last 10 matchups.

The two-game series will take place on Friday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m. EST and Saturday, Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. EST. Both games will be streamed on Big Ten+.

Carlin Whalen is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cjw6426@psu.edu.