After incomes their first nationwide championship in program historical past, the Ohio State ladies’s ice hockey workforce returns to motion at No.1. Credit score: Zachary Rilley | Photograph Editor
The Ohio State ladies’s ice hockey workforce enters the 2022 season simply six months after making historical past — claiming its first nationwide championship in program historical past — together with profitable a program-record 32 video games.
Regardless of the discourse, accolades and noise, head coach Nadine Muzerall mentioned the No. 1 Buckeyes proceed to remain centered on the upcoming season and are excited for the chance to defend their title.
“It’s the primary time in program historical past the place we’re beginning the season because the No. 1 workforce within the nation. There’s an enormous goal in your again now, and also you’re going to get everyone’s finest,” Muzerall mentioned. “You’re all the time going to have somebody chasing you, and that’s a very good downside, proper?”
Graduate ahead Paetyn Levis, who led the Buckeyes with 24 objectives in final yr’s championship marketing campaign, mentioned the workforce has labored laborious to construct on the inspiration they’ve set whereas including new faces to the workforce and employees.
“We’ve bought a very good tradition and basis to lean on, however this yr appears fully completely different,” Levis mentioned. “It’s tremendous essential for us to sit up for this season as its personal, and separate it from what we’ve finished prior to now. We graduated a bunch of gamers final yr, and have a bunch of freshmen who’re able to go at it.”
Whatever the historic run final season, Levis mentioned the workforce nonetheless goes about its enterprise like some other yr.
“I wouldn’t say there’s stress; we simply have excessive expectations for ourselves yearly,” Levis mentioned. “We’re simply going to assault the yr the identical method we’ve prior to now. I feel we’ve finished a very good job.”
Muzerall mentioned her favourite second with the workforce was after they watched Staff USA play Staff Canada previous to the Olympics as a gaggle, that includes two Buckeyes on opposing sides in present graduate ahead Emma Maltais and now-graduated defenseman Jincy Dunne.
“What I liked about that was, we’re all coming collectively for a typical aim of simply cheering on our Buckeye workforce,” Muzerall mentioned. “It wasn’t about them, it wasn’t about OSU — it was simply in regards to the sisterhood and rooting for one another.”
The Buckeyes return 5 graduate gamers — together with graduate defender Sophie Jaques, the 2022 Western Collegiate Hockey Affiliation Defender of the 12 months, and junior goaltender Amanda Thiele, who held a 1.312 goals-against common final yr which stands as an Ohio State season file.
Muzerall mentioned the return of veterans is a testomony to the championship tradition the workforce seems to construct on.
“Championships are sometimes gained primarily based on tradition and management,” Muzerall mentioned. “Sophie together with Levis, (Gabby) Rosenthal, Maltais and (Madison) Bizal are all again as fifth-years, and that’s one heck of a lineup in itself, to have these robust rivals come again. They didn’t have to come back again. They actually needed to proceed the success in defending the title.”
Up to now six months, Muzerall mentioned she and the workforce have mirrored on all they completed whereas receiving outpouring help from the state of Ohio.
“I’ve a terrific pleasure of being a Gopher Alum, however I’ll let you know, the love that we bought after we gained, I by no means skilled at Minnesota,” Muzerall mentioned. “The love and the way in which they care for my very own private household as properly, it pulls on the heartstrings, and it makes you wish to compete and play in your state, as a result of everyone seems to be rallying behind you. They don’t care if it’s soccer or ladies’s hockey, they simply need success. They simply need the Buckeyes to win.”
The Buckeyes open the 2022-23 season on the highway Sept. 30 with a two-game sequence at Minnesota State.
