Article by Sam Roering. Photo by Sam Roering.
The St. Cloud State women’s hockey team made history on Friday night, defeating the University of Minnesota in a 4-3 win. In 63 total games played against the Gophers, this was the first ever road win against them in program history. It was also a milestone for head coach Brian Idalski, marking his 50th career win with the team.
The Huskies came out firing on Friday evening, as Sofianna Sundelin scored early in the first on the power play. Shortly after, Emma Gentry added another goal for the Huskies, making it 2-0 after the first. This was Gentry’s 55th career goal, moving her into sole possession of second place on the Huskies all-time goals list.
Minnesota fought back in the second period, with Emma Kreisz getting the Gophers on board a little over a minute into the period. Midway through the third period, the Gophers tied it up on a power play with a goal from Ava Lindsay.
With the game tied at two and four minutes remaining, Sofianna Sundelin got her second goal of the game to put the Huskies back ahead 3-2. The Gophers then pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker and Ella Huber tied it up once more with 1:29 left in the game.
With the game tied 3-3, Ella Anick was the difference maker, sending the Huskies home with a win. She fired from the blue line and the puck found its way into the net to secure the 4-3 win. The following day, the two teams found themselves at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on St. Cloud’s senior night. St. Cloud’s ten seniors were honored after their eventual loss to Minnesota.
Yet again, the Huskies opened the scoring early on. A shot from Emma Gentry gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead, which they held onto through two periods of play.
However, Minnesota broke through early in the third, scoring two unanswered goals to beat the Huskies 2-1. Their goals came from Audrey Wethington and Emma Conner.
The Huskies goaltenders were strong over the weekend. Emilia Kyrkkö made 33 saves in her win against Minnesota on Friday. Then, in Sanni Ahola’s final start at home, she made 37 saves, only allowing two goals.
St. Cloud’s Three Stars of the Weekend
★ Emma Gentry
Gentry scored goals in both games over the weekend, moving up in the all-time goals list for St. Cloud. The fifth-year scored the only goal for the Huskies in their loss on Saturday, her final game at the Herb.
★★ Ella Anick
Anick was the hero on Friday night, scoring the game-winner and picking up an assist as well. She had a +/- of 3 on the weekend, not being on the ice for a single Gophers goal.
★★★ Sofianna Sundelin
Sundelin had a two goal performance on Friday night. Her first goal broke open the scoring and the second came late in the third. It was her second multi-goal game of the season.
Where Things Stand
With UMD’s sweep of Minnesota State over the weekend, the Bulldogs have clinched fourth place and with it, the final home ice spot for the WCHA tournament. This locks the Huskies into fifth place, but it’s unclear where they will travel to. The results of the upcoming week will determine it with UMD Minnesota, and Ohio State all being possibilities.
The most likely scenario is UMD, but with the Bulldogs and Gophers playing each other this weekend, that matchup will hold meaning. If UMD gets 5 of 6 points against the Gophers, the Huskies will play against Minnesota in the tournament, unless the Huskies also sweep Ohio State this weekend, then they’d head back to Ohio State. However in any scenario where UMD gets less than 5 points, the Huskies will play at Duluth.
The Huskies currently sit at No. 11 in the USCHO poll and No. 10 in Pairwise.
Up Next
The Huskies will travel to Columbus to take on The Ohio State University for the last weekend of regular season play. They’ll face off at 5 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Previously in the season, they lost their first game against the Buckeyes in October, but won in a shootout the following day.
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