No. 12/13 Huskies Women’s Hockey Visits Mercyhurst

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 12/13 St. Cloud State Women's Hockey (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) returns to the ice this weekend with a road nonconference series at Mercyhurst (2-2-0, 0-0-0 CHA) on Friday and Saturday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT on Friday with a 1:00 p.m. start on Saturday.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
The series will be broadcast on FloHockey ($) with live stats provided by Mercyhurst. Links to each coverage option are available on the SCSU Women's Hockey schedule page.

LET'S GO POLLING
The Huskies enter week three ranked No. 12 in the country by the USCHO and landed No. 13 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll. St. Cloud State is one of five WCHA programs featured in week three's rankings with one additional club receiving votes. The Huskies entered both the USCHO and USA Today National Polls in the first week of December last season, placing the team in the national rankings for the first time since 2009 and 2008 respectively. After debuting at No. 14 in both polls, SCSU proceeded to remain ranked in 10 of the next 11 weeks to close the year, closing the season ranked for the first time in program history at No. 12 by the USCHO and No. 13 by USA Today. Prior to 2022-23, SCSU had only appeared in the USA Today rankings five times while appearing in just six USCHO polls – last season, the Huskies were ranked 12 and 11 times respectively.

THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
Week three features a busy stretch of competition across the WCHA as seven teams continue nonconference action. The No. 12/13 Huskies travel to Mercyhurst, No. 1 Wisconsin hosts (RV) Boston College, St. Thomas hosts Lindenwood, No. 4 Minnesota visits RIT, Bemidji State welcomes RPI, No. 6/7 Minnesota Duluth meets Long Island in Duluth and (RV) Minnesota State travels to Sacred Heart.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior goaltender Sanni Ahola recorded her first shutout of the season as then-No. 13 St. Cloud State (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) swept Union (0-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) with a 4-0 win at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on September 24. The Huskies outshot Union 38 to 19, held the advantage on draws and won the special teams battle with four successful kills and a power play goal. Nine Huskies recorded a point in the win as junior defender Ella Anick and sophomore forward Avery Farrell provided multi-point efforts. Anick scored her first goal as a Husky and added one helper, skating to a plus-two with three shots on goal. Farrell tallied two assists while putting one shot on. Ahola was a steady presence in the crease, turning away each of the 19 shots she faced. The senior shut down a handful of odd-man rushes and added a pair of impressive covers in traffic, lunging into lanes and earning her defense a whistle. She played a key role in the 4-for-4 Huskies penalty kill, stopping all five Union shots on the advantage.

SCOUTING MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst is 2-2-0 to open the 2023-24 campaign, outscoring Post 7-0 in an opening-weekend sweep before being swept at the hands of (RV) St. Lawrence last weekend. Sophomore forward and Swedish National Team member Thea Johansson (4-3-7, +4) leads the club in goals and points while senior captain Sara Boucher (1-4-5, -1) leads in assists. Junior defender Sydney Pedersen (0-2-2, +1) has piled up 10 blocks as a leader on the blueline in front of graduate goaltender Ena Nystrøm (2-2-0, 2.69 GAA, .902 SV%). Nystrøm was named First Team All-CHA last season after going 15-11-2 with a 2.20 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
The Huskies have played Mercyhurst 12 times since the all-time series began in 2001, owning a 1-9-2 record against the Lakers. St. Cloud State's lone win over Mercyhurst came in 2003 as a three point night from legendary defender Kobi Kawamoto and a 25-save effort by Ellen Brinkman led the Huskies to a 3-1 win on November 28, 2003 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

CLEAN SWEEP
The Huskies swept the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Week Awards for the first time in program history on opening weekend as senior forward Emma Gentry, junior defender Ella Anick, senior goaltender Sanni Ahola and freshman forward Sofianna Sundelin were named WCHA Forward, Defender, Goaltender and Rookie of the Week respectively by the league office on September 25. This marked the first time in program history that St. Cloud State has swept the weekly awards and the eighth time that multiple Huskies were honored in the same week.

GENTS GOES BEAST MODE
Senior forward Emma Gentry led the WCHA with two goals and 15 shots on goal over Opening Weekend, dominating Union with her physical play in the offensive zone. Gentry skated to a plus-three and added an assist for three points on the weekend, scoring all three in the season opener. Following her terrific Opening Night performance, Gentry fired nine shots on goal during Saturday's contest as part of a 4-0 Huskies win. The honor is Gentry's first career Forward of the Week nod and her third weekly honor after twice being named Freshman of the Week in 2020-21.

ALL ABOUT ANICK
Junior defender Ella Anick enjoyed a terrific opening weekend, leading the WCHA with five points, four assists and a plus-five rating on the ice as the offensive-minded defender flourished in the Huskies' system. Anick scored a goal to go with her four helpers and shot 25.00% with four shots on goal and a pair of blocks. She was the lone conference player to post two multi-point games, tallying three assists on Saturday before a two-point afternoon in the finale. The honor is Anick's first of her career.

SANNI TIME
Senior goaltender Sanni Ahola recorded her fourth career shutout as the Huskies blanked Union 4-0 on September 24 to earn the series sweep. Ahola was a steady presence in the crease, turning away each of the 19 shots she faced. The senior shut down a handful of odd-man rushes and added a pair of impressive covers in traffic, lunging into lanes and earning her defense a whistle. She played a key role in the 4-for-4 Huskies penalty kill, stopping all five Union shots on the advantage. The honor is Ahola's second Goaltender of the Week award and third career weekly honor including her Rookie of the Week honor in 2020-21.

STUPENDOUS SUNDELIN
Sofianna Sundelin led all WCHA rookies with two points, providing two assists with a point in both games of the series. Sundelin put three shots on goal and skated to a plus-one with two blocked shots while skating on both special teams units. The honor is the first of her collegiate career as Sundelin became the first Husky to earn a weekly honor in her debut weekend since Ahola did so on December 1, 2020.

WCHA PRESEASON POLL
The Huskies were picked to finish fifth in the 2023-24 WCHA Preseason Coaches Poll as announced by the league office ahead of the season. Senior goaltender Jojo Chobak received votes to the Preseason All-WCHA team while the Huskies landed just six points behind Minnesota Duluth and eight behind Minnesota for fourth and third respectively. The Huskies' fifth-place projected finish is the program's highest since it was picked to finish fourth ahead of the 2009-10 season.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Sanni Ahola

Ella Anick

Jojo Chobak

Avery Farrell

Emma Gentry

Sofianna Sundelin

Saint Cloud State University Athletics