Abby Hustler scored to tie the game in the second period, but a pair of special teams' goals early in the third period was the difference, as No. 1 Ohio State skated to a 5-1 win over the sixth-ranked St. Lawrence University women's hockey team on Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.

With the loss, the Saints fell to 12-5-0 overall, while Ohio State improved to 13-1-0.

With 4:23 remaining in the first period, Joy Dunne broke the 0-0 start after beating Saints' goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordström blocker side for the 1-0 lead.

Despite the one goal lead, Nordström stood strong with a flurry of shots as the period wound down, and after 20 minutes of play, the Buckeyes held a 16-2 advantage in shots on goal.

Much like the first period, there was only one goal in the second, this time off the stick of Hustler on the power play. On an attempt to clear the puck from Ohio State, Nordström sent the puck back to the neutral zone, where it was corralled by Anna Segedi, who sent the puck up to Hustler, who beat Amanda Thiele to tie the game 1-1.

After two periods of play, Ohio State held a 27-5 lead in shots on goal.

Jocelyn Amos broke the tie for the Buckeyes with a short-handed tally, putting Ohio State back in the lead with 18:23 to play in the third.

Special teams remained strong for the Buckeyes, as Aly McLeod was sent to the box for body checking and just 16 seconds into the power play, Jennifer Gardiner sent a high shot past Nordström making it 3-1.

Makenna Webster added on another for the Buckeyes with an odd-angled shot, making it 4-1 and Jenna Buglioni capped the scoring with 50 seconds remaining for the 5-1 final.

"Much better effort today," said head coach Chris Wells. "We played the way we need to play moving forward. Ohio State has plenty of depth and in the end, they found a way in the third. Our special teams had some chances of their own early in the third and we were not able to capitalize unfortunately."
 
Nordström closed out the weekend with 36 saves in game two, while Thiele made eight for the Buckeyes.

"Emma was strong in the net today giving us a chance tied 1-1 after two," Wells added. We didn't win this weekend, but without a doubt we became a better team by playing these games. These two days better prepared us for the rest of the semester and the second half of the season."

Ohio State outshot the Saints 41-9, while both teams finished 1-for-5 on the power play.

St. Lawrence will play their last games of 2023 when they travel to Harvard and Dartmouth next weekend, December 1-2. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday at Harvard and 3 p.m. on Saturday at Dartmouth.