St. Cloud State drops tight contest to Tommies on Senior Night

Saturday, February 5

St. Cloud, Minn.

2:00 p.m. CST

St. Cloud State

8-16-2, 3-15-2

St. Thomas

5-20-1, 3-18-1

St. Thomas (MN)

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Thomas Breach

St. Cloud State drops tight contest to Tommies on Senior Night

2/5/2022 7:50:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Women's Hockey led 2-0 entering the third period but went on to fall 3-2 on Senior Night to St. Thomas. The Huskies recognized seniors Emma Polusny, Taytum Geier, McKenna Wesloh, Kenzie Wylie and Jenniina Nylund – albeit from afar as she competes in Beijing with Finland – following the conclusion of the game. Allie Cornelius scored the game's first goal midway through the second period, taking a nice neutral feed from Allison Green ahead into the offensive zone. Cornelius blazed past her defender and flew to the left circle, launching a wicked wrister over the tender's shoulder. The Huskies struck on a shorthanded goal a bit later in the period. Grace Wolfe took the draw backhanded in by Addi Scribner and tossed it ahead using the end boards, received by Taylor Lind on the far side boards in neutral. Lind skated ahead to the right circle to lead an odd-man rush with Olivia Cvar, throwing the puck across the slot on a tee for Cvar to bang home. Emma Polusny made 30 saves on the night.

TURNING POINT

The Huskies took six penalties in the third period and allowed two 5-on-3 goals, allowing the Tommies to gain all momentum and earn the 3-2 win.

TOP HUSKIES

• Olivia Cvar and Allie Cornelius each scored for SCSU
• Emma Polusny stopped 30 shots in the loss.

NOTES

• Allison Green, Grace Wolfe and Taylor Lind each had an assist.
• SCSU killed the first three St. Thomas power plays, then allowed goals on the final two.
• The Huskies led 35-33 on shots.
• Olivia Cvar and McKenna Wesloh each had a team-high five shots on goal.

QUOTABLES

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

"I want to focus on our game. I thought we played well. I thought we played well enough to win, and it just didn't go our way in the third. We just weren't able to dig ourselves out of those penalties. There's things you can control, and there's things you can't control. They capitalized on those opportunities, so hats off to St. Thomas. They had those opportunities, and they capitalized on them. We just need to regroup, refocus and get back ready to roll tomorrow."

On celebrating the 2022 senior class… "It's a group that means a lot to us and this program. With what they've done over their time here, it's hard to describe. You look at what they've done for us both on and off the ice – they've been incredible ambassadors for St. Cloud State and this program. You can't say enough about them."

On takeaways going into Sunday's finale… "We just have to look back at the things we did well today. Don't focus on the third period, just look back at what we did well. I thought our penalty kill was great leading into the third, but when they get that many chances it's going to break. We have to focus on what we did well, especially in the second period."

UP NEXT

The Huskies travel to St. Thomas at 2:00 p.m. CT on Sunday afternoon for the series finale. Coverage can be found on B1G+ 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.