Brawl erupts at end of Minnesota-Ohio State game; suspensions issued

Chaos ensued after the final horn sounded in the women’s college hockey game between No. 3 Minnesota and No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday.

The final faceoff happened with 3.3 seconds left in the Gophers’ 6-3 win, and after the puck was dropped Ohio State’s Jordan Baxter began delivering cross-checks to the back of Minnesota’s Emma Kreisz, who was down on the ice and in a defenseless position.

The cross-checks from Baxter prompted a reaction from Gophers’ sophomore defender Chloe Primerano, but as the officials were cleaning up the original scrum, other incidents exploded on the ice, including multiple Ohio State players throwing Minnesota’s Grace Graham to the ice.

Numerous Gophers rushed to Graham’s defense, including team captain and leading scorer Abby Murphy, who is among the favorites to win the Patty Katzmeier award as the top player in the nation this season.

Video of the brawl clearly showed Buckeyes Jordyn Petrie throwing punches during the brawl.

The WCHA reviewed the incident and suspended Ohio State’s Petrie and Minnesota’s Primerano one game apiece for esclasting the event. Here’s the league’s full statement:

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced today that the league staff has reviewed the events at the end of the Ohio State at Minnesota game yesterday afternoon.  The WCHA does not support fighting and acts of aggression that result in player safety concerns and reflect poorly on our league. In addition to the penalties that have already been assessed, the WCHA has identified that Minnesota’s Chloe Primerano and Ohio State’s Jordyn Petrie escalated the events. They each receive a 1 game suspension and will sit out their next contest.

The Gophers and Ohio State split the weekend series to remain tied for second place behind Wisconsin the WCHA standings. The Badgers, Buckeyes and Gophers are ranked 1-2-3 in the latest USCHO poll, and Minnesota will be in action this weekend against No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth.

The games are at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. Friday’s game starts at 6:02 p.m., while Saturday’s contest starts at 3:02 p.m.