Gophers Knocked Out of WCHA Tournament After Semifinal Loss to Ohio State

Minnesota will look ahead to the NCAA Tournament.

Oct 29, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State University forward Makenna Webster (20) contests the puck with University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy (18) during the second period at Ohio State Ice Rink. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Scheller-The Columbus Dispatch Hockey Osu Women Hockey | Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Gophers women's hockey has been knocked out of the WCHA Tournament after losing 4-0 to two-seed Ohio State in Thursday night's semifinal. Minnesota is now 1-4 against the Buckeyes this season.

Minnesota had a dogfight to get out of the first round, beating six-seed St. Cloud State two games to one at Ridder Arena. Ohio State had a much cleaner 2-0 sweep over seven-seed St. Thomas. Wisconsin and Ohio State have clearly been the top two teams in women's hockey all season, and that's what it looked like on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes struck first seven minutes into the first period, and outshot Minnesota 13-7 in the first 20 minutes. They carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Ohio State began to turn up the heat with another goal in the second period, and 111 more shots on Minnesota's goaltender Hannah Clark.

Minnesota did its best to fight back, but Ohio State added two more goals in the final period, and handed the Gophers a 4-0 loss. The Buckeyes led 33-22 in shots, and Minnesota looked overmatched.

P2 | BUCKEYE GOAL! 🚨

Make that two PPGs for the Buckeyes!

Kaia Malachino goes top shelf to double the lead at 10:58#GoBucks | 📺 @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/yo9tFpG9JY

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) March 6, 2026

Gophers star Abbey Murphy won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy, but she will not be adding a WCHA title to her trophy case this March.

The Gophers will now look ahead to the NCAA Tournament, which begins on March 12. The field will be announced this Sunday. They're currently fourth in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index, and if that holds, they will host a regional final on either March 12 or 13 at Ridder Arena against Northeastern.

Wisconsin won the other semifinal game against Minnesota State 7-2, so the Badgers and Buckeyes will face off in the conference title game on Saturday afternoon, around 2 p.m. CT at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in St. Paul.