If I were to say that Bemidji State and Ohio State combined for 20 game Disqualifications and 318 penalty minutes you would think it was an out of control game that featured many line brawl. Well think again. The Buckeye and Beaver women’s hockey teams combined for 302 of 318 penalty minutes after the final horn sounded as the teams had a bench-clearing brawl. According to Deadspin, total penalty minutes shatters the old mark of 268, set by the Boston University and Maine men’s teams in 2004.
“What happened at the end of the game doesn’t happen often in women’s hockey”- Ohio State head coach Nate Handrahan
The video can be seen below, which appeared to start when Ohio State forward Julia McKinnon punched a player at :13. The camera pans away from the site of the fight against the boards at the puck squirted back towards center ice. Next thing you see is players from both sides emptying the benches racing towards the other side of the rink. After it was all said and done, nine Bemidji State and 11 Ohio State players were handed five-minute fighting and 10-minute disqualification penalties. The final damage in regards to penalty minutes was 23 penalties for 145 penalty minutes for Bemidji State while Ohio State racked up 173 penalty minutes on 26 infractions. In college hockey players who fight are automatically disqualified for the remainder of that game and the next game to be played.
Because the fight happened at the end of Friday night’s game (which ended up being a 3-2 Bemidji State victory), the two teams fielded lineups similar to an adult beer league as both teams had five skaters on the bench. Saturday’s game resulted in a 2-2 tie with Bemidji State winning 1-0 in the shootout despite Ohio State firing 52 shots on Beavers goalie Brittni Mowat. If you want to view the box score from Friday, visit College Hockey Stats. They also have Saturday’s box score.
