St. Cloud State
2-9-0, 1-6-0WCHA
Bemidji State
4-7-1, 2-5-0
St. Cloud State's inexperience shows in 3-0 loss to Bemidji State
11/10/2017 9:23:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Standout effort from goaltender Janine Alder unable to compensate for Huskies' lack of offense
ST. CLOUD—Sophomore goaltender Janine Alder turned in a season best effort, but the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (2-9-0, 1-6-0 WCHA) was unable to compensate her—failing to put anything together, offensively, in a 3-0 loss to Bemidji State (4-7-1, 2-5-0) on Friday.
The defeat is the Huskies fourth straight in conference play and marks the sixth time they have been shutout this season.
The Beavers monopolized possession of the puck and applied heavy pressure on an SCSU defensive group that included three freshmen. BSU racked up a commanding 51-20 edge in shots on goal—the most the Huskies have conceded to an opponent this season. Despite the advantage, Alder's standout effort kept the game scoreless until just before the second intermission.
The 2014 Swiss Olympian turned away 38 shots in the first two periods en route to finishing with a season high 48.
"She played great tonight," head coach Eric Rud said of Alder. "She absolutely gave us a chance to have success."
Eventually, the Beavers' pressure proved too much, though, as they broke through just four seconds before the second period horn. They tacked on another just under six minutes into the final frame, which proved to be more than enough offense against an SCSU attack that was unable to get anything going.
BSU added an empty netter with just under a minute to play to seal St. Cloud State's fate.
The Huskies looked like the young and inexperienced team they are against Bemidji State. Too many simple passes missed the mark and poor decisions resulted in turnovers, which hampered their ability to string plays together and especially plagued them while going 0-for-4 on the power play.
"We lacked execution in a lot of ways," Rud said. "We were just off a little bit. We had energy but we did not have any urgency."
"We were easy to play against tonight because of our decision making."
The Beavers capitalized on SCSU's dysfunction and hemmed it in its defensive zone for the majority of the contest. BSU managed the puck well and its relentless dump and chase put consistent pressure on the Huskies' young defenders. Alder's stellar play kept Bemidji State at bay, but it was only a matter of time before the Beavers broke through and once they did they did not look back.
"They were all on the same page," Rud said. "We looked like an inexperienced team against an opponent that was pretty dialed in tonight."
Sophomore Kayla Friesen and her line were the most active, offensively, for the Huskies in the loss. Friesen led the team with five shots on goal and her linemate, redshirt sophomore forward Dana Rasmussen, was not far behind with four of her own.
St. Cloud State wraps up its two game set against in-state rival Bemidji State, and looks to avoid a sweep, on Saturday, November 11 at 3:07 p.m. Hockey fans can purchase tickets at scsutickets.com or on game day at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center box office. SCSU students with a valid university ID, youth ages 18 and under and Huskies men's hockey season ticket holders receive free admission to all women's hockey home games.
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