Ahola Shines in Net as No. 10/9 St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Upends No. 3 Gophers, Earns Series Split

Saturday, November 23

St. Cloud, Minn.

3 p.m. CT

St. Cloud State

9-5-2, 5-5-2

Minnesota

11-4-1, 7-4-1

Minnesota

St. Cloud St.

Ahola Shines in Net as No. 10/9 St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Upends No. 3 Gophers, Earns Series Split

11/23/2024 9:24:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies defeat Minnesota on home ice for first time since 2010

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 10/9 St. Cloud State Women's Hockey (9-5-2, 5-5-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) beat No. 3 Minnesota, 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. It is the first time the Huskies beat UMN on home ice since Feb. 13, 2010, which is also the last time SCSU split a series with the Gophers.

The Huskies were outshot 23-8 and had to kill off two penalties in the first period but managed to keep the game scoreless after the first 20 minutes. Halfway through the second period, fifth year forward Abby Promersberger (Fargo, N.D.) broke the deadlock and gave SCSU the lead after scoring on a breakaway opportunity.

Fifth year forward Brieja Parent (Forest Lake, Minn.) doubled the Huskies lead 1:49 into the second period after deflecting a pass from junior forward Avery Farrell (Rogers, Minn.) past the Minnesota netminder. SCSU would take a 3-0 lead just over a minute later when a shot from Farrell deflected off the skate of a Gopher defender into the back of the net. Minnesota (11-4-1, 7-4-1 WCHA) added a goal a few minutes later, but the Huskies held on for a 3-1 win.

Fifth year goaltender Sanni Ahola (Helsinki, Finland) came up huge for SCSU making 38 saves and only allowing one goal for a .974 save percentage. She opened the game extremely strong, making 23 of her 38 saves in the first period.

TOP HUSKIES

Ahola was named the game's first star after her 38 save performance.
Parent and Farrell led the Huskies with two points apiece, each netting a goal and tallying an assist. Farrell was named the game's second star and was a +2. Parent skated to a +3 mark and was named the game's third star.
Promersberger was the other Huskies goal scorer.
Fifth year forward Ally Qualley (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and junior forward Svenja Voigt (Cologne, Germany) each posted an assist.

NOTABLES

SCSU moves to 5-107-4 all-time against Minnesota and 4-44-2 all-time in St. Cloud against the Gophers.
The Huskies earned their first win over the Gophers since Nov. 7, 2022 and first home win/series split against UMN since 2010.
The Huskies led the game in saves (38-25) and blocks (14-5). UMN led in shots (39-28) and faceoff wins (41-21).
SCSU's penalty kill was 3-for-3 and powerplay went 0-for-1. The Huskies have killed off 41 of 47 penalties (87.2%) this season.
Ahola notched her fifth win of the season.
Farrell scored her fifth goal of the season, tying fifth year forward Emma Gentry (Alpena, Mich.) for the team lead. She is now tied for second on the team in points (seven). She recorded her sixth career multi-point game.
Parent scored her third goal of the season while tying for the team lead in shots (four). She surpassed 30 career points. She is now tied for second on the team in points (seven). She tied her career best +/- mark (+3) and posted her fourth career multi-point game.
Promersberger scored for the second straight night, bringing her season total to four. She tied for the team lead in shots (four). She is now tied for second on the team in points (seven).
Qualley skated to a +2 mark, tying her career best mark, in her 115^th career game.
Voigt tallied her fifth career assist.
Senior defender Grace Wolfe (Owatonna, Minn.) tied the game-high in blocked shots (three) and skated to a +1.
Junior defender Regan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) was a +1 in her first game back in the lineup since Oct. 19.
Senior defender Ella Anick (Hermantown, Minn.) skated to a +1 mark in her 115^th career game.
Senior defender Dayle Ross (Spirit River, Alberta) tied for the game-high in blocked shots (three) and tied for the team lead in shots (four) and was a +1.

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT
The Huskies make their second out-of-state road trip of the season and first since Sept. 21-22 next weekend when they travel to Schenectady, New York to play Union at the Messa Rink at Achilles Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Friday and 3 p.m. CT on Saturday. Live coverage will be available on ESPN+ ($) with live stats provided by Union. Links to each coverage option are available on the SCSU 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.