Box Score UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The best season in the history of Yale Women's Ice Hockey has come to an end after battling the No. 1 team in the country to the final buzzer.
Ohio State erased a 1-0 deficit with goals almost four minutes apart in the second period to take a 2-1 Frozen Four Semifinal victory at Pegula Ice Arena on the campus of Penn State University.
The No. 4 ranked Bulldogs managed to hold off the nation's most power offense, one that produced well over four goals per game and 44 shots. Yale kept it close by holding the Buckeyes to 38 shots after OSU pumped a program-record 77 on Quinnipiac at last week's NCAA Quarterfinal.
Gianna Meloni, Yale's senior goalie, posted a season-high 36 saves, which included halting quality OSU opportunities when the ice was titled for the WCHA squad.
In a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs had the best scoring chance when
Claire Dalton threaded the needle with a lead pass to
Anna Bargman, who came across the top of the crease and tried to flip the puck over goalie Amanda Thiele. Bargman, who could not get enough air on it, got contact and went flying across the ice into the boards.
The Yale netminder also made a first-period stop on a quality chance from the low slot with leg save. In the second period, Meloni made a diving save and stopped the puck with an outstretched stick to keep it 1-0. The Washington, D.C., native finished with school-records of 1.50 goals against this season and 2.11 for her career.
Yale, which finished with a school-best 26 wins, got the lead early in the middle frame when
Tabea Botthof, a sophomore blueliner, crashed the net. She noticed a bouncing puck in the slot, and the native of Germany swooped in and smacked it through traffic into the back of the net at 1:43 for her second goal of the year.
The Buckeyes, whose great forecheck has helped them to nine straight wins, benefitted from a surprising, too-many-on-the-ice penalty to answer the deficit. OSU came up with a power-play and an even-strength tally in the second to grab a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
That momentum swing was just too much for the Elis to overcome.
Elle Hartje, the Bulldogs' leading scorer with 51 points, had the best situation to even the game in the third period. The sophomore forward from Detroit followed up a rebound off a shot from Dalton early in the frame but saw a leg pad jut out at the last moment to end the threat.
Mark Bolding, Yale's Susan Cavanagh Head Coach, pulled Meloni with 89 seconds to play in the third, but the Elis could not sustain any pressure.
"Definitely the type of game we wanted. We had outstanding goaltending from Gianna and a great overall defensive effort," said Bolding, who was named AHCA Coach of the Year for the fifth time yesterday in his second season with the Bulldogs. "Not only did we show up, we made some noise. It was a great game and I am proud of our players."
