Article by Sam Roering. Photo by Sam Roering.
This weekend, the St. Cloud State women’s hockey team is heading to a rink they haven’t had much success in. The Huskies will face off against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at Amsoil Arena for the first round of the WCHA tournament.
“We know we can beat this team. They’re a tough gritty team, but so are we,” Huskies captain, Emma Gentry said.
Per Gentry, the key to this weekend is taking it one shift at a time, and remembering to have fun throughout the process.
This is the third season in a row that the Huskies are playing the Bulldogs in the first round. They’ve been St. Cloud’s WCHA tournament opponent in every season of the Brian Idalski era. The past two years haven’t ended in the favor of the Huskies, but this year feels different.
“In previous years, I felt like we peaked earlier in the year. This group feels different in that regard. We’re playing really good hockey right now and some of our best hockey of the whole year. That’s what you want when you’re finishing off the season and heading into playoffs,” Idalski explained.
Recent weeks of play can confirm what Idalski said. Two weeks ago they split a series with the University of Minnesota, in their first ever road win against the Gophers. Then, despite the result ending in being swept last weekend, they played resiliently against Ohio State, coming back from early deficits each game.
Yet, in a season where they’ve taken points from every team in the WCHA, the Huskies have not been able to overcome the Bulldogs. They’re 0-3-1 against Duluth on the season, including a series in January where they were shutout all weekend at Amsoil.
It could be discouraging to have to face a team you haven’t won against in the first round, but for the Huskies it only motivates them even more.
“Brian was talking to us in the locker room about how people have been asking him who we want to play. Duluth is who we want to play because we haven’t beat them yet. Our playoff streak isn’t great against them so to come out on top would be really good,” Gentry said.
In terms of the national tournament, the Huskies are on the outside looking in, ranked No. 11 in PairWise. Wins against Duluth would be huge for their case.
“To have the opportunity to earn a NCAA bid is pretty big. It’s something we’ve talked about frequently since I’ve arrived,” Idalski said.
Despite their history against Duluth, the Huskies aren’t relying on a miracle. Their fate is in their hands and they believe they have what it takes to win.
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