Joy Dunne sent Ohio State's graduating players home with a national title, scoring a third period goal to lift Ohio State to an NCAA women's hockey national championship win.
Joy Dunne sent Ohio State's graduating players home with a national title, scoring a third period goal to lift Ohio State to an NCAA women's hockey national championship win.
DURHAM, New Hampshire -- Rookie of the Year Joy Dunne gave several of her veteran teammates a going away present.
Dunne broke a deadlock 12:48 into the third period, lifting Ohio State to its second NCAA title in three years with a 1-0 win over defending champion Wisconsin, before a crowd of 4,378.
"This team is so much of a family," Dunne said. "I scored the goal, but there was so much in that game. Blocks, great saves. It took a team. It took a village. It took behind the scenes work. It took our Monday practices. It took everything."
After Cayla Barnes stripped the puck from Wisconsin's Britta Curl who was on the verge of a breakaway, the defender carried it up ice and found Hannah Bilka in the right circle. Bilka left a drop pass for Dunne, who rifled it into the far, top corner past goalie Ava McNaughton.
"I'd been working on that shot forever," Dunne said. "Great linemates set me up to take a great shot."
"She's tough to get by," Curl said of Barnes. "They're a quick turnover team and transition well. It just sucks."
The Buckeyes, the top-ranked team for most of the season, iced a team with eight fifth-year graduate students and seven seniors. Among them were Barnes and Bilka, who transfered to Ohio State for their extra "COVID" year after four years at Boston College.
Buckeyes goalie Raygan Kirk made 27 saves for a shutout in the final start of her collegiate career.
"I was having the time of my life out there," Kirk said.
"Kerkie, to get a shutout against one of the best teams in the country at a key moment in her career, just very proud of her," Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall said. "Then you have a freshman just lighting the lamp again and just unbelievable assists by two kids who transferred in, who never won a national championship that really wanted to come to have that opportunity.
"I just feel like I'm at the Oscars, I have to thank everybody."
After an evenly played first period, the teams' offenses began to open up. Wisconsin had two opportunities in the final three minutes of the middle stanza to get on the board.
At 17:40 of the period, Kirsten Simms took advantage of a misplayed puck by Jocelyn Amos behind the net, but Kirk denied the Patty Kazmaier Award finalist.
Just 30 seconds later, fellow Kazmaier finalist Casey O'Brien broke free of the Buckeyes defense on a partial breakaway. Kirk again came up with a pad save to preserve the 0-0 tie.
"I practiced breakways yesterday," Kirk said. "You know it's going to happen. It's just the repetition and being confident in your selection of a save and your read. They're a very skilled team. It can be a momentum change in that game. It could have been a lot different."
The Badgers' best chance in the third came a little more than six minutes in when Laney Potter passed to Lacey Eden at the right side of the net but was unable to connect.
"That's just championship hockey," Curl said. "They blocked shots. They had good sticks. It was tough to make the plays that we so often do."
Ohio State played down a defender for a little more than half the game when Harley Hartmetz left with an injury to her right knee. The graduate student's leg buckled when she got tangled with Curl behind the Ohio State net. That led to the Buckeyes leaning on Barnes even more down the stretch.
"To have the five (defenders) play that intense of a game and intense moment, that's who you want to have the puck on their stick, somebody like Barnes," Muzerall said. "She has such a high IQ and a great vision of the ice and she knows to move it fast and be simple with the plays."
The victory gives Ohio State its second title in school history. The Buckeyes last won in 2022. It also gave the program its 35th win, extending the school record set during its semifinal win over Clarkson on Friday.
Last season, the teams battled in the title game -- also a 1-0 outcome, but in Wisconsin's favor.
"We didn't play in that game last year, but we felt that chip," Dunne said. "We felt that hunger for it because our leadership was so good. Returners and transfers, everyone brought that.
"I just think winning this national championship, we felt that hunger for them, because we wanted it, too. We wanted our seniors and the girls that are done with college to win this national championship for them, with them and everything."
Wisconsin, meanwhile, will return a team of elite underclassmen, including junior Eden, sophomores Simms, Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey and freshmen Cassie Hall, Ava Murphy and Laney Potter.
"I know I'm going to walk out proud of this group," said Curl, a senior. "I told the girls, I'd choose to be in that locker room every time."