(RV) SCSU hosts No. 1 Ohio State in weekend series

Friday, January 20

St. Cloud, Minn.

3:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Ohio State

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Photo by: Kaitlyn Zuehl

1/19/2023 4:00:00 PM | Women's Hockey

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St. Cloud State looks to rebound against defending National Champion Buckeyes

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – (RV) St. Cloud State Women's Hockey returns home this weekend to host No. 1 Ohio State in a conference series at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The Huskies and Buckeyes will drop the puck at 3:00 p.m. CT on Friday with a 2:00 p.m. CT start on Saturday.

THE SERIES
St. Cloud State trails the all-time series 31-56-11 with a 17-28-3 mark against the Buckeyes at the HBNHC. Their last win against Ohio State came in Columbus on February 3, 2017 as goals by Lauren Hepsenheide, Christia Moody and Kayla Friesen led the Huskies to a 3-1 final. Janine Alder stopped 33 of 34 shots including 17-of-17 in a pivotal third period that saw Moody and Friesen both score in the first four minutes of the frame. The Huskies are on their longest losing skid of the current series, having dropped 15 straight games to Ohio State including a WCHA Quarterfinals sweep last season.

HUSKIES PRIMER
SCSU enters the series 13-12-0 with a 6-12-0 mark in WCHA action and 11-6-0 over their last 17 games. Jenniina Nylund (11-14-25), Klára Hymlárová (15-5-20) and Emma Gentry (11-4-15) headline a dangerous Huskies top-six while Dayle Ross (0-8-8, 55 BLK), Grace Wolfe (1-12-13, 46 BLK), Regan Bulger (0-3-3, 51 BLK) and Taytum Geier (1-4-5, +7, 43 BLK) have anchored the defensive corps. JoJo Chobak (6-5-0, .910 SV%, 2.68 GAA) and Sanni Ahola (7-7-0, .916 SV%, 2.65 GAA) have formed one of the top goaltending duos in the league.

LAST TIME OUT
Then-No. 14 St. Cloud State fell 4-1 in their series finale on Saturday evening against Minnesota State, suffering a road sweep at the Mayo Clinic HSEC in Mankato. The Huskies were outshot 41-18 and won just 20 of 49 draws on the night. After falling behind 2-0 midway through the first period, the Huskies took their first of four penalties on a delay of game call and sent Avery Myers to serve the minor. SCSU killed off the Maverick power play and forced a poor cycling pass to flutter into neutral just as Myers jumped out of the box. The Huskies junior forward collected the puck in the high slot and wristed it through five-hole to cut the deficit to one. A scoreless second period preceded a wild pendulum shift of momentum in the early stages of the third. Moments after St. Cloud State missed a grade A chance in the crease, Minnesota State scored twice in the span of a minute to take a 4-1 lead. The Huskies found themselves on the kill three times following the goals and were successful each time, but the six minutes spent shorthanded sealed their fate. Emma Gentry led the Huskies with four shots on goal while Dayle Ross skated to a plus-one with three blocks.

STANDINGS & SUCH
With the second half freshly underway, the Huskies find themselves standing sixth in a hotly-contested fight for fifth place. SCSU enters the weekend sixth in the league with 19 points – just two behind (RV) Minnesota State. St. Cloud State hosts No. 1 Ohio State this weekend, (RV) Minnesota State travels to No. 8 Wisconsin and St. Thomas hosts No. 6 Minnesota Duluth while No. 3/4 Minnesota visits Bemidji State.

HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN NOTICE
Senior forward Addi Scribner has been named a 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award nominee, joining Men's Hockey defenseman Spencer Meier to make SCSU the only school to feature a nominee from both their men's and women's program. The Hockey Humanitarian Award, which is celebrating its 28th season, is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.

FAMILIAR FACES, PART I
This weekend marks the first collegiate game featuring St. Cloud State head coach Brian Idalski and Ohio State associate head coach Peter Elander on opposite benches. Elander served as Idalski's associate head coach for seven seasons at North Dakota from 2010-17, guiding the Fighting Hawks to two NCAA Tournament appearances. The two icons both served as head coaches in the 2022 Olympics - Idalski leading China and Elander leading Denmark - with Idalski winning their Group B matchup, 3-1 on February 4.

FAMILIAR FACES, PART II
Another notable first collegiate coaching meeting will be marked this weekend as Huskies assistant coach Mira Jalosuo and Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall match up. Muzerall served as an assistant coach on the Minnesota bench during Jalosuo's junior and senior seasons as the Gophers won the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Championships.

GETTING GRITTY
Remaining true to the team's newfound identity, the grind-and-grit Huskies boast the top four shot-blockers in the WCHA. Dayle Ross leads the league with 55, Regan Bulger is second with 51 while Grace Wolfe and Taytum Geier go three-four with 46 and 43 respectively. No other skater in the league has more than 41 blocked shots. As a team, St. Cloud State has 350 blocks – good for 14.00 per game – which lands them second in both categories across the WCHA behind only Bemidji State's 354 and 14.75.

SPECIAL TEAM STONEWALLERS
St. Cloud State's penalty kill has been stellar this season, ranking second across the league and 10th nationally at 88.4%. The Huskies lead the WCHA with 105 penalties taken - 24 more than any other club - and pace the league in penalties taken per game, hitting the box more than four times per night.

POWERING UP
The Huskies complement their strong PK with a dynamic power play that presently ranks fourth in the league and sixth in the country at 22.5%. Klára Hymlárová has scored eight power play goals, sharing the lead in both the WCHA and NCAA with Ohio State's Sophie Jaques. When SCSU scores on the power play they are 10-1-0 compared to a 3-11-0 record when they do not score on the advantage.

NYLUND'S CLIMB
Jenniina Nylund's assist at the East/West Showcase moved her out of a tie for ninth in the program's all-time scoring list as she now stands alone with 86 points. This season, Nylund has 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points.

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.