No. 12 St. Cloud State travels to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth to open WCHA Tournament

Friday, February 24

Duluth, Minn.

3:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Minnesota Duluth

No. 12 St. Cloud State travels to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth to open WCHA Tournament

2/22/2023 8:30:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Series Notes Watch Live - B1G+ ($)Listen Live - 97.5 FM RadioX Live Stats

Huskies prepare for best-of-three WCHA Quarterfinal series in Duluth

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 12 St. Cloud State Women's Hockey begins their WCHA Tournament appearance as the fifth seed with a WCHA Quarterfinal series at fourth-seeded No. 7 Minnesota Duluth. The Huskies and Bulldogs open the best-of-three series on Friday with a 3:00 p.m. CT puck drop at Amsoil Arena with Game Two set for Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and an if-necessary third game set for Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

COVERAGE INFORMATION
Fans can watch the entire series on B1G+ ($) or listen live via 97.5 FM RadioX. Live stats will be provided by Minnesota Duluth with links to all three coverage options available on the SCSU Women's Hockey schedule page.

QUARTERFINAL PRESS CONFERENCE

THE SERIES
The fifth-seeded Huskies travel north to face fourth-seeded Minnesota Duluth for the fourth WCHA Tournament matchup and third Quarterfinal series all-time between the two programs. UMD holds a 5-1 advantage in postseason play, with the last SCSU win coming in game two of the 2007 WCHA Quarterfinal. The canines last battled in tournament play back in 2017 as Minnesota Duluth swept the Huskies at Amsoil in Maura Crowell's second season on the bench.

HUSKIES PRIMER
SCSU enters the WCHA Tournament 18-16-1 with a 11-16-1 mark in conference play. The Huskies have gone 7-8-1 on the road this season including taking one point at Amsoil two weeks ago and have won five of their last eight with one shootout loss heading into the postseason. St. Cloud State's formula for success has been forged in a high-compete, grit-and-grind defense and being extremely opportunistic in the offensive zone - leading the NCAA in blocked shots (552) while ranking second across the WCHA in shooting percentage (10.93%) and top 13 nationally in both power play (20.7%) and penalty kill (86.4%). Goaltending pair JoJo Chobak (9-6-1, .921 SV%, 2.46 GAA) and Sanni Ahola (9-10-0, .923 SV%, 2.47 GAA) have backstopped the Huskies to a program record six shutouts and both rank top 25 nationally in save percentage. SCSU leans heavily on their top two D pairs of Taytum Geier (1-7-8, +11, 69 BLK) / Dayle Ross (1-14-15, +5, 96 BLK) and Regan Bulger (0-4-4, -7, 78 BLK) / Grace Wolfe (2-15-17, -3, 77 BLK) to anchor their gritty defense. Olympian Klára Hymlárová (17-9-26, +1, 56 BLK) centers an equally-physical top line alongside captain Taylor Lind (7-14-21, +10) and Courtney Hall (6-8-14, -1). Fellow Olympian and leading scorer Jenniina Nylund (14-14-28) takes the draws on a speedy scoring-minded third line of Mackenzie Bourgerie (0-1-1) and Allie Cornelius (3-3-6). The second line features Emma Gentry (13-9-22) centering Svenja Voigt (3-1-4) and Addi Scribner (7-7-14) while the fourth line of Allison Green (0-3-3), Olivia Cvar (4-6-10) and Avery Myers (2-4-6) adds physicality.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
UMD enters the WCHA Tournament 23-8-3 with a 17-8-3 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs are 10-4-2 at Amsoil and have won 10 of their last 12 games, including shootouts. Olympian and All-American goaltender Emma Söderberg anchors the No. 3 scoring defense in the NCAA, having gone 18-8-2 in net with a .935 save percentage and a 1.42 goals against average. Minnesota Duluth limits opponents to just 1.38 goals/game on 21.0 shots a night, leaning on defenders Ashton Bell (12-21-33, +27, 41 BLK), Maggie Flaherty (8-16-24, +23, 50 BLK), Nina Jobst-Smith (4-19-23, +25, 35 BLK) and Taylor Stewart (2-4-6, +18, 35 BLK) to become one of just three clubs in the country to allow less than 50 goals in the regular season. Longtime fixture Gabbie Hughes (10-35-45, +31) centers a top line of Anneke Linser (17-13-30, +20) and Taylor Anderson (12-10-22, +22) while Mannon McMahon (10-19-29, +17) is flanked by Clara Van Wieren (9-13-22, +14) and Mary Kate O'Brien (4-2-6, +7) on a gritty second line. UMD's third line of captain Kylie Hanley (4-10-14, +3) alongside wingers Naomi Rogge (9-10-19, +10) and Gabby Krause (7-6-13, +9) make it three lines with at least two players scoring in double figures.

LAST TIME OUT
St. Cloud State (18-16-1, 11-16-1 WCHA) swept No. 15 Minnesota State (15-18-1, 9-18-1 WCHA) with a 5-2 win on Saturday evening at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, celebrating a historic Senior Night by establishing a new program record for conference points earned in a season (36) in addition to matching their single-season record for wins (18). Addi Scribner scored twice in the win while Taylor Lind provided three assists to account for a pair of multi-point nights. Grace Wolfe, Courtney Hall and Jenniina Nylund each scored a goal while Dayle Ross, Allie Cornelius, Svenja Voigt, Klára Hymlárová, Emma Gentry and Regan Bulger each provided an assist. Sanni Ahola made 23 saves on 25 shots to earn her ninth win of the season. The Huskies won 32 of 56 draws, led by a 14-6 (70.0%) effort from Gentry.

STATEMENT MADE
The Huskies closed the regular season with a 11-16-1 mark in WCHA play, finishing fifth in the conference standings – their best regular-season finish since earning the same spot in 2015-16. St. Cloud State's 36 conference points are the most the club has ever earned in a single season while the club's 42.9% points percentage is their highest mark since 2009-10 and the program's best in the three-point era.

NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
St. Cloud State enters the conference tournament stuck on the bubble as they hunt for their first NCAA Tournament berth in program history, currently sitting at No. 11 in the NPI (Pairwise) per USCHO. The NCAA takes an 11-team field with five automatic bids from the WCHA, Hockey East, CHA, ECAC and NEWHA alongside six at-large bids. Entering conference tournament play, the two highest-ranked NEWHA programs in the NPI are LIU at No. 22 and Saint Anselm at No. 27. Given that conference's automatic bid, the Huskies will be looking to jump Penn State - currently No. 10 in the NPI and the highest-ranked CHA club - and ninth-ranked Clarkson with quality win opportunities abundant in the WCHA Tournament.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Huskies quest to end what has become a nearly 23-year drought in the WCHA Tournament, as the program's last postseason win came in Game One of the 2010 WCHA Quarterfinal at home against Bemidji State on February 26, 2010. Since that win - a 3-0 Ashley Nixon shutout with two goals from Holly Roberts - St. Cloud State has lost 24 straight conference tournament games. Over the program's 24 seasons of play, the Huskies have advanced to the WCHA Semifinal twice with losses to Wisconsin in 2006 and Minnesota Duluth in 2008.

PLAYOFF IDALSKI
First-year St. Cloud State head coach Brian Idalski has carved out a tremendous legacy in the postseason, owning a 29-27 collegiate playoff record with two DI NCAA Tournament appearances and two WCHA runner-up finishes. His North Dakota Fighting Hawks advanced to the WCHA Semifinals in each of the program's final seven seasons, winning series over Ohio State, Bemidji State, Minnesota State and SCSU in addition to a pair of Semifinal wins over Wisconsin. Idalski hasn't faced Minnesota Duluth in the postseason since 2010 - his last Quarterfinal loss.

CAPTAIN CLUTCH
Huskies captain Taylor Lind returned from injury in early February and hasn't missed a beat. Over her last nine games dating back to November 25, Lind has skated to a plus-14 with five goals and seven assists for 12 points while putting 17 shots on goal.

RECORD-SETTING ROSS
SCSU sophomore defender Dayle Ross broke the program's single season block record on Saturday against Minnesota State, piling up 96 over the course of the 2022-23 season to pass Cari Coen's mark of 93 set in 2013-14. Ross has established herself as one of the top defenders in the league, leading the NCAA in blocked shots adding a 15-point season on a goal and 14 assists. Since the program first began tracking individual blocked shots in 2009-10, only five players have recorded 70 or more in a single season - three of which have been produced this year. After Ross' program record 96, Grace Wolfe (78) and Regan Bulger (77) go three-four while Taytum Geier's 69 blocks have her tied for sixth most in a single season.

GUTSY GEIER
Graduate student defender Taytum Geier has been phenomenal on the blueline all year long, but the veteran has truly stepped up when the Huskies have needed her most. Over the 14 games of the second half, Geier has skated to a plus-nine with 29 blocks, four assists, 14 shots on goal and has taken just one penalty while anchoring a unit that is currently skating just six with two sophomores, a true freshman and a forward freshly converted to a D. Geier is also fresh off breaking the program's career games played record with 151, establishing a new standard for consistency. The fifth-year senior has been an anchor on the blueline throughout her career, skating on the top four for the majority of her time in a Huskies sweater.

STIFLING STOPPERS
Over their last four starts, the goalie rotation of JoJo Chobak and Sanni Ahola have been absolutely phenomenal. Chobak is 3-0-1 with a .971 save percentage and a 0.98 goals against average while Ahola has gone 2-2-0 with a 1.77 goals against and a .942 save percentage.

BLANKED
With six shutouts this season, St. Cloud State has broken their program record for blankings in a single season. JoJo Chobak has turned in a clean sheet five times to establish a new program record for most individual shutouts in a season. The duo of Sanni Ahola and Chobak have combined to provide SCSU with a phenomenal pairing, currently standing as the only pair in the league to both have at least a .920 save percentage.

STINGY DEFENSE
St. Cloud State is enjoying one of the program's best defensive seasons in the Huskies' 25-year history, currently holding opponents to 2.57 goals per game - second-best all time. Their current mark would stand as just the second time in the last 13 seasons that the Huskies have held opponents to less than three goals a game.

OPPORTUNISTIC OFFENSE
The Huskies' ability to make the most of their chances in the offensive zone has pushed them to score 2.46 goals per game - their best mark since 2009-10 and the first time they have scored more than 1.85 goals/game in that span. The Huskies boast a 10.93% shooting percentage, third-best in program history. This season SCSU has scored 64 even-strength goals, which stands as the second-most in the program's history and is the most since the team scored 84 in 2000-01.

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 and Grace Wolfe go one-two with 96 and 78 while Regan Bulger and Taytum Geier go three-four with 77 and 69 respectively. Incredibly, Klára Hymlárová's 56 blocks rank her seventh in the league and first among forwards to give the Huskies five skaters in the top six. No other skater in the league has more than 55 blocked shots. As a team, St. Cloud State has 552 blocks – good for 15.77 per game – which leads the NCAA in both categories.

SPECIAL TEAMS STONEWALLERS
St. Cloud State's penalty kill has been stellar this season, ranking third in the league and ranking 13th nationally at 86.4%. The Huskies lead the WCHA with 146 penalties taken - 22 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 12th in the country at 20.7%. Klára Hymlárová has scored eight power play goals, sharing the lead in both the WCHA and NCAA with Ohio State's Sophie Jaques and Colgate's Kristýna Kaltounková. When SCSU scores on the power play they are 12-1-0 compared to a 6-15-1 record when they do not score on the advantage.

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.