St. Cloud State overwhelmed by Vermont, 5-1

Friday, November 25

Burlington, Vt.

3:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

4-9-1, 3-7-1-1WCHA

Vermont

4-5-4, 2-2-3WHEA

St. Cloud State

Vermont

Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane

11/25/2016 5:51:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies will play in the Windjammer Classic consolation game on Saturday

BURLINGTON, Vt.—A slow start gave way to a decisive second period as the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (5-9-1, 4-7-1-1 WCHA) fell to Vermont (4-5-4, 2-2-3 Hockey East), 5-1, in the opening game of the Windjammer Classic on Friday.

The loss is the Huskies' first in five all-time meetings against the Catamounts. SCSU was 4-0-0 in the previous four.

From the get-go, UVM's aggressive forecheck hemmed SCSU into its defensive zone. Vermont enjoyed the majority of possession through 40 minutes, out-attempting the Huskies, 18-11, in the first period and, 12-8, in the second.

"We were much too passive," head coach Eric Rud said. "We were sitting back and waiting to see what was going to happen."

St. Cloud State escaped the opening frame scoreless, but Husky special teams breakdowns opened the floodgates for the Catamounts in the second. Vermont tallied three times, including both on the power play and shorthanded, to carry a three-goal lead, 3-0, into the third that proved to be insurmountable.

After two "average" periods to start the game, according to Rud, the Huskies seemed to find their feet in the final stanza, out-attempting Vermont, 15-11. After UVM stretched its lead to 4-0, SCSU was rewarded with sophomore forward Julia Tylke's team-leading eighth goal of the season late in the third before the Catamounts added an empty-netter to seal it.

"We definitely competed harder in the third," Rud said. "It's encouraging, but it's also a bit disappointing that we didn't play that way in the first two periods."

"I think we thought we were competing pretty hard in the first two periods, but after the way we played in the third, we realized that we weren't."

Tylke was the Huskies' most dangerous player in the defeat, charting a team-high seven shots on goal—which was 41 percent of the team's total and five more than the next closest player.

With the loss, St. Cloud State will play in the Windjammer Classic consolation game against either No. 5 Clarkson or Robert Morris on Saturday, November 26 at 3 p.m. (CT). Fans can watch the game live on CatamounTV.com.

###