Huskies rookie goaltender makes third-most saves in program history in loss
By: Ryan Evans
MADISON, Wis.—Freshman goaltender Janine Alder's herculean effort kept the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (6-16-2, 4-13-1-1 WCHA) close, but its offense was unable to compensate her as the Huskies fell to No. 1 Wisconsin (20-2-1, 15-2-1-1), 2-0, on Saturday.
In front of an announced NCAA Div. I women's hockey record crowd of 15,359, SCSU was shutout for the third-straight game and ninth time this season. The Huskies have now gone without a goal in their last 186:25 played—their longest such drought this year.
After being pulled in the second period of Friday night's contest, Alder rebounded with arguably the best outing of her young career. The Badgers pummeled the St. Cloud State goal, racking up 61 shots, but the Zurich, Switzerland, native stood on her head and kept her team in the game. Alder made a career-high 59 saves, including 42 in the first two periods in what was then a one-goal game.
Her save total was the third-most in a single game in program history. Janine Alder
"I have never faced that many shots before," Alder said. "(After Friday) I needed to get back to my game again and I feel like I did that today."
"I tried to give confidence to my team in front of me and they gave me confidence as well."
Unfortunately, the Huskies were unable to break through against Wisconsin's top-ranked defense for the second consecutive game and weren't afforded many opportunities to do so. The Badgers engrossed possession of the puck, with 97 shot attempts to SCSU's 17, which kept the Huskies pinned in their defensive zone throughout the contest.
But SCSU, led by Alder, weathered the storm and trailed by just one, 1-0, after two periods. After how the series opener went, his team's bounce back defensive effort impressed head coach Eric Rud.
"We were hemmed in for most of the game, but our team lifted each other up, kept competing and allowed us to hang in there," Rud said. "Despite the result, I told the team I was proud of how hard they competed and stayed together."
Wisconsin added its second goal just 1:58 into the third period to extinguish the Huskies' comeback hopes. Both of the Badgers' tallies came within the first two minutes of both the second and third periods, which proved to be too much for SCSU to overcome.
St. Cloud State returns to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21 against Minnesota State. Both games begin at 3:07 p.m.
Next Saturday's game against the Mavericks will be broadcast on Fox Sports North Plus as part of Hockey Day Minnesota. It is the first time in the celebration's history that a NCAA Div. I women's hockey game will be included as part of the festivities. Tickets are available at scsutickets.com. SCSU students with a valid university ID and fans under 18 will be admitted free of charge.
