The University of North Dakota women’s hockey team qualified for its seventh-straight Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Face-Off with a 2-1 overtime victory over Ohio State University on Sunday afternoon in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Emma Nuutinen scored the winning goal for the Fighting Hawks (16-15-6) 9:04 into the extra session. Kayla Gardner scored the other UND goal while Maddy Field scored for the Buckeyes (14-18-5). OSU had won the opening game of the series 2-1 in overtime Friday night, and UND had evened the best-of-three with a 4-1 win Saturday. Lexie Shaw had 28 saves in goal for the Fighting Hawks while Kassidy Sauve stopped 31 shots. UND will meet No. 1-ranked Wisconsin in the WCHA semifinals at 2:07 Saturday in Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota-Duluth meet in the other semifinal match. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
Unheralded