St. Cloud State
Minnesota
Huskies’ skid hits six with 3-0 loss at No. 6 Minnesota
11/17/2017 8:52:00 PM | Women's Hockey
St. Cloud State unable to bounce back from nightmare start in third-straight shutout loss
MINNEAPOLIS—A nightmare start proved to be too much for the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (2-11-0, 1-8-0 WCHA) to overcome as it endured a 3-0 loss at the hands of No. 6 Minnesota (10-4-1, 7-3-1) on Friday.
The defeat pushed the Huskies' losing skid to six games and the program's winless streak against the Gophers to 35 games. It also marked SCSU's third-straight shutout setback, eighth in 13 games and fifth in five contests against a nationally ranked opponent this season.
"They showed up ready to compete," head coach Eric Rud said. "We showed up ready to work hard but ready to compete and there is a difference."
Minnesota inflicted of its damage in the game's opening minutes, capitalizing on some puck luck to tally three times in the contest's first five and a half minutes. The Gophers scored on a pair of rebounds and from a net front scramble to build their early three-goal advantage—which proved to be more than enough against a struggling Huskies attack.
"It was a weird blip there. All three goals were odd in different ways," Rud said. "But, the reality is we have to be able to find a way to get one in the net to trim that deficit."
After being blitzed out of the gate, SCSU settled down over the final two stanzas. Though the Huskies were out-shot, 36-14, and out-attempted by a healthy margin, they were able to find their footing and generate some quality chances by working the puck down low in the offensive zone—but none dangerous enough to beat Gophers redshirt senior goaltender Sidney Peters.
"As the game went on, we started competing more around our net and made a few more plays," Rud said. "We played better and better as the game went on."
Injuries have taken their toll on SCSU's forwards over the last couple of weeks, which Rud said has affected their cohesiveness as a unit.
"We have to just keep plugging away," he said. "We're a little disjointed still and you're seeing a little bit of that.
"We still have to find the right mix so we can get a little more chemistry."
After giving up the three goals early, sophomore goaltender Janine Alder bounced back with another strong outing and finished with 33 saves—her fifth 30-plus stop outing of the season.
St. Cloud State wraps up its two-game set against Minnesota on Saturday, November 18. Game time is 4:07 p.m. at Ridder Arena.
The Huskies return to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Wednesday, November 22 to face Bemidji State for "Pack the HBNHC" night. Tickets to that game are just $1 at scsutickets.com or the arena box office on game day. Fans who contribute a non-perishable food item to the team's food drive benefitting Catholic Charities will receive free admission. SCSU students with a valid university ID, youth 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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