Freshman netminder records 24
saves en route to shutout in first career start
Sometimes, one goal is all it takes.
This was the case for the Ohio State women's hockey team as they
defeated New Hampshire 1-0 in front of a great crowd at the OSU Ice
Rink Friday night.
The big question of the night was exactly who was going to start
between the pipes for the Buckeyes?
With three viable candidates, Nate Handrahan decided to give the
start to Whitby, Ontario native, freshman Kassidy Sauve.
She took her opportunity, and boy did she ever run with it.
Along with tremendous help from her defense, Sauve put up a brick
wall, stopping all 24 shots that she faced. Her head coach was more
than impressed with her.
“I think Kass is a competitor first and foremost,” Handrahan
said. “She's got great technical skills as a goaltender but I think
her primary characteristic that attracted us as a coaching staff to
her, is her competitiveness. She's been in big situations before,
she's been on the international stage. So the first game of a college
career I don't think was that overwhelming to her and it showed.”
The shutout win wouldn't have been obtained had it not been for a
goal, of course.
Just over five minutes into the second period, the line of Claudia
Kepler, Julia McKinnon, and Kendall Curtis, who dominated all night
long, went to work.
“A primary characteristic of her (Kepler) is she's got a great
stick and takeaways are a big stat for her because if she's doing
that, she's creating an opportunity to use a shot that is unlike many
players. She can shoot the puck real well.”
Causing havoc and pressure in the Wildcat zone, Kendall Curtis found
herself with the puck just inside the right hand circle near the slot
area. Curtis pumped a shot on net, and the rebound was sitting pretty
for Claudia Kepler, who finessed the puck between the legs of junior
Vilma Vaattovaara.
Vaattovara, who had a impressive showing as well, made 24 saves on 25
shots.
Ohio State, who had a rough first half last season, is looking to get
off to a better start this year, and tonight was a great starting
point.
“It's huge,” said senior Kayla Sullivan. “We learned a lot from
that first half. We learned about the character of our team. It was a
learning lesson and to be able to know what to do this first half of
the season in terms of good leadership and coming together as a team.
We're a cohesive unit that's working well together right now. You can
feel the energy in the locker room and while we're on the bench and
it's translating on the ice. I think it's early on in the season but
we're comfortable working with each other already.”
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