Saturday, February 18
Duluth, Minn.
4:07 p.m.
St. Cloud State
9-21-4)(7-18-3WCHA
1
at
4
Minnesota Duluth
22-5-5)(19-5-4WCHA
1
2
3
F
St. Cloud State
0
0
1
1
Minnesota Duluth
1
2
1
4
Photo by: Dave Harwig
St. Cloud State downed by No. 2 UMD, 4-1, in regular season finale
2/18/2017 7:31:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Huskies finish sixth in the WCHA and will return to Duluth for the league playoffs
DULUTH—Conceding four unanswered goals to start the game proved fatal for the St. Cloud State women's hockey team (9-21-4, 7-18-3-2 WCHA) as it dropped its final regular season contest, 4-1, at No. 2 Minnesota Duluth (22-5-5, 19-5-4-1) on Saturday.
Second-ranked UMD scored the game's first four goals, flexing its offensive muscle early for the second-straight night by scoring just under four minutes into the game and tacking on two more in the second and another quickly in the third.
Two of the Bulldogs four goals came on fortunate bounces or deflections in the slot, which is indicative of the Huskies' need to be more cognizant, defensively, of their net-front presence, according to head coach Eric Rud.
"We were too passive around our own net," Rud said. "We have to be stronger on sticks in front of our net. You can't give up easy ones to these good teams."
UMD controlled the puck and hemmed SCSU in its defensive zone for the majority of the contest, which allowed for only 13 shots on goal. While the Huskies did not get many opportunities, they made one stand up as sophomore forward Jordan Stewart wristed home her second of the season, and cut the deficit to three, 4-1, with just over 12 minutes to play.
"When you do get an opportunity against a team like Duluth you have to make it count," Rud said. "(Stewart) jumped right out there and ripped one in. It was a nice pass by (freshman forward Kayla Friesen). It was outstanding."
With the defeat, St. Cloud State concludes the regular season with a 7-18-3-2 record in conference play and a 9-21-4 mark, overall. Thanks to Bemidji State's 3-1 loss to Minnesota State earlier in the day, the Huskies finished sixth place in the WCHA—ensuring a return trip to Duluth next weekend to face the third place Bulldogs in the first round of the conference playoffs.
Bizarrely, it is the third-straight year that SCSU's has faced the same team on the final regular season weekend and the first round of postseason.
The Huskies' sixth place finish, paired with their fifth place finish a season ago, represent the program's highest back-to-back league standings since placing fourth and third, respectively, in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
No. 6 St. Cloud State and No. 3 Minnesota Duluth will open their best-of-three quarterfinals series on Thursday, February 23 at 3:07 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena. Game two is Friday, February 24 at 3:07 p.m. and game three, if necessary, will be Sunday, February 26 at 3:07 p.m.
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Second-ranked UMD scored the game's first four goals, flexing its offensive muscle early for the second-straight night by scoring just under four minutes into the game and tacking on two more in the second and another quickly in the third.
Two of the Bulldogs four goals came on fortunate bounces or deflections in the slot, which is indicative of the Huskies' need to be more cognizant, defensively, of their net-front presence, according to head coach Eric Rud.
"We were too passive around our own net," Rud said. "We have to be stronger on sticks in front of our net. You can't give up easy ones to these good teams."
UMD controlled the puck and hemmed SCSU in its defensive zone for the majority of the contest, which allowed for only 13 shots on goal. While the Huskies did not get many opportunities, they made one stand up as sophomore forward Jordan Stewart wristed home her second of the season, and cut the deficit to three, 4-1, with just over 12 minutes to play.
"When you do get an opportunity against a team like Duluth you have to make it count," Rud said. "(Stewart) jumped right out there and ripped one in. It was a nice pass by (freshman forward Kayla Friesen). It was outstanding."
With the defeat, St. Cloud State concludes the regular season with a 7-18-3-2 record in conference play and a 9-21-4 mark, overall. Thanks to Bemidji State's 3-1 loss to Minnesota State earlier in the day, the Huskies finished sixth place in the WCHA—ensuring a return trip to Duluth next weekend to face the third place Bulldogs in the first round of the conference playoffs.
Bizarrely, it is the third-straight year that SCSU's has faced the same team on the final regular season weekend and the first round of postseason.
The Huskies' sixth place finish, paired with their fifth place finish a season ago, represent the program's highest back-to-back league standings since placing fourth and third, respectively, in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
No. 6 St. Cloud State and No. 3 Minnesota Duluth will open their best-of-three quarterfinals series on Thursday, February 23 at 3:07 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena. Game two is Friday, February 24 at 3:07 p.m. and game three, if necessary, will be Sunday, February 26 at 3:07 p.m.
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Team Stats
SCSU
UMD
Shots
13
37
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
4
Penalty Mins
10
8
Faceoffs Won
15
27
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
+1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
+/-
-2
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
5
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
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