# 2011–12 Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey season

The Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team represented Ohio State University in the 2011–12 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season. The Buckeyes attempted to win their first NCAA women's Frozen Four championship. Canadian Natalie Spooner entered her senior season with the Buckeyes. Spooner ranked second in career goals with 69 and was sixth in Buckeyes career points with 113.

## Offseason
### News and notes

* August 5: Seniors Natalie Spooner and Laura McIntosh were invited by Hockey Canada to participate in the National Women's Under-22 training camp from August 7–16 at the Canadian International Hockey Academy in Rockland, Ontario.
* August 24: Minttu Tuominen and former Buckeyes Tessa Bonhomme and Lisa Chesson are competing at the 2011 IIHF 12 Nations Tournament in Finland from August 24-Sept. 4.

### Recruiting

| Player | Nationality | Position | Notes |
| Stacy Danczak | United States | Goaltender | Played with the Ohio Flames |
| Danielle Gagne | Canada | Forward | Gagne competed with the Mississauga Chiefs |
| Taylor Kuehl | United States | Forward | She was a member of the United States Under 18 national team |
| Kari Schmitt | United States | Defense | She competed with Belle Tire in Michigan |
| Sara Schmitt | United States | Defense | She competed with Belle Tire in Michigan |
| Kayla Sullivan | United States | Forward | Played hockey at Shattuck-Saint Mary's |

## Exhibition

| Date | Opponent | Location | Time | Score | Goal scorers |
| 9/23/2011 | Laurier Golden Hawks women's ice hockey | Columbus, OH | 7:07 pm | Ohio State, 3-1 | Kayla Sullivan, Danielle Gagne, Melissa Feste |

## Regular season

* October 14: Laura McIntosh notched her first goal of the season to give the Buckeyes a 2–1 lead. Said goal would stand as the game-winner. In addition, she picked up an assist on a Hokey Langan goal. The assist made McIntosh Ohio State's all-time leader in career points against WCHA opponents. She surpassed Jana Harrigan's 110 league points set in 2006.
* November 25: Natalie Spooner scored four goals for the third time in her NCAA career, including a natural hat trick as the Buckeyes enjoyed a home-ice conference victory over Minnesota Duluth. She scored all four goals as the final score was 4–1 in the Buckeyes favor. It was the second time in the 2011-12 campaign that she scored four goals in a game. The natural hat trick (three consecutive goals) was scored in the second period as the Buckeyes faced a 1–0 deficit against the Bulldogs. The eventual game-winner was scored at 10:56 of the second period. The hat trick was the fifth of her collegiate career. The four goal performance moved Spooner to fourth overall on the Buckeye career points list with 129. Spooner is now four goals away from tying Jeni Creary's Ohio State record of 86 career goals.
* January 27: Three Buckeyes reached milestones in a 6–2 upset of North Dakota. Laura McIntosh finished the game with three assists. Natalie Spooner totaled two goals and Hokey Langan finished with two assists. McIntosh's three helpers moved her into a tie for the all-time lead on Ohio State's all-time career points list. Her 160 career points are now tied with former Buckeye Jana Harrigan. The two goals by Spooner were both on the power-play (increasing her season total to seven). With the goals, Spooner reached the 150 career point plateau, moving her into third all-time in Ohio State history. The two assists from Langan helped her reach the 100-point milestone, only the eighth Buckeyes player to reach the mark.
* February 4: The Buckeyes defeated No. 9 Minnesota Duluth by a 4–3 mark at the AMSOIL Arena. Laura McIntosh broke the Buckeyes all-time scoring record with three points, while Natalie Spooner notched a hat trick for the Buckeyes. Prior to the game, McIntosh was tied with Jana Harrigan with 160 career points. She now is the all-time leaders with 163 points. The hat trick by Spooner was her third of the season (and sixth in her career). Spooner stands third overall in career points with 156.
* February 11: The Buckeyes were defeated by No. 2 Minnesota by a 7–4 mark. Natalie Spooner had a hand in all four Buckeye goals, with two goals and two assists. A pre-game ceremony was held to honour the Buckeyes five seniors: Brittany Carlson, Natalie Spooner, Kelly Wild, Melissa Feste and Laura McIntosh.

### Standings

2011–12 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #1 Wisconsin† | 28 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 72 | 113 | 44 | 37 | 31 | 4 | 2 | 170 | 53 |
| #2 Minnesota* | 28 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 66 | 113 | 43 | 37 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 167 | 50 |
| #6 North Dakota | 28 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 53 | 116 | 75 | 36 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 154 | 89 |
| #9 Minnesota Duluth | 28 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 47 | 91 | 61 | 36 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 121 | 77 |
| Ohio State | 28 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 75 | 96 | 36 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 99 | 115 |
| Bemidji State | 28 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 70 | 73 | 37 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 101 | 85 |
| St. Cloud State | 28 | 4 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 32 | 150 | 36 | 5 | 29 | 2 | 37 | 130 |
| Minnesota State | 28 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 37 | 105 | 36 | 7 | 28 | 1 | 64 | 133 |
| Championship: Minnesota † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion National rankings: Conference rankings: Updated March 23, 2012 ||||||||||||||||

### Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Location | Time | Score |
| 10/07/11 | vs. Bemidji St | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | 4-4 |
| 10/08/11 | vs. Bemidji St | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | 5-3 |
| 10/14/11 | vs. St. Cloud State | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | 5-1 |
| 10/15/11 | vs. St. Cloud State | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | 5-1 |
| 10/21/11 | at North Dakota | Grand Forks, N.D. | 8:07 p.m. ET | 1-11 |
| 10/22/11 | at North Dakota | Grand Forks, N.D. | 8:07 p.m. ET | 1-7 |
| 10/28/11 | at Minnesota State | Mankato, Minn. | 8:07 p.m. ET | 2-1 |
| 10/29/11 | at Minnesota State | Mankato, Minn. | 4:07 p.m. ET | 1-0 |
| 11/04/11 | vs. Wisconsin | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | 1-3 |
| 11/05/11 | vs. Wisconsin | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | 0-2 |
| 11/18/11 | at Syracuse | Syracuse, N.Y. | 7:00 p.m. ET | 6-3 |
| 11/19/11 | at Syracuse | Syracuse, N.Y. | 4:00 p.m. ET | 4-3 |
| 11/25/11 | vs. Minnesota Duluth | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | |
| 11/26/11 | vs. Minnesota Duluth | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | |
| 12/02/11 | vs. Niagara | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | |
| 12/03/11 | vs. Niagara | Columbus, Ohio | 2:07 p.m. ET | |
| 12/10/11 | at Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. | 3:07 p.m. ET | |
| 12/11/11 | at Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. | 3:07 p.m. ET | |
| 12/30/11 | vs. Princeton | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | |
| 12/31/11 | vs. Princeton | Columbus, Ohio | 2:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/06/12 | at St. Cloud State | St. Cloud, Minn. | 8:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/07/12 | at St. Cloud State | St. Cloud, Minn. | 5:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/13/12 | at Bemidji St | Bemidji, Minn. | 8:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/14/12 | at Bemidji St | Bemidji, Minn. | 8:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/20/12 | vs. Minnesota State | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/21/12 | vs. Minnesota State | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/27/12 | vs. North Dakota | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | |
| 01/28/12 | vs. North Dakota | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | |
| 02/03/12 | at Minnesota Duluth | Duluth, Minn. | 8:07 p.m. ET | |
| 02/04/12 | at Minnesota Duluth | Duluth, Minn. | 8:07 p.m. ET | |
| 02/10/12 | vs. Minnesota | Columbus, Ohio | 7:07 p.m. ET | |
| 02/11/12 | vs. Minnesota | Columbus, Ohio | 4:07 p.m. ET | |
| 02/17/12 | at Wisconsin | Madison, Wisc. | 3:07 p.m. ET | |
| 02/18/12 | at Wisconsin | Madison, Wisc. | 3:07 p.m. ET | |

#### Conference record

* WCHA school
* Bemidji State
* Minnesota
* Minnesota State
* Minnesota Duluth
* North Dakota
* St. Cloud State
* Wisconsin

## Awards and honors

* Taylor Kuehl, WCHA Rookie of the Week (Week of November 21, 2011)
* Laura McIntosh, WCHA Player of the Week (Week of October 18, 2011)
* Natalie Spooner, WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week (Week of October 12, 2011)
* Natalie Spooner, WCHA Offensive Player of the Week (Week of November 28, 2011)
* Natalie Spooner, 2011-12 CCM Hockey Women's Division I All-American: Second Team
* Lisa Steffes, WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (Week of November 1, 2011)

## CWHL Draft

* The following were selected in the 2012 CWHL Draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Team |
| 2 | 7 | Natalie Spooner | Toronto Furies |
| 3 | 13 | Laura McIntosh | Brampton Thunder |