Article by Samantha Roering. Photo by Samantha Roering.
From a small town in northern Michigan, Emma Gentry, one of St. Cloud’s women’s hockey captains, loves spending her free time outdoors, often enjoying a lake day with her family.
Gentry credits her family, especially her dad, for inspiring her love of hockey. He was – and still is – her hockey hero.
As a young child, she was looking through photos when she came across one of her dad playing hockey. She said that she wanted to be just like him, and the rest was history. Every day, she would eagerly wait for him to come home from work so they could shoot pucks together in the garage.
Those early memories played a key role in shaping her into the hockey player she is today – a World Junior gold medalist and a captain of a collegiate team.
Gentry chose St. Cloud State for her college hockey career because the atmosphere reminded her of Michigan.
“Coming to campus and visiting reminded me of being at home. I knew that it was where I wanted to be,” Gentry said.
Her time as a Husky has been unforgettable, highlighted by her favorite memory – a win over Wisconsin at the Fill the Bowl game. Throughout her time at SCSU, her name has frequently appeared in the WCHA’s weekly honors, and as the program gains national recognition, so does she.
It wasn’t always like this. During Gentry’s first two years at SCSU, the team struggled, with a 15-35-4 record. The turning point came in her junior year when Brian Idalski was brought in as head coach. Since then, the team has gone 42-38-7, breaking several program records in the process.
The growth of the team is clear. The Huskies currently sit at No. 9 in the USCHO polls, having spent most of last season in the top ten as well. Yet, a frustrating finish to the season kept them out of the NCAA tournament once again.
For Gentry and the Huskies, making the tournament is the next step. They’ve come close under Idalski’s leadership, but haven’t quite broken through. Gentry thinks the key to getting there this year lies in winning the small puck battles – and most importantly, in believing in themselves.
“We get so many shots every game, and we just need to finish in those areas. I think it’s just believing that we are a good team,” Gentry said.
The growth of the program parallels the growth of women’s hockey as a whole. The emergence of PWHL has gotten more eyes on the sport, with record attendances being set over the past year.
It also presents athletes like Gentry the opportunity to continue their hockey careers after college. Each practice and every rep now carries extra motivation, as she sets her sights on trying to make the PWHL.
Gentry takes these aspirations back to Michigan with her, using it to inspire young girls at the rink. She takes pride in telling them that there’s a bright future ahead for women’s hockey.
“The growth is amazing, and being able to be a role model for those little girls is what makes me most proud,” she said.
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