Gentry named to All-Tournament Team, Huskies take second at Battle at the Burgh

Sunday, January 2

Cranberry Township, Pa.

2:00 p.m. CST

St. Cloud State

7-12-1

Syracuse

7-9-5

St. Cloud St.

Syracuse

Photo by: Thomas Breach

Gentry named to All-Tournament Team, Huskies take second at Battle at the Burgh

1/2/2022 5:15:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, PA. – St. Cloud State Women's Hockey fell 5-2 to Syracuse in the 2022 Battle at the Burgh Championship Game on Sunday afternoon, battling with the CHA leader all the way throughout the evening before an empty-net goal late in the third sealed things. Emma Gentry added another goal for a four-point weekend, earning All-Tournament Team honors with a 3-1-4 line. Courtney Hall scored her goal of the weekend, providing SCSU with two multi-goal scorers in the tournament. Sanni Ahola made 35 saves on 39 shots in a strong effort, going shot-for-shot with the Orange goaltender.

TURNING POINT

After a five-goal flurry in the opening period sent the two sides to a 3-2 Syracuse lead going into the second, the Huskies and Orange traded blows throughout a fiery middle frame. Early in the third, Syracuse played the puck ahead into an odd-man rush and converted to make it a 4-2 game.

TOP HUSKIES

• Emma Gentry scored her third goal of the tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Courtney Hall added her second goal of the weekend while winning a team-high 10 faceoffs.
• Sanni Ahola made 35 saves.

NOTES

• Allie Cornelius and Olivia Cvar each had an assist.
• Syracuse led 40-33 on shots.
• Grace Wolfe blocked a Huskies-high two shots.

QUOTABLES

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

"It's a game where you look back and you see we had plenty of chances, but we just didn't capitalize on them. They were able to capitalize on theirs – it's as simple as that. They were stretching the ice out a little bit by flying their wingers and really putting us under a lot of distress, having to retrieve the puck a lot and having to regroup to break the puck out. That created a lot of chances for them offensively. We just weren't able to counterattack that at certain times. We got some chances off of it, but their goalie played well and just found a way to get a toe or a pad on the pucks we needed to go in. It's one of those games that you want to learn from, but with the same token we know we could have had today so that sits with you."

On the offense's 33 shots on goal… "I thought we did get a lot of chances. I thought our possession could have been better in terms of time possession in the offensive zone. Sometimes that just comes with poise and just being okay with holding onto the puck a little bit. Not always feeling that you have to throw the puck in the net, and so I feel as though we could have been a little bit better in that area. Our chances did come off some good efforts and some good transitions but the name of the game of goals. We just need to find a way to capitalize."

On Courtney Hall's strong weekend… "She's a player that's really been working on her game. She's battled through some injuries in her career, and that put her back a few steps. She's been working really hard off the ice to get some of that back, and she's a player that has a lot of offensive creativity. You see it show up here, she just has a way of finding that space offensively – and that led to the two goals. I'm so happy that she's able to do that here, especially with her whole family up in the stands."

On Emma Gentry's All-Tournament Team weekend… "She looked great. That whole line – Courtney Hall and Oliva Cvar – she starts all of those plays in the offensive zone and she's such a hard competitor. The same with Gentry and Hall, they find ways to find each other and they're starting to gel a little bit. Gentry had a great weekend, putting up some points, but I thought that whole line did extremely well."

Keys to prepare for a short week… "Recovery. You're going to have a travel day tomorrow. You're not training but travel's always hard on the body a little bit, so we'll be managing that. Then getting ready for a conference opponent on Friday, a very good conference opponent, and we'll be up for the task. We'll address a few things that we learned from this weekend, but we'll be ready Friday."

UP NEXT

The Huskies return to WCHA play this weekend with a home series at the HBNHC against Minnesota-Duluth on January 7-8. Coverage can be found on B1G+ and KVSC with links available on the St. Cloud State 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.