Career night for Gascon not enough for Bulldogs vs. Buckeyes

DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth sophomore goaltender Eve Gascon made a career-high 58 saves, but the No. 4 Bulldogs still fell to second-ranked Ohio State 3-1 in WCHA play Friday at Amsoil Arena.

Freshman wing Caitlin Kraemer scored the lone goal for UMD on a power play midway through the first period after the Buckeyes jumped out to a 2-0 lead via goals by sophomore center Jocelyn Amos and fifth-year senior defenseman Riley Brengman.

Fifth-year senior wing Kiara Zanon added an empty net goal late in the game for OSU, which got 19 saves from fifth-year senior goaltender Amanda Thiele.

“We didn’t have a good start and I wanted to just give my team a chance to stay in the game,” Gascon said of her 58 saves. “I didn’t have a good start, either, so I wanted to come back from it and I think we did a pretty good job of boxing out. I could see a lot of shots, so that was good.

“We have to be better. I have to be better, too.”

The most penalized team in the WCHA was sent to the penalty box six times Friday for 12 total minutes. The Bulldogs took four penalties in the second period that put them shorthanded for 7:41 of the second.

Ohio State failed to score during its 7:41 of power play time in the second after scoring on the Bulldogs' first two penalties of the night in the opening 20 minutes — scoring on a power play and 4-on-4. OSU finished 1-for-5 on its power plays.

“We know it wasn’t our best game, and it was not our best game by a long shot,” said UMD fifth-year senior defenseman and co-captain Nina Jobst-Smith. “That brings us a lot of confidence we were in a one-goal game until a minute (left) there. Our team has a lot more to give tomorrow and everyone can expect a lot more from us.”

UMD came into the weekend leading the WCHA in penalties (82), penalties per game (3.73), penalty minutes (181:00) and penalty minutes per game (8:13). The Bulldogs entered the weekend sixth nationally in penalty minutes per game.

Gascon became the first UMD goalie to get a penalty in over a decade Friday. Gascon was called for holding at 7:52 of the first period. Buckeyes freshman wing Jorddyn Petrie was called for slashing Gascon at the same time. That’s where the Buckeyes got their 4-on-4 goal to go ahead 2-0.

The last Bulldogs goaltender to get called for a penalty was Kayla Black on Nov. 14, 2014 at St. Cloud State.

“I can’t take a penalty like that,” Gascon said. “We all have to be better and we can beat them.”

Of the Buckeyes’ 61 total shots, 21 came via their five power plays, including 18 shots on four power-play chances in the second period. UMD was outshot 34-7 during the second period. Both the 34 shots allowed and 34 saves by Gascon were UMD records for a period.

“Eve played absolutely outstanding for us,” Bulldogs coach Laura Schuler said. “She’s world-class. So poised and composed back there for us. We just got to find a way to help her out, be able to bury a couple more.”

The Bulldogs only produced three shots on goal on three power plays, with Kraemer scoring on UMD’s first power play shot seven seconds into the first advantage.

UMD finished 1-for-3 on the power play as OSU was whistled for four penalties totaling eight minutes. The Bulldogs had two power plays in the third period and were outshot by OSU 3-2 on those UMD power plays.

UMD was also outshot 1-0 during the 25 seconds Gascon was pulled late for an extra attacker.

“They pressured us hard on their PK forecheck,” Schuler said. “We need to make sure we get more people back to be able to support the puck when we’re under duress like that. That’s part of their DNA. They come at you really hard. We got to make some adjustments there.”

Defenseman Ida Karlsson was a late scratch Friday due to illness. Junior Brenna Fuhrman took the place of the Swedish sophomore on the second pairing with senior Hanna Baskin, though UMD began to mix and match as the game went along with freshman Kamdyn Davis and redshirt junior Devyn Millwater getting some shifts with the new-look top four.

Jobst-Smith said its the most minutes she played since a game last season against Ohio State when UMD was once again short a player on the blue line.

“That’s just what you have to do,” Jobst-Smith said. “Someone is missing from the lineup, you got to pull tight and we got to pull together. I think we did that. Yeah, our start wasn’t great, but I think we managed to fill those holes. People stepped up in big ways.”

Karlsson is coming off a strong weekend against St. Cloud State where she had a goal and an assist. Schuler said she is hopeful that Karlsson can return for the series finale Saturday.

The Bulldogs and Buckeyes wrap up their 2024-25 regular season series at 3 p.m. Saturday at Amsoil Arena. It’s also the finale of a six-game homestand for the Bulldogs to start 2025. UMD is on the road for three of its final five regular season series starting with a Thursday-Friday series at St. Thomas next week.

Ohio State 2-0-1—3
Minnesota Duluth 1-0-0—1
First period
1. OSU, Jocelyn Amos (Joy Dunne, Kiara Zanon), 2:41 (pp)
2. OSU, Riley Brengman (Maddi Wheeler, Brooke Disher), 9:31
3. UMD, Caitlin Kraemer (Olivia Wallin, Hanna Baskin), 10:50 (pp)
Second period
No scoring
Third period
4. OSU, Zanon, 18:51 (en)
Saves — Amanda Thiele, OSU, 19; Eve Gascon, UMD, 58.
Power play — OSU 1-5; UMD 1-3. Penalties — OSU 4-8; UMD 6-12.