Jenna Buglioni wants to throw her gloves and stick in the air in celebration as a Buckeye one last time.
The 23-year-old from Port Moody, B.C., leads defending champion Ohio State into the women's Frozen Four seeking a hockey championship repeat and a third title in four years.
In her fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility, Buglioni has never known a season without a Frozen Four appearance.
"When we get some transfers in and we talk to them about their experience, some of those girls have never been to a Frozen Four before," the Buckeyes' captain said. "You kind of put it into perspective of how hard it is to get here and how much work it takes not only to be here, but to win it all.
"We've earned this opportunity, but it's been an amazing ride so far. My five years, this being the fifth Frozen Four, before that, Ohio State was trying to get on the map. Very glad that I'm here for one last kick at the can."
There's a hockey busload of Canadian content in Friday's semifinals at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
Second-seed Ohio State, with seven Canadians on the roster and Nadine Muzerall of Mississauga, Ont., behind the bench, faces third seed Cornell with 16 Canadians in the Big Red lineup coached by Doug Derraugh of Arnprior, Ont.
A combined seven Canadian players are involved on the other side of the bracket where top-ranked Wisconsin meets host and fourth seed Minnesota coached by Brad Frost of Burlington, Ont., and featuring Golden Gophers defender Chloe Primerano of North Vancouver, B.C.
Buglioni, who led the NCAA with seven game-winning goals this season, hopes her final season goes the distance to Sunday's championship game and that she can celebrate with her teammates again.
"Every time I think back to the championships we've won, I can just think about the people we did it with and to do that again and end my OSU career with a win would be something super-special," she said.
"Not a lot of people get to say they've ended their college career on a win."
Muzerall, Frost and Wisconsin Badgers coach Mark Johnson are the three finalists for coach of the year.
In nine years at Ohio State, the 46-year-old Muzerall has built the Buckeyes into a regular contender.
They won their first championship in 2022, reached the final in 2023 and reclaimed the title last year with a 1-0 win over Wisconsin in Durham, N.H.
"It's the culture and family she's created here. Lots of people want to come and be Buckeyes and that shows through our recruiting of freshmen and through the recruiting of transfers that we've got in the past couple years," Buglioni said.
"She's definitely very tough on us and has very high expectations, but she believes that we can do things that we don't even believe ourselves. Having that female role model of someone who's tough and blue collar and believes that we can do anything we set our mind to, really helps our program grow and just be tough competitors."
Buglioni is among veterans who set a high standard for incoming Buckeyes, said second-year forward Jocelyn Amos, who captained Canada's under-18 team to world championship gold in both 2022 and 2023.
"Every team is different year to year," said the 20-year-old from Ailsa Craig, Ont. "You get a different group of girls, and then it's just creating such a strong culture, but I think it's the work we put in throughout the whole season, and what the girls before us have done, the legacy they've left, they set the bar high, and you just want to come in and raise the bar even higher.
"This was only my second season, but you come in right away and know the expectation. Even if you have success one year, you want to set the bar higher the next year. You never want to settle and that's something that's been instilled in the program."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
