Balanced offense, Ahola’s steady play guides Huskies to sweep of RV Minnesota State

Saturday, November 6

St. Cloud, Minn.

3:00 p.m. CST

St. Cloud State

4-5-1, 2-5-1

Minnesota State

5-7-0, 1-7-0

Minnesota St.

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Balanced offense, Ahola’s steady play guides Huskies to sweep of RV Minnesota State

11/6/2021 6:30:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Four players scored for St. Cloud State Women's Hockey while sophomore netminder Sanni Ahola made 38 saves on 39 shots as the Huskies earned a weekend sweep with a 4-1 win over RV Minnesota State on Saturday evening. Jenniina Nylund scored the game's first goal six and a half minutes into the second period with a rocket from the left point. Minnesota State tied things up with six to play in the middle frame, then Emma Gentry gave SCSU the lead right back with less than a minute to go. Early in the third Allie Cornelius threaded a marvelous point-to-point pass across to Addi Scribner for a blistering one-timer that put the Huskies up two, then three minutes later Kenzie Wylie skated through the Mavericks defense and wristed the puck home for the decisive 4-1 advantage. Mackenzie Bourgerie (0-2-2) and Gentry (1-1-2) both gave the Huskies multi-point efforts while Dayle Ross, Adela Skrdlova and Olivia Cvar each skated to a plus-two. St. Cloud State's penalty kill turned away both MSU chances in the critical second period.

TURNING POINT

Tied at one with under a minute to play in the second period after the Huskies special teams killed two crucial Minnesota State power plays, Taylor Lind knocked a puck loose on the forecheck towards Emma Gentry. The Huskies' sophomore forward gathered it up and carried ahead towards the high slot, launching a shot from the top point. Lind screened up front as the puck sailed past the Mavericks tender, providing St. Cloud State with a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish.

TOP HUSKIES

• Sanni Ahola made 38 saves – a career-most in a win – to secure the Huskies sweep.
• Mackenzie Bourgerie and Emma Gentry each provided two points.
• Jenniina Nylund put a team-high six shots on goal while scoring once.
• Olivia Cvar skated to a plus-two with two blocks while putting five shots on.
• Addi Scribner scored her first collegiate goal, blocked a shot and was plus-one.

NOTES

• The Mavericks led 39-29 on shots.
• St. Cloud State is now 4-0-1 at home with a shootout win.
• Mackenzie Bourgerie has posted back-to-back multi-point games.
• Sanni Ahola is now 4-1-0 in five career starts against Minnesota State.

QUOTABLES

St. Cloud State Women's Hockey Head Coach Steve Macdonald

"Emotions are high right now, obviously. Any time you can get points in this league, it's a good day – and for us to get these points against a tough opponent and an opponent that's been receiving votes in the poll is a great weekend for our hockey team. It leads into a high note for us to have a few days off but then get back to work next week."

On Sanni Ahola's 38-save gem… "For her, it's her composure. She has such composure, she's so calm, she makes the saves she needs to make, and then when there's a save that she really needs to make she'll find a way to make that happen. She showed a lot of confidence this weekend and again, it's a great bounceback from last weekend so we're really proud of her and what she was able to do."

On Addi Scribner's first collegiate goal… "It's nice to see her get rewarded for that. She did a lot of things well yesterday and today. She's been put in a lot of different positions in her career – D, wing and now center – she's such a team player, and now she's starting to find a home in that center position."

On individual standouts… "Sanni Ahola really helped lead through her composure, Taytum Geier again on the back end, Kenzie Wylie, McKenna Wesloh made some nice plays this weekend and showed some of that leadership. We had the youth with Dayle Ross, she's so physical and doesn't shy away from anything. Taylor Lind was able to contribute a lot offensively, Jenniina Nylund created chances, the list goes on. What I really liked about our team was that a lot of people stepped up in a lot of different ways. Some freshmen and some veteran players put in some good minutes and continued to do what they needed to do. Attention to detail is what really helped us this weekend."

On Mackenzie Bourgerie's back-to-back multi-point games… "One, she thinks the game very well. She can figure out some situations out, and just has this level of grit to her game where in physical games like this she's really able to rise to that and then play through it. She plays with a lot of passion and a lot of grit that helps her and puts her into good spots. She stays on pucks, and you could see that with her first goal yesterday. Combined with that, she has a brain in terms of how she thinks the game and put herself in good situations. For her to be rewarded on the statsheet is good to see."

UP NEXT

The Huskies are idle next weekend before battling No. 3 Minnesota in a home-and-home series over November 19-20. The series will be broadcast on B1G+, available on the SCSU Women's Hockey schedule page.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Women's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.