Late power play goal dooms No. 12 Huskies in 1-0 Game One loss

Friday, February 24

Duluth, Minn.

3:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

18-17-1

Minnesota Duluth

24-8-3

St. Cloud St.

Minn. Duluth

Late power play goal dooms No. 12 Huskies in 1-0 Game One loss

2/24/2023 7:20:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

JoJo Chobak makes 32 saves as SCSU falls to No. 7 UMD

DULUTH, Minn. – A power play goal with 2:34 to go in the third period served as the difference as No. 12 St. Cloud State Women's Hockey fell 1-0 to No. 7 Minnesota Duluth in Game One of the WCHA Quarterfinal at Amsoil Arena on Friday evening. The Huskies played a stingy defensive game in front of a stellar 32-save night by JoJo Chobak, blocking 15 shots with five from Grace Wolfe, four courtesy of Dayle Ross and three by Klára Hymlárová.

The Huskies opened the game with a gritty first period as Chobak turned away 14 shots and the PK unit killed off their lone penalty. A back-and-forth second period saw a combined total of 11 shots on goal – six for Minnesota Duluth and five for the Huskies – as both clubs pressured hard on the long change.

SCSU skated on the advantage three separate times in the third period, earning a trio of power plays over a 10-minute span. A patient unit created a handful of grade-A chances with a pair of shots ringing off the pipes, but the Bulldogs managed to kill off all three. UMD took advantage of a late tripping penalty on the Huskies, throwing seven shots on goal during their power play and finally cashing in on an odd-man rush with just over two and a half minutes to go.

SCSU was outshot 33-23 on the night and won just 19 of 45 draws.

Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Brian Idalski

"I thought we were disciplined. We were disciplined with line changes, we were disciplined with execution of some of the structure we wanted to create and play with. You get to this point of the season, a bounce here or there is the difference in a hockey game. Today Duluth got that bounce."

"Anything worth doing is never easy. If there's a series that has a potential to go to three games, I think everyone would point to this one as the last few games have been extremely tight and close – today was no different. We came here packed for four days, and now we have to use them."

"Hopefully the hockey gods give us a bounce in our favor – it's post-in and not post-out. You have to make your own luck. They've got a good goaltender – we just have to bear down and make sure when we're getting our look we do everything in our power to convert it."

"At this point, the hay is in the barn. You can't draw something up and change your feathers at this point. We're going to keep working hard, execute what we do and hopefully we get a better outcome tomorrow."

"JoJo was awesome. I thought she was seeing pucks very clearly, she did a great job of managing pucks down there – she gave us a chance to win. You had a feeling coming down the stretch in the third period there of 'first goal wins.' That's what happened. I'm proud of her. She did everything we asked her to do."

"It's difficult to end someone's season. At the same point, as a program, we have to learn to answer the bell on this. We have to ratchet up a desperation at another level. That's what I'm hoping for – that our kids, especially some of our older kids, are super driven to do whatever it takes because they don't want it to end."

Notables

JoJo Chobak made 32 saves on 33 shots, turning away 14 in the first and 13 in the third
Klára Hymlárová put a team-high five shots on goal and blocked three shots
Grace Wolfe had a shot and blocked a Huskies-high five blocks
Dayle Ross added four blocks
Emma Gentry won 11 draws at a 50% clip and put three shots on goal
SCSU was outshot 33-23

Up Next
The Huskies and Bulldogs get set for Game Two of the best-of-three series on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in a win or go home scenario for St. Cloud State. Fans can watch the game live on Big Ten Plus or listen via 97.5 FM RadioX, with both streaming options available on the SCSU Women's Hockey schedule page.

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.