Northeastern women’s hockey (29-9-1, 21-2-1 HE) fell 5-0 to the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (36-4, 24-4 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) in its fourth-ever Frozen Four appearance. It was also the team’s second at-large bid in the NCAA tournament in program history.
The semifinal loss capped an otherwise dominant season for the Huskies, where they overcame early low odds, late regular season injuries and a semester without a home rink.
Northeastern started the game with momentum. Five minutes in, Northeastern led in shots on goal 4-1, but struggled to maintain possession. The Buckeyes almost immediately gained the upper hand after a series of nine shots that ended in a goal off the rebound by junior forward Joy Dunne.
“It must have been the first 15 minutes of the game, maybe 10 minutes of the game. I don’t think they expected us to go out as hard as we did,” said captain and senior forward Lily Shannon. “They adjusted and they kind of put their foot on the gas and I don’t think we kind of calibrated with them.”
A body checking penalty issued to sophomore forward Éloïse Caron two minutes later only dug the Huskies further into a hole, as the Buckeyes got away with six shots on the power play. Northeastern — the team with the third-highest penalty kill percentage in the country — killed it off, but the penalty appeared to further deflate the team.
A puck slid between the knee pads of sophomore goaltender Lisa Jönsson to add to Ohio State’s tally. Junior forward Kaia Malachino launched the shot for the Buckeyes’ second goal.
By the end of the first period, the Huskies were without much hope. Two more goals from Ohio State — a shot from the left of the crease by freshman forward Sanni Vanhanen and a goal to the upper corner in the last 0.6 seconds by senior defender Emma Peschel — made the walk to the locker room quiet for the Huskies. Ohio State led shots on goal 20 to eight, and Northeastern’s initial energy had crumbled.
When play restarted for the second period, Ohio State took longer to strike. Northeastern tried to find the crease in what increasingly looked like the final 40 minutes on the ice for Northeastern’s seven seniors. Tensions culminated as shots by Northeastern’s Caron and freshman forward Stryker Zablocki fell just short, prompting scrums. By the end of the second period, shots on goal were 29 to 12, with OSU leading.
Just under three minutes into the third period, senior defender Sara Swiderski sent a rocket from just below the blue line past Jönsson for the Buckeyes’ fifth goal of the game.
It was the final game for seniors Shannon, forward Holly Abela, forward Mia Langlois, defender Jules Constantinople, forward Lily Brazis, fifth-year goaltender Paige Taborski and graduate student forward Jaden Bogden, a group that have been critical for the Huskies this season. Both Constantinople and Shannon are likely to enter the 2026 PWHL draft.
“[Northeastern] grinded through this whole year and exceeded expectations and fought until the end, and not the result we wanted, but still incredibly proud of this group and and all that they’ve achieved. And really proud of especially our seniors. All they’ve given to this program over four years, they’re a special group and they’ll be missed,” head coach Dave Flint said in the post-game press conference.
The team has young goaltenders in Jönsson and freshman Renna Trembecky, and its highest scorers have been underclassmen Zablocki and Caron. While the program will miss the seven graduates, it has a young, strong core that will prove valuable next season.
