Columbus, Ohio. --- Minnesota State women's hockey saw its 2017-18 season come to an end with a 5-2 loss at No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at OSU Ice Rink. The Mavericks lost the first two games of a best-of-three series Western Collegiate Hockey Association Quarterfinal series to be eliminated from the WCHA Playoffs.  
 
Minnesota State (5-28-1) fell behind Ohio State (23-9-4) 2-0 in the first period. Maddy Field got Ohio State on the scoreboard at the 6:06 mark and Emma Maltais doubled the Buckeye lead at 18:55. 
 
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 3-0 when Tatum Skaggs scored at 17:21 of the second period, but junior forward Jordan McLaughlin answered with a goal – her team leading ninth of the season – for the Mavericks at 19:58 to make the score 3-1 going into the second intermission. Sophomore goaltender Chloe Crosby (4-13-1) tallied her first career assist and point on the play. 
 
In the third period, Field scored her second of the game to put the Buckeyes up 4-1 at the 6:07 mark. Just over 10 minutes later, sophomore forward Demi Gardner answered for the Mavericks – deflecting in a shot by senior Anna Keys for her third goal of the season to make the score 4-2 at 16:20 of the period. Keys and junior forward Corbin Boyd were credited with the assists. However, the Mavericks would not get any closer and the Buckeyes scored an empty-net goal (Crosby was pulled for an extra skater) when Skaggs fired a puck that deflected off a Maverick stick and into the net at 19:07.   
 
Crosby made 26 saves in net for the Mavericks, including 12 in the second period, while Amanda Zeglen (5-1-0) stopped 29 shots for the Buckeyes. 
 
Neither team converted on the power play – the Mavericks went 0-of-4 and the Buckeyes went 0-of-2.
 
Shots on goal were 31-31.  

Listen to head coach John Harrington's postgame comments below.