Minnesota defeated Ohio State 8-0 on Saturday at Ridder Arena. Gophers goalie Noora Räty picked up her 83rd career win, tying her with Jody Horak for the most in school history.

In a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings, head coach Brad Frost said Minnesota’s skill proved to be the difference in the game. Minnesota (8-0-0) has now won 23 straight games against the Buckeyes, a span stretching five years.

Kelly Terry opened the scoring for Minnesota early in the first period. With a delayed penalty against Ohio State called, the Gophers kept possession of the puck for nearly a minute until the junior found the back of the net.

Terry said the Buckeyes got off to a good start and were able to get a lot of shots on goal early.

After she scored, the momentum shifted to Minnesota and the team was able to get pucks deep and win battles on the ice.

Minnesota added two more goals in the period from senior Becky Kortum and freshman Maryanne Menefee.

In the second, the Gophers added three more goals — two by junior Amanda Kessel and one by sophomore Rachael Bona. Kessel finished with a hat trick and now has 12 goals this season.

Ohio State had three more shots on goal — 20 — than it did in Friday’s 7-2 loss. But Räty stopped all of them.

The Gophers had 40 shots on goal. They continued their success on power play chances, scoring in the third period. The team has now scored at least one power play goal in each of its eight games this season.

Räty said she didn’t focus on the record before or during the game because she has lost her focus in previous games where the Gophers have scored multiple goals early.

“My focus this year is to play a whole 60 minutes,” she said.

In the locker room with her teammates after the game, Räty said the record belongs to everyone she has played with during her four years.

“The thing is I can’t score goals,” she said. “It’s not just my record.”

Next weekend the team will travel to North Dakota for a weekend series. Frost said he expects another tough test from UND.