Article by Sam Roering. Photo by Sam Roering.
The St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey team earned four out of six possible points in their series against Minnesota State over the weekend. They came away with a 3-1 win on Friday before ending in a 2-2 tie on Saturday.
The Huskies came out strong on Friday, with Emma Gentry scoring less than four minutes into the game to give St. Cloud an early lead. She skated coast-to-coast off of a Mavericks turnover and then beat Hailey Hansen in net to make it 1-0. The Huskies carried their lead into the second but Alexis Paddington tied it at 1-1 on a power play for the Mavericks.
St. Cloud reclaimed their lead in the third period as sophomore Marie Moran scored her second career goal to make it 2-1. Shortly after, Alice Sauriol extended the lead for the Huskies, scoring on a backhander to make it a 3-1 final. Emilia Kyrkkö was solid in net, stopping 15 of 16 shots, helping get the Huskies a win.
Saturday’s game saw another early lead for the Huskies. Eight minutes in, Sofianna Sundelin scored the opening goal, tapping in her own rebound. Claire Vekich responded later on in the first for the Mavericks to tie the game 1-1. Early in the second, Minnesota State took their first lead of the weekend, a goal from Bella Shipley making it 2-1.
The Huskies had a response in the third period. A shot from Emma Gentry was tipped in by Avery Farrell to tie the game at 2-2. The last ten minutes of regulation were scoreless, sending the teams to overtime which also passed by without a goal. This ended the game officially as a tie, but the game went to a shootout for the final WCHA point.
The shootout went to five rounds with Minnesota State ultimately winning. They got shootout goals from JuliAnna Gazdik and Taylor Otremba. St. Cloud’s lone shootout goal came from Siiri Yrjölä. Sanni Ahola was in net, making 27 saves, keeping the Huskies in the game through regulation and overtime.
St. Cloud’s Three Stars of the Weekend
★ Emma Gentry
Gentry had the opening goal for the Huskies on Friday and assisted on Saturday’s game tying goal. Friday’s goal tied her in second for all-time career goals by a Husky with 54.
★★ Marie Moran
Moran scored her second goal of her collegiate career with her game-winner on Friday. It was her first game-winning goal as a Husky.
★★★ Emilia Kyrkkö
Kyrkkö didn’t give up an even-strength goal in her matchup against the Mavericks. The only goal she gave up was on Minnesota State’s power play. She ended up with 15 saves on 16 shots, securing the win for St. Cloud.
Where Things Stand
A lot happened in and out of the WCHA over the weekend. Wisconsin clinched the regular season WCHA championship after sweeping Minnesota. Both Minnesota and Ohio State clinched first round home ice after St. Thomas and Minnesota State were mathematically eliminated with losses this weekend. St. Thomas lost to Ohio State in both games over the weekend, but not before taking a point from them and sending it to overtime.
With one home ice spot left, Minnesota Duluth seems closer to clinching after a sweep of Bemidji State. St. Cloud State trails Minnesota Duluth in the standings by nine points for that final spot.
There were other scores worth noting in terms of Pair Wise rankings as St. Cloud sits at 11.
Quinnipiac, at 9, lost to both Clarkson (10) and St. Lawrence (7). The Huskies also entered the weekend ranked 11th in the USCHO poll and USA Hockey’s poll.
Up Next
The Huskies will face the University of Minnesota in a home-and-home series. The weekend will start at the Ridder on Friday evening before the Huskies host their final home game of the season on Saturday afternoon.
When the teams last met in November, the Huskies dropped game one 2-5 at the Ridder, an arena they have never won in. They rebounded the next day with a 3-1 win on home ice. Puck drop for this weekend’s series is at 6 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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