Hall’s winner gives Huskies dramatic shootout victory over No. 5 Bulldogs in home finale

Tuesday, February 15

St. Cloud, Minn.

3:00 p.m. CST

St. Cloud State

9-19-3, 4-18-3

Minnesota-Duluth

20-9-1, 17-8-1

OT 1

OT 2

Minn. Duluth

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

Hall’s winner gives Huskies dramatic shootout victory over No. 5 Bulldogs in home finale

2/15/2022 6:20:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

St. Cloud, Minn. – Junior forward Courtney Hall netted the game-winning tally in a shootout as St. Cloud State Women's Hockey took the second point against No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth on Tuesday afternoon in their 2021-22 home finale. The Huskies and Bulldogs skated to a 1-1 draw before reaching the shootout, as Addi Scribner delivered SCSU's lone marker just under a minute following UMD's first score midway through the second period. Emma Polusny stopped 30 shots – including 16-of-16 in the final 25 minutes – to give St. Cloud State a vintage performance in her final game at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

TURNING POINT

Down 1-0 in the second round of the shootout, Emma Gentry fired a heavy wrister past the Bulldogs tender. After things stayed even going into the sudden-death round, Courtney Hall skated ahead entering wide and wrapped it around the goalie for the game-winner.

The 🤩🤩🤩 from @courtney17hall to earn the shootout W ‼️#HuskiesHockey 🐾 pic.twitter.com/AgFt7xYyWp
— St. Cloud State WHockey (@SCSUHUSKIES_WHK) February 15, 2022

TOP HUSKIES

• Addi Scribner scored the Huskies' lone goal and put four shots on.
• Emma Polusny made 30 saves in a stellar performance.
• Emma Gentry and Taylor Lind each supplied one assist while Gentry led all players with six shots on goal.

NOTES

• The Huskies did not commit a penalty on the afternoon.
• Grace Wolfe blocked three shots while McKenna Wesloh and Devyn Millwater each added two.
• Minnesota-Duluth outshot the Huskies 31-21.

QUOTABLES

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

"At the tail end here of a lot of hockey, I'm really proud of our team and how we responded to playing top teams. We've played all top-four teams in the country during this stretch, then had some really hard games against St. Thomas – it's been a grind. Our players have really been grinding and pushing through it. For them to be rewarded in their last game here with a shootout win, you really feel for our seniors. I'm proud that Polusny was in the net for that, Kenzie Wylie being on the bench with us today, McKenna Wesloh and Taytum Geier, it's a special moment and I'm glad that they got to have that for their final game at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center."

"For the first 20, I thought we played well. I thought we were moving the puck well, we were reading their forecheck pressure quite well and we had some zone time. I thought we played quite well – to be honest, I didn't like the second period very much. I thought our puck management started to suffer. In the third period, it was just working the clock in certain moments. They're a good team, they have a lot of speed, so they put some pressure on us. What I liked about our game tonight as well was our D-zone structure. I thought we were strong coming out of the corner and eliminating a lot of their second chances and kept them to a lot of perimeter shots as well. Net-front, we were able to eliminate a lot of those threats and those scums – that's key against teams with really good sticks. Overall, I liked the start of our game, there's a lot of things we need to clean up, but I have full faith that this team will have no problem cleaning that up for Friday."

On the Huskies' response in the second period… "That's this team. We're learning to become resilient, and we are resilient. We're learning how to react in those moments. When you look back at our history, we haven't responded well to those moments and they've scored quick. The team is learning. Those are some hard lessons to learn, we've learned them, and we're applying them now. You've seen it in our tie with Wisconsin, holding Ohio State tight, Duluth here with the shootout win – we're learning those lessons and we're starting to apply them. That's what we're really happy with this team. We still have a couple games left in the regular season here, so we have more opportunities to do that."

On the Huskies' ability to manage big moments throughout the night… "That goes back to the resiliency piece. We're in these situations almost every game – whether we're up one, tied, down one – even today going into the overtime, being calm and confident. Going into the shootout, the move Courtney Hall pulled to win it, Emma Gentry going down there and just blasting it through. We have players that are starting to thrive in those moments. Even the power play at the end of the game, you look down and we have a freshman D quarterbacking both units. They're going out with a smile on their face with an opportunity to win the game. That's what you want, and that's what you need. We're really proud of our team with how they rise to those challenges. We need to continue that."

Reflecting on the 2021-22 campaign with the home finale win… "I go back to resiliency. That's where we've become really proud of this team, how they've been able to push through a lot of these key moments. You look back at the year, we fully believe we could be two or three spots higher. We're not right now, and that's what we have to learn from, but throughout this whole season this team has remained committed to each other, committed to learning and wanting to get better, listening and applying things that we're talking about – you see it here. Beating a top four team in the country in a shootout. It's hard to put it into words sometimes, but I'm just really proud of this team in terms of that commitment level, that resiliency, and that pride they have to have in order to keep coming in each game. I'm sad the regular season is winding down, but then you get excited for the possibility of playoffs and how far we can go. That's what's exciting."

UP NEXT

The Huskies conclude the 2021-22 regular season at Amsoil Arena this Friday and Saturday against No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth with 3:00 p.m. CT puck drops both days. Coverage can be found on 88.1 FM KVSC, Bally Sports North (Friday) and B1G+ (Saturday) 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.