Women's Hockey Receives Four Commitments for 2013-14 Season
4/24/2013 4:14:00 PM | Women's Hockey
St. Cloud, Minn. - St. Cloud State University head women's hockey coach Jeff Giesen announced today that four high school seniors have committed to the Huskies' hockey program and will enroll at the University next fall. Kelsey Saelens of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Payge Pena of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Jacquie Audet of Campbell, Calif., and Caroline Markstrom of Kovland, Sweden, will join the Huskies in the fall of 2013.
Kelsey Saelens - Saelens, a 5”6' forward is a member of the Shaftesbury High School Prep hockey team where she had her best season as a senior scoring 26 goals and 29 assists in 62 games played. Saelens finished her high school career posting 123 goals and 107 assists for a total of 230 points in 188 games played. In 2010, she was nominated the Dakota High School hockey Rookie of the Year and Best Sportsmanship awards. Saelens also received the Best Sportsmanship and Most Valuable Player awards in 2011 for Balmoral Hall High School hockey. In 2012, she helped lead the Balmoral Hall Prep hockey team to a second place finish in the JWHL. She played two years with the female U18 Team Manitoba and where they won a bronze and silver medal in those years. She was awarded the Championship MVP at the 2011 Minneapolis Meltdown Tournament as a junior. Saelens was a three-time assistant captain during her high school career. An honor roll student in high school and plans to major in Nursing at St. Cloud State. Kelsey is the daughter of Doug and Wendy Saelens.
“Kelsey is a good skating power forward who will add some strength up front, has the ability to create scoring chances for us and the ability to improve those she plays with,” said head coach Jeff Giesen.
Payge Pena - Pena, a 5”7' right wing is two sport athlete in hockey and soccer where she was the starting goalie her senior soccer season. In the 2012-13 hockey season, Pena played for Okanagan Hockey Academy where she totaled 13 goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances. As a senior she received the Most Valuable Player of the Year award for her soccer team. She also played for GEUSC Metro Soccer for four years. An honor roll student in high school, Pena is undecided on her major but plans to minor in psychology at St. Cloud State. Payge is the daughter of Steve and Shonia Pena.
“Payge is a good skater and has been able to score goals in the highly competitive JWHL. She comes from a very strong program, the Okanagan Hockey Academy, and has great strength as well as a very smart player.”
Jacquie Audet - Audet, a 5'4” goaltender for the Anaheim Lady Ducks 19uAAA. During high school she was a three-sport athlete as she participated in field hockey and track & field in addition to ice hockey. Having never played field hockey before her senior year she made varsity appearing in every game and received All-League Honorable Mention honors. Audet was the first girl to play boys tier II AA ice hockey in Northern California. In her junior year she backstopped the Lady Ducks 19uAAA team to the Pacific District Title with 34 saves in a 2-1 triple overtime win over the Alaska All-Stars. Playing three years of 19u girl's hockey, two of those years she helped her team make it to the National Championships. Audet's season bests are a 2.98 GAA, 91.9 shot percentage, and 457 shots faced. As for her career bests, she had a 3.50 GAA, 89.0 shot percentage, and faced 1,996 shots in 68 games. Off the ice Audet was a member of the Westmont High School Choir and the Jazz Ensemble. She is undecided on a major but plans to minor in music at St. Cloud State. Jacquie is the daughter of Phillip and Sally Audet.
“Jacquie is a solid goaltender who has played on a lot of boys hockey teams. She will add great depth and help push our other goaltenders. She is a very strong athlete who is very competitive.”
Caroline Markstrom - Markstrom, a 5'6” defender for the Sundsvall Wildcats hockey program. At the age of 14 she was selected to play in a tournament for the best hockey players in Sweden that made up four teams all under the age of 18. Markstrom also made it to the “TV-pucken”, which is a tournament for boys in Sweden at which she was the only girl. She played with the Swedish U18 National team for two years. She helped her team make it to the top division in Sweden this past season. In 2012 her team made it to the U18 World Championships where they won the bronze medal. Not only was she a leader on the ice, she was a leader off the rink earning a scholarship for her performance in physical education. Markstrom's career consisted of playing four years in Division I for the Sundsvall Wildcats, one year in Timra, and seven years with a boys-team called Kovland hockey. She plans to majors in mass communications at St. Cloud State. Caroline is the daughter of Patrik Markstrom and Birgitta Roos.
“Caroline is a two-time U18 national team player for Sweden. She is very solid defender who sees the ice well and can move the puck efficiently. Markstrom has played against some very strong competition and should transition to college hockey very well.”
Coach Jeff Giesen says, “these four along with Lauren Hespenheide, who committed to the Huskies earlier this spring will be a strong addition to our hockey program and our University. We are excited about the 2013-2014 season and the opportunities it brings.”
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