Friday, December 2
St. Cloud, Minn.
7:07 p.m.
St. Cloud State
5-11-1, 4-8-1-1WCHA
0
vs
3
Minnesota Duluth
11-3-3, 8-3-2WCHA
1
2
3
F
Minnesota Duluth
0
2
1
3
St. Cloud State
0
0
0
0
Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane
St. Cloud State shutout by No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, 3-0
12/2/2016 9:50:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Huskies unable to break through the Bulldogs defense, capitalize on the power play
ST. CLOUD—The St. Cloud State women's hockey team (5-11-1, 4-8-1-1 WCHA) hung tough, but No. 4 Minnesota Duluth's (11-3-3, 8-3-2) experienced defensive core lived up to its billing and kept the Huskies at bay in a 3-0 shutout loss on Friday.
It is the fifth time SCSU has been held off the scoreboard this season.
St. Cloud State was not over-matched by the nation's fourth-ranked team, but was unable to break through the Bulldogs' rigid blue line. UMD's defenders limited the threat level on sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney, blocking 11 shots and holding the Huskies to just 15 low-quality chances on goal.
"You can argue they have the best defensive core in the league, top to bottom," head coach Eric Rud said. "They are mobile, smart and move the puck well. That is an elite group."
Minnesota Duluth inflicted all the damage it needed in a 3:43 span in the second period by capitalizing on a pair of SCSU defensive miscues. UMD senior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk opened the scoring ahead of a one-timer by junior forward Maria Lindh off of a faceoff play that staked their team to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
"We played well, but against one of the top teams in the country a couple moments can hurt you and that was the case tonight," Rud said. "We did a lot of good things, defensively, but we are at the point in the season where we can't have two major malfunctions near our net."
Against a team like the Bulldogs, taking advantage of the scant opportunities they provide you is imperative, especially on the power play. SCSU was granted three chances with the man advantage against the WCHA's last-ranked penalty kill (77.4 percent), but failed to find the back of the net.
"It is so hard to score 5-on-5 that you have to find a way to score on the power play," Rud said. "Our power play didn't help us. In fact, it hurt us because the execution was so poor."
Still, the Huskies were within striking distance with one period to play and enjoyed their best stretch of play in the final frame, out-shooting UMD, 6-5. But the effort fell short and Bulldogs senior forward Demi Crossman sealed SCSU's fate with an empty-netter with 51 seconds to play.
Freshman goaltender Janine Alder made her 11th-straight start and turned away 19 shots in the loss.
St. Cloud State closes out its two-game home set against No. 4 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, December 3 at 3:07 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. SCSU students with a valid student ID will receive free admission to the game.
###
It is the fifth time SCSU has been held off the scoreboard this season.
St. Cloud State was not over-matched by the nation's fourth-ranked team, but was unable to break through the Bulldogs' rigid blue line. UMD's defenders limited the threat level on sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney, blocking 11 shots and holding the Huskies to just 15 low-quality chances on goal.
"You can argue they have the best defensive core in the league, top to bottom," head coach Eric Rud said. "They are mobile, smart and move the puck well. That is an elite group."
Minnesota Duluth inflicted all the damage it needed in a 3:43 span in the second period by capitalizing on a pair of SCSU defensive miscues. UMD senior forward Ashleigh Brykaliuk opened the scoring ahead of a one-timer by junior forward Maria Lindh off of a faceoff play that staked their team to a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
"We played well, but against one of the top teams in the country a couple moments can hurt you and that was the case tonight," Rud said. "We did a lot of good things, defensively, but we are at the point in the season where we can't have two major malfunctions near our net."
Against a team like the Bulldogs, taking advantage of the scant opportunities they provide you is imperative, especially on the power play. SCSU was granted three chances with the man advantage against the WCHA's last-ranked penalty kill (77.4 percent), but failed to find the back of the net.
"It is so hard to score 5-on-5 that you have to find a way to score on the power play," Rud said. "Our power play didn't help us. In fact, it hurt us because the execution was so poor."
Still, the Huskies were within striking distance with one period to play and enjoyed their best stretch of play in the final frame, out-shooting UMD, 6-5. But the effort fell short and Bulldogs senior forward Demi Crossman sealed SCSU's fate with an empty-netter with 51 seconds to play.
Freshman goaltender Janine Alder made her 11th-straight start and turned away 19 shots in the loss.
St. Cloud State closes out its two-game home set against No. 4 Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, December 3 at 3:07 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. SCSU students with a valid student ID will receive free admission to the game.
###
Team Stats
UMD
SCSU
Shots
22
15
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
2
Penalty Mins
6
4
Faceoffs Won
18
11
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's HockeyCoach Mira Jalosuo Introductory Press Conference - Women's Hockey
Monday, July 21
Women's Hockey Postgame Press Conference 1-31-25
Saturday, February 01
St. Cloud State Women's Hockey Postgame Press Conference 1-18-25
Sunday, January 19
SCSU Women's Hockey Postgame Press Conference 1-17-25
Saturday, January 18
