Women's Hockey to play home-and-home series against WCHA rival, Minnesota Gophers

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - The St. Cloud State women's hockey team is back at home, slated to play WCHA rival University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center Saturday, November 17 at 2:07 p.m. The Huskies will then travel down I-94 on Sunday to play the Gophers at Ridder Arena, capping off the season home-and-home series matchup. Puck drop in Minneapolis is at 2:07 p.m.

SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota comes off of a bye week in WCHA play. Previously the Gophers swept the Bemidji State Beavers November 2 (a 6-3 win) and 3 (a 2-1 win). Minnesota's point leaders this season are Nicole Schammel (3g-11a), Grace Zumwinkle (6g-6a), and Patti Marshall (1g-7a).

ALL-TIME SERIES: Minnesota has an all-time leading record of 84-3-3 against St. Cloud State. Last month the Gophers swept a weekend series 6-2 and 4-1 over the Huskies in a couple of home-and-home games.

LAST WEEK: The SCSU Huskies tied and lost in their two-game series against the Lindenwood Lions on the road. The Huskies tied 2-2 on Friday and lost 1-2 in overtime on Saturday. Senior Julia Tylke scored one of SCSU's goals on the weekend and now has 15 points this season (6g-9a) and 75 points (37g-38a) in her collegiate career. Tylke ranks third among all WCHA point scorers. Other goal scorers from the weekend were Emma Bigham on Friday and Hannah Potrykus on Saturday. SCSU totaled 59 SOG in the series and the Huskies' goaltender Janine Alder made 72 saves in the weekend. St. Cloud went 0-7 on the power play and 6-0 on the penalty kill.
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SHOT BLOCKERS: St. Cloud State ranks second in the nation for team saves with 508 this season. Goaltenders Emma Polusny (So.) and Janine Alder (Jr.) have split most of their time on the ice this season. Polusny is 3-2-0 and Alder is 1-7-1 on the season. Of note, Polusny had a career-high 48 save game on Saturday, Oct. 27.

POLUSNY TO TEAM USA: SCSU sophomore goaltender Emma Polusny was selected to the U.S. Women's National Team and will travel to play in the Four Nations Cup Nov. 6-10 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Polusny has an 9-12-3 record in her two seasons at SCSU with a .932 SV% and 2.36 GAA. She is one of seven current WCHA players that filled the Team USA roster. Polusny will be returning to the Huskies with a gold medal after Team USA defeated Canada 5-2 in the championship game. Polusny was in net for USA in the prelim game vs. Sweden. She made 19 saves on 20 shots in her first career start with the U.S. Women's National Team and Team USA won the game 5-1.

FINNISH FRESHMAN: Freshman forward Jenniina Nylund continues to be the Huskies' top scoring newcomer. The Finn has 11 points in 12 games (3g-8a) and is ranked second in the WCHA for freshman scorers. Nylund was called up last minute to dress for the Finnish National team for the 2018 Four Nations Cup. Nylund put up an assist in Finland's 3-2 win over Sweden. Nylund is coming back to St. Cloud with a bronze medal after Finland defeated Sweden in their final matchup.
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BIGGER THAN THE GAME: The St. Cloud State Huskies will be hosting their annual food drive game this Saturday, November 17 for Pack The Herb Brooks NHC. Bring a non-perishable food item and get into the game for free! Donations will be given to the local food shelter next week personally by the SCSU women's hockey players.

Individuals from the Huskies Hockey team volunteered with the Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity helping to build houses Monday, Nov. 12. The girls braved the cold and put in time giving back to the St. Cloud community by working on the exterior siding portion of the project.

Follow the Huskies vs. Gophers:
Watch: Flo Hockey
Listen: KVSC Radio
Stats: scsuhuskies.com
Live Game Updates: SCSU Women's Hockey Twitter

For complete ticket information regarding any SCSU home games in 2018-19, please visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX. For complete ticket information regarding any SCSU home games in 2018-19, please visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX.