Insider: Hockey Day Minnesota Comes to St. Cloud State

For the first time in its 10-year history, a NCAA women's hockey game will be featured on Hockey Day Minnesota when the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (6-16-2, 4-13-1 WCHA) meets Minnesota State on Saturday afternoon at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

Fox Sports North Plus will broadcast the game live beginning at 3 p.m. as part of the State of Hockey's annual celebration of the sport. The impact that will have, both on SCSU's program and the women's game as a whole, is not lost on the Huskies and their head coach—Inver Grove Heights native Eric Rud.

"It is really an honor to have our program featured," Rud said. "To have women's hockey be in the spotlight that afternoon is great for our sport and great for our university."

"There will be little girls at a restaurant eating chicken wings with their family who will look up and see women's hockey on the TV," he added. "That is a big deal. That puts our sport in a different light."

But this WCHA series has plenty of short-term implications as well. St. Cloud State and the Mavericks are part of a four-team clump jostling for playoff position and are separated by just four points in the league standings. The seventh place Huskies are just two points behind sixth place Bemidji State and three points back of fifth place Ohio State.

Starting this weekend against Minnesota State, St. Cloud State plays each of the teams currently seeded No. 5-8 before its season ends—meaning it holds its postseason fate in its own hands.

"That is the nice thing," Rud said. "We play all the teams we are competing with for spots. We control our own destiny."

With the season's vital stretch run approaching, SCSU is working to curb its recent offensive skid. It has been shutout in three-straight games, resulting in a season-long 186:25 scoring drought. The Huskies are just three games removed from their finest scoring performance of the season, though. To break their slump, they are working to return to what made them so successful coming out of the break.

"We want to develop offense by possessing the puck and making plays versus throwing it around," Rud said. "We have the potential to be a good low offensive team by generating chances from below the goal line and we are continuing to work on that."

Tickets for St. Cloud State's Hockey Day Minnesota match-up against Minnesota State are on sale now at scsutickets.com. Adult tickets are now just $1 and all kids under 18 will receive free admission. SCSU students with a valid university ID will also be admitted free of charge.

UP NEXT: St. Cloud State (6-16-2, 4-13-1 WCHA) vs. Minnesota State (6-17-2, 3-14-1-0 WCHA) — Friday, January 20, 3:07 p.m.; Saturday, January 21, 3:07 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW:

TV: Fox Sports North (Friday), Fox Sports North Plus (Saturday)
Watch Live
Live Stats
Game Notes (PDF)

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Minnesota State comes into this weekend's series on a three-game losing skid and was swept by North Dakota its last time out. MSU is 3-6-1 in in its last 10 outings, including a 2-1 win over then-No. 3 Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 10, 2016. The Mavericks, with 10 league points, sit just four points behind St. Cloud State in the WCHA standings. They are led by junior forward Lindsey Coleman and sophomore forward Emily Antony, who both boast five goals and 12 points this season. Senior Brianna Quade has started 18 of her team's 25 games in goal—including both against the Huskies earlier this season in Mankato—and has a 2.81 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

ALL-TIME SERIES: St. Cloud State is 35-30-10 (.533) all-time against Minnesota State—its best mark against a WCHA rival. SCSU is unbeaten in nine of its last 10 games against the Mavericks (6-1-3) and has won its last three at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in the series.

This series against Minnesota State is the Huskies' first games an unranked opponent since November 25 and 26 against then-unranked Vermont and Robert Morris at the Windjammer Classic. SCSU is 4-5-1 against unranked opponents, and 3-2-1 against such WCHA opponents, this season.

HOCKEY DAY MINNESOTA: Saturday's game against the Mavericks will be broadcast as part of Hockey Day Minnesota—the State of Hockey's annual celebration of the sport. It is the first time in the event's 10-year history that a NCAA Div. I women's hockey game has been included in the celebration. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North Plus from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center beginning at 3 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: In its last outings, St. Cloud State was swept on the road by No. 1 Wisconsin, 9-0 and 2-0. After allowing six goals on 29 shots and being pulled in the second period of Friday's game, Alder bounced back in a big way with a 59-save outing on Saturday to keep her team in the game. It was the most saves she's made in a game this season and the third-most in a single game in program history.

After being shutout in back-to-back games by the Badgers, the SCSU offense is currently mired in a season-long 186:25 scoring drought. The Huskies have not hit pay dirt since sophomore Hannah Potrykus's goal at the 18:35 mark of the third period in their 7-4 win over then-No. 7 Colgate on January 6. They have been shutout in three-straight games and four of their last five.

KEY NOTES TO CONSIDER:

SWISS SENSATION: Alder continues to impress in her rookie campaign. The Zurich, Switzerland native boasts a 2.49 goals-against average and .925 save percentage, both of which rank second among freshmen net minders, nationally. The latter is tied for 13th among all goaltenders in the country. She has three shutouts on the season and is the first rookie goalie in program history to record multiple clean sheets.
SILKY TYLKE: Tylke leads SCSU with nine goals, eight assists and 17 points this season. The Delafield, Wis., native is tied for 10th in the conference in goals and tied for 14th in points. Tylke, a 2015-16 All-WCHA Rookie Team honoree, is St. Cloud State's top returning scorer, having registered nine goals and 24 points a season ago—the most for an SCSU rookie since the 2006-07 season, when Holly Roberts and Caitlin Hogan scored 35 (18+17) and 29 (12+17) points, respectively.
FANTASTIC FRESHMAN: Freshman forward Kayla Friesen is enjoying a strong rookie campaign. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native has four goals and eight points this season, which are tied for third on the team and tied for seventh and 10th, respectively, in the WCHA among freshman.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: The Huskies continue to push new boundaries, offensively. With just 24 games played, 11 players have already established new career highs in one or more of goals, assists and points in a single season.
OFFENSE IS THE BEST DEFENSE: The SCSU blue line has stepped up, offensively, recently with two goals and 14 points, collectively, in its last 13 games. A defender has had a hand in 11 of the team's last 24 goals. Leading the way are senior defender Caroline Markstrom, who has two goals and four points and junior Brittany Anderson, who has four assists in 10 games since returning from injury on November 18 at Bemidji State.
MAGNIFICENT MARKSTROM: Markstrom is enjoying a career year in her final season. The Kovland, Sweden native's two goals, two assists and four points are all single-season career highs. Her two markers lead all team blue liners.
CLASS of 2021: Eight players have signed National Letters of Intent to play for this Huskies this fall: forwards Emma Bigham (Minnetonka, Minn.), Laura Kluge (Berlin, Germany), Aubrey Pritchett (Orange, Calif.) and Megan Roe (Woodhaven, Mich.); defensemen Hannah Bates (Trenton, Mich.), Tatum Coats (Lakewood, Calif.) and Kenzie Wylie (Ham Lake, Minn.); and goaltender Emma Polusny (Mound, Minn.).