DURHAM, N.H. — The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 1-0 to win the program’s second NCAA championship on Sunday.
The game — a rematch of the 2023 championship, which ended in a 1-0 Wisconsin victory — was scoreless through the first two periods. Joy Dunne, the national rookie of the year, scored the first and only goal of a tense, evenly-matched championship game featuring the top two teams in the national rankings.
“That was one helluva game,” said Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall. “Whoever scored in the third I thought was going to win the game, just because it was such a good defensive side of the game from both teams. … It was just a feeling of if we can get to that one and then bear down defensively, we could win this thing.”
THE BUCKEYES BREAK THE SILENCE!!!!
📺 ESPNU#WFrozenFour x @OhioStateWHKY pic.twitter.com/O7S1rw5c36
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 24, 2024
No teams in the NCAA scored more goals than the Badgers (205) and the Buckeyes (200) this season. The championship game, however, was more of a defensive effort with very little space for either team. Both teams were held to under 30 shots (Ohio State outshot Wisconsin 28-26), and there were nearly 40 blocked shots (Wisconsin had the edge 20-17).
“It seemed…
