St. Cloud State
Minnesota Whitecaps
Players Mentioned
St. Cloud State rallies for 2-1 OT win over Whitecaps
10/14/2017 5:52:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Hallie Theodosopoulos was the overtime hero as Huskies wrapped up their exhibition series
BOX SCORE (PDF)
ST. CLOUD—After falling behind early, sophomore forward Hallie Theodosopoulos and the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (1-3-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) surged back for a 2-1 overtime win over the Minnesota Whitecaps on Saturday to wrap up its two-game exhibition series.
Theodosopoulos found a loose puck in a goal mouth scramble halfway through the extra period to cap the Huskies' comeback. Though it was an exhibition series, head coach Eric Red believes his team gained valuable experience from this weekend's pair of resurgent efforts which will benefit it during its upcoming WCHA campaign.
"You have to find a way to win these games," he said. ""Finding a way to win is part of your team concept and a team skill and this was one of those games."
The Whitecaps jumped out to an early 1-0 lead midway through the first period, which is where the score remained until the third. With 13:13 remaining in regulation, freshman forward Aubrey Pritchett jumped on a rebound to tie the score and set the stage for Theodosopoulos's heroics.
Seeing a pair of new faces like Pritchett and Theodosopoulos contribute early in the season is an encouraging sign for a Huskies team that will need to rely on its depth for offensive production.
"We need to be a team of 12 forwards to have a chance to score every night," Run said. "We're never going to have just one person do all of the damage. We need the kind of depth."
The Huskies utilized the two-game exhibition set to experiment with its lineup ahead of its conference opener against Ohio State. In hopes of finding and developing chemistry, no part of SCSU's assemblage remained constant in the series. Each day featured four distinct forward trios and defensive pairs and all three goaltenders and each of the team's nine freshman saw playing time.
"We said that everyone would get a chance to play through these first seven games and we did that," Rud said. "Now we will start narrowing down our lineup for league play. We were able to get a lot of kids quality ice time through these first seven games."
"Things are still wide open with a lot still to play out," he added of his lineup. "But we are narrowing in more and more. We have a good idea now of what some of these young players can do at this level."
Sophomore goaltender Janine Alder started the contest before being relieved, as planned, midway through the game by freshman Emma Polusny and the two net minders combined to stop 31 of the Whitecaps' 32 shots. Alder finished with 12 saves and Polusny ended with 19.
The Whitecaps' host of SCSU alumnae made their mark in the series in their return to campus. Former Huskies forwards Kalli Funk and Meaghan Pezon combined to set up their team's goal on Saturday and goaltender Julie Friend finished with 20 saves.
St. Cloud State opens its WCHA season next weekend against the Buckeyes. Game time is scheduled for 3:07 p.m. on Friday, October 20 and for 2:37 p.m. on Saturday, October 21 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Hockey fans can purchase tickets for the series at scsutickets.com or on game day at the arena box office. SCSU students with a valid university ID, fans ages 18 and under and men's hockey season ticket holders receive free admission to all women's hockey home games.
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