Ohio State women’s hockey head coach and Marysville resident Nadine Muzerall (right) watches the action in this photo. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 1-0 to capture the 2024 NCAA national title. It is the program’s second national championship in the past three seasons.
(Photo courtesy of The Ohio State University)
—
Revenge is sweet, especially if it comes attached with a national championship.
The Ohio State women’s hockey team defeated Wisconsin, 1-0, Sunday to capture its second NCAA national championship in three seasons.
In doing so, OSU avenged a 1-0 loss to the Badgers during last year’s national title contest.
Marysville resident Nadine Muzerall, Ohio State’s head coach, has had a great deal of success during her tenure at the helm.
Earlier this past season, she became Ohio State’s all-time winningest women’s hockey coach.
Despite her success, there has been one team that has caused her problems and that’s Wisconsin.
Not only did the Badgers beat OSU to win the 2023 NCAA crown, but they also topped the Buckeyes 6-3 earlier this month to claim the Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship.
“We called it (the Frozen Four) our ‘revenge tour’ because we wanted to beat Wisconsin for the national championship,” Muzerall told the Journal-Tribune.
This year’s title game matched Ohio State and Wisconsin for the sixth time this season. Ohio State won the first three games in the series, only to have the Badgers come back with consecutive wins late in the campaign.
Muzerall said this year’s championship is a little different from the one captured a couple of years ago.
“Our team in 2022 was kind of green, but this year we were more experienced,” she said. “We had some players this year who had international hockey experience.
“They had a lot of talent, but they had never won a national championship before.”
Muzerall said the victory over Wisconsin (35-6-0) was especially important since the Badgers have a strong women’s hockey legacy.
“Their coach (Mark Einar Johnson) has 20 more years of coaching on me and has won seven NCAA championships,” said Muzerall. “That’s a great legacy and something we’d like to shoot for at Ohio State.”
The victory capped a 35-4-0 season for the Buckeyes.
They carried the No. 1 national ranking for much of the 2023-24 campaign and set a school single-season record for victories.
The NCAA title game revealed just how evenly each team was matched to the other. Both took 26 shots on goal, while OSU won in face-offs, 34-29.
Wisconsin finished the game with 20 blocks, while the Buckeyes tallied 17.
Ohio State’s winning goal came from Joy Dunne with 7:12 remaining in the third period.
“When push came to shove, our players executed the game plan brillliantly,” said Muzerall.
The coach noted the team did not commit any turnovers at crunch time and said the Buckeye players did “the heavy lifting.
“It’s a surreal feeling winning the national championship,” said the Buckeye coach. “We feel humbled and joyous at the same time.
“However, it also feels like we earned this with all of our hard work,” said Muzerall. “We demand excellence from the coaching staff and players and it definitely feels like we earned it.”
Muzerall said winning the 2022 national title was like “getting the monkey off our backs.”
Winning the second, she said, should leave the program hungry to continue to build its own legacy.
College athletic teams change with each ensuing season.
The Buckeyes are losing 10 seniors from this year’s squad, but have 13 who plan to return.
Muzerall said she and the coaching staff will look toward the NCAA transfer portal as a way to fill spots that will be available on the roster.
The portal for women’s hockey began on March 17 and will run through the end of April.
“There are some good players who have entered the portal and a few are interested in Ohio State,” she said.
Muzerall said now is a time to celebrate this year’s championship, but with one stipulation.
She also has to start looking toward the 2024-2025 season.
“It’s like trying to celebrate with this year’s team for winning the national championship, but also with an ear on the phone with a recruit,” said Muzerall.
“We’re getting organized to look at the portal,” she said. “We just won the national championship, so it’s a good time to strike.”
Although the coach will be busy looking ahead to next season, there will still be time for celebration and congratulations.
What’s one thing the Marysville resident would like to do?
“I’d like for us to visit the White House as the national champions,” said Muzerall.