Senior goaltender Raygan Kirk discusses her national championship shutout at the Frozen Four press conference on Sunday in Durham, New Hampshire. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
In May 2021, Raygan Kirk needed to find a new home.
Her team at Robert Morris University had just dissolved its women’s and men’s ice hockey programs to cut costs. Three years later, after landing at Ohio State, the senior goaltender recorded a shutout in her final collegiate game to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 national championship victory on Sunday in Durham, New Hampshire.
“Freshman year, I don’t think I would believe that I would be sitting here today,” Kirk said.
Even after finding her home with the Buckeyes, Kirk’s road to becoming the Frozen Four’s Most Outstanding Player was long and bumpy. Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall said she was happy to add Kirk to her roster in 2021 but could not guarantee her playing time.
“When we were recruiting her, we knew of her value and how great she was,” Muzerall said. “She was very interested in us, and I had to be real with her and say, ‘Hey, we have two goalies that fight for No. 1 right now. You’d be coming in as three or four, and if you want that position, it’s fine, but you’re going to have to work for the No. 1 spot.’ She’s done that so well over the past couple of years, and to win a title with a shoutout just shows her character and commitment to persevere.”
In her first season with Ohio State, Kirk made three appearances and allowed four goals, saving 85.7% of the shots she faced.
Kirk sat behind Amanda Thiele — who made 22 appearances, including Ohio State’s first national championship win against Minnesota Duluth — and Andrea Braendli, who played 11 games.
The next two seasons, after Braendli’s graduation and transfer to Boston University, Kirk split time in net with Thiele. Kirk and Thiele both earned Western Collegiate Hockey Association Goaltender of the Week honors multiple times while sharing the crease, but only one could start in the postseason.
In 2022-23, Thiele got the nod after posting a lower goals-against average and a higher save percentage. This season, it was Kirk, after the senior goaltender earned All-WCHA second-team honors with six regular-season shutouts.
“It was really tough,” Muzerall said during the WCHA tournament quarterfinals on March 2. “We have four goaltenders, and there’s tough competition, especially between Thiele and Kirk,…
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