St. Cloud State continues conference play with St. Thomas

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Women's Hockey continues WCHA action this weekend with a home-and-home against St. Thomas, first traveling to Mendota Heights for a 6:00 p.m. CT puck drop on Friday then hosting the Tommies on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. CT start at the HBNHC.

Weekend Promotions
Saturday's home game will feature a Halloween Costume Contest, encouraging fans to wear their favorite costume to the Herb.

Broadcast Information
The series will be streamed on B1G+ with live stats provided by the host institutions. Friday's tilt will be broadcast on the KVSC Sports Stream with Saturday's finale on 88.1 FM KVSC. Links to all options can be found on the SCSU Women's Hockey schedule page.

Last Time Out
St. Cloud State Women's Hockey hung with No. 2 Minnesota punch-for-punch for nearly 56 minutes before a Gopher goal with 4:02 to go put them away 2-1 at Ridder Arena on Saturday afternoon. Emma Gentry set the tone extremely early for SCSU, burying a rebound just 54 seconds in to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Courtney Hall made a strong poke on the forecheck to create a turnover, throwing the puck on net as Gentry crashed in to finish. Minnesota drew even on a loose rebound midway through the opening period, knotting the game at 1-1. Sanni Ahola earned the game's second star with a stellar performance in goal, stopping 43 of 45 shots faced while making a flurry of strong saves. St. Cloud State killed off all seven Gopher power plays, digging deep in critical moments to keep the game even.

Huskies Primer
The Huskies enter the weekend sixth in the WCHA standings with one point after opening conference play with No. 1 Ohio State, No. 4/5 Wisconsin and No.2 Minnesota. SCSU's next four conference games come against St. Thomas and Bemidji State – two teams currently tied for last in the WCHA with zero points through the first three weeks of WCHA play. A critical early-season stretch looms for the Huskies as they look to build ground in the middle of the standings, fresh off a series in which they held the Gophers to just six goals – their lowest scoring weekend since last February. Jenniina Nylund is the goal and point leader with a 5-3-8 line while Taylor Lind paces the Huskies with five assists. Emma Gentry has scored four times while Klára Hymlárová has a 3-2-5 line. The top pairing of Taytum Geier and Dayle Ross has impressed, combining for six points and 44 blocks. Sanni Ahola sports a .915 save percentage while fellow netminder JoJo Chobak holds a .914 mark.

Scouting St. Thomas
St. Thomas has gone 1-5-0 with a 0-4-0 mark in WCHA play this season, having been swept by Wisconsin and Minnesota State while splitting with Franklin Pierce. The Tommies have just six goals through six games, struggling to generate quality scoring chances. Gabby Billing has a pair of goals while Maddy Clough is the assist and point leader with a 1-2-3 line. Only Anna Solheim has multiple points alongside Billing and Clough with a goal and an assist. Saskia Mauerer is the lead tender, having gone 1-3-0 with a 2.22 goals against and a .917 save percentage.

Series History
The Huskies are 2-2-1 all-time against St. Thomas, dumping the Tommies 9-0 in 1998 before splitting both series last season. St. Cloud State took five of 12 points in the season series last year, gaining a shootout win and a regulation win. Goaltender Sanni Ahola notched her first collegiate assist on the road at St. Thomas in a 3-2 Huskies win to close out the series.

Searching for a Spark
After opening the year 5-for-10 on the power play, the Huskies haven't scored on the advantage through their past four games – going 0-for-13 in that span. SCSU is still 11^th nationally in power play percentage at 21.7% while Emma Gentry shares the WCHA lead with three power play goals.

Points on Points
Jenniina Nylund has continued her climb up the St. Cloud State scoring list, standing two points away from passing Molli Mott for 15^th and in need of 11 more to join the program's top-10.

Defensive Dynamos
Taytum Geier and Dayle Ross have shined on the top pair, combining for 44 blocks on the year. Ross leads the WCHA with 24 to go with four assists while Geier has blocked 20 shots – fourth-most in the league – and supplied a 1-1-2 line. Devyn Millwater (16) is seventh in the league in blocks while Grace Wolfe (15) is ninth.

Sanni Time
Goaltender Sanni Ahola leads the WCHA with 34.40 saves per game, totaling 172 stops in five appearances.

Information regarding single game and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. 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.

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

Next Event

Related Videos