St. Cloud State
Lindenwood
St. Cloud State hosts Lindenwood to open regular season
9/29/2021 5:00:00 PM | Women's Hockey
GAME NOTES
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Women's Hockey begins their 2021-22 regular season with a two-game home series against Lindenwood this weekend. Puck drop Friday is set for 6:00 p.m. CST while Saturday's game will begin at 2:00 p.m. CST.
The Huskies open a promising 2021-22 campaign, returning 20 letterwinners and 80.8% of their points from a season ago. Senior captain Jenniina Nylund (7-5-12), junior Taylor Lind (4-7-11) and sophomore Emma Gentry (6-1-7) project as St. Cloud State's top line after anchoring the top six last year, while gifted junior scorer Olivia Cvar (2019-20 WCHA rookie goals leader) gives SCSU electrifying scoring ability as the talented young forward group establishes itself. Third-year captain Kenzie Wylie teams with fellow seniors McKenna Wesloh and Taytum Geier to provide veteran anchors to the blue line. Disciplined defender Adela Skrdlova begins her second season after an excellent freshman campaign, forming a strong underclassmen group with the Huskies' four rookie blueliners. Goaltender and second-year captain Emma Polusny begins her fifth year in goal, joining forces with WCHA All-Rookie honoree Sanni Ahola last season to form one of the strongest tending duos in the country.
Lindenwood returns point-getting forwards Megan Wagner (17 GP, 6-1-7 in 2020-21) and Sierra Burt (10 GP, 3-5-8 in 2020-21). Wagner scored the Lions' lone goal in their two-game series against Wisconsin last weekend, a set that saw Lindenwood be outscored 18-1 by the No. 1 team in the country. Annika Asplundh has been a staple in goal for Lindenwood since joining the program in 2018-19, owning career marks of a 2.96 goals against average and a .917 save rate. She has faced the Huskies twice in her career, going 0-1-1 in a two-game series in Maryland Heights in November 2019. The tender stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 2-2 tie then allowed five goals over 49:32 of work to fall 5-1 in the weekend finale. St. Cloud State owns the all-time series with an 11-2-2 mark, going 6-1 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
Emma Gentry banged home the game-winner in overtime last weekend in the Huskies' exhibition with Bemidji State. The sophomore forward finished plus-two and added an assist on Jenniina Nylund's goal early in the third to lead all scorers with two points. St. Cloud State's goaltending impressed with scoreless periods delivered by Emma Polusny (3 SV) and Sanni Ahola (11 SV) along with a 10-stop performance by Karlie Ries. Nylund put a game-high seven shots on goal to go with her goal, while Taytum Geier, Courtney Hall and Dayle Ross each blocked three shots.
SCSU's season opener against the Lions will feature a schedule poster giveaway for the first 100 fans in attendance, while the weekend finale is a Youth Night with free admission for children ages 13 and under. The Huskies open WCHA play with an October 9-10 weekend series visiting defending Nation Champion Wisconsin.
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.
