No. 15/14 St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Set for Home-and-Home Series Against No. 3 Golden Gophers

Friday, January 23

St. Cloud, Minn.

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

#3 Minnesota

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Kayden Kircher

No. 15/14 St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Set for Home-and-Home Series Against No. 3 Golden Gophers

1/22/2026 3:58:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Series Notes

Huskies play Minnesota in St. Cloud Friday, Minneapolis Saturday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 15/14 St. Cloud State Women's Hockey (8-14-2, 4-12-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) will play its second and final home-and-home series of the season this weekend against No. 3 Minnesota (20-4-0, 14-4-0 WCHA). The series will begin at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud at 6 p.m. on Friday and close at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

SERIES NOTES

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Both games will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus (note – a paid subscription is required) with audio coverage on 97.5 FM RadioX. Additionally, Saturday's series finale will also be on FOX9+. Nick Maxson will have the call on B1G+ on Friday, while KVSC talent Brian Moos (play-by-play), Thomas Riess (color - Friday) and Noah Grant (color – Saturday) will be on the audio broadcasts. Live stats will be provided by each home team and tickets for Friday can be purchased at scsutickets.com.

Game 25 – vs. #3 Minnesota (Herb Brooks National Hockey Center // St. Cloud) – Friday, Jan. 23 / 6 p.m. / Watch ($ - B1G+) / Live stats / Listen (97.5 FM RadioX) / Tickets
Game 26 – @ #3 Minnesota (Ridder Arena // Minneapolis) – Saturday, Jan. 24 / 2 p.m. / Watch ($ - B1G+) / Live stats / Listen (97.5 FM RadioX)

Links to each coverage option can also be found on the St. Cloud State Women's Hockey game day central or schedule page.

GAME DAY PROMOTIONS
Friday, Jan. 23 vs. Minnesota  Youth Day (Kids in free) & Special Senior Day Recognition

SERIES HISTORY
SCSU trails the all-time series against the Gophers, 6-110-4, but are 2-3-0 against the "U" in the last five matchups. The Huskies are 4-46-2 all-time against Minnesota in St. Cloud and 1-61-2 against the Gophers in Minneapolis after earning its first ever road win at Minnesota last February in an instant classic, winning 4-3 with the game-winner coming in the final seconds of regulation. Earlier this season, SCSU went 0-2-0 in its series against Minnesota, falling 4-1 in Minneapolis and 5-3 in St. Cloud.

LET'S GO POLLING
The Huskies are ranked No. 15 the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Poll and No. 14 in the USA Hockey Poll. St. Cloud State is one of six WCHA programs featured in the rankings, with one additional club receiving votes. Minnesota is No. 3 in both polls.

WCHA WEEKLY/MONTHLY HONORS
Sophomore goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö (Nokia, Finland) was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Goaltender of the Week, as announced by the league office on Jan. 19. Kyrkkö was solid in net, posting a .950 save percentage and 1.92 goals against average in the Huskies 1-0-1 (shootout win) weekend at then-No. 8 Minnesota Duluth. The weekly honor is her second of the season (Goaltender of the Week on Dec. 1) and fifth of her career after being named Goaltender of the Week twice (10/7/24, 10/28/24) and Rookie of the Week once (10/21/24) last season as a freshman.

Kyrkkö became the second Husky to win multiple weekly honors from the conference after freshman forward Maria Mikaelyan (Moscow, Russia), who was named WCHA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 13 and Dec. 8. The Huskies have won all four conference weekly honors (forward, defender, goaltender and rookie) at least once. In addition to Kyrkkö and Mikaelyan, junior forward Alice Sauriol (Sherbrooke, Quebec) was named Forward of the Week on Oct. 20 and sophomore defender Siiri Yrjölä (Vantaa, Finland), was named Defender of the Week on Sept. 22.

The Nokia, Finland native made 39 saves (.951 save percentage), including seven in overtime in Jan. 16's 2-2 tie (shootout win) at No. 8 Minnesota Duluth and was named the No. 1 star for her efforts. It was her second game of the season with 39+ saves. In Jan. 17's 5-2 win, she saved 37 shots (.949 save percentage) and was named the game's No. 3 star. It was her second consecutive game making 37+ saves and the third game this season.

For the weekend, she led the WCHA in saves (76) and saves/game (38.0) while ranking second (first among goalies who played two games) in save percentage (.950) and fourth (second among goalies who played two games) in goals against average (1.92).

Emilia Kyrkkö Career WCHA Monthly/Weekly Honors

1x Rookie of the Month (October 2024)
4x Goaltender of the Week (Oct. 7, 2024 | Oct. 28, 2024 | Dec. 1, 2025 | Jan. 19, 2026)
1x Rookie of the Week (Oct. 21, 2024)

2025-26 WCHA MONTHLY/WEEKLY HONORS
Rookie of the Month

Maria Mikaelyan (1x, December)

Defender of the Week

Siiri Yrjölä (1x, Sept. 22)

Forward of the Week

Alice Sauriol (1x, Oct. 20)

Goaltender of the Week

Emilia Kyrkkö (2x, Dec. 1 | Jan. 19)

Rookie of the Week

Maria Mikaelyan (2x, Oct. 13 | Dec. 8)

HCA GOALIE OF THE YEAR AWARD WATCH LIST
Sophomore goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö (Nokia, Finland) was named to the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) Goalie of the Year Award Watch List, as announced by the organization on January 14. The HCA National Women's Goalie of the Year Award was created in 2021 to recognize the top female goalie in NCAA Division I Hockey. It is the second consecutive season Kyrkkö has been named to the watch list.

Kyrkkö is one of four Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) players on the 31-member watch list. The goalies to watch come from all five NCAA Division I conferences with 16 from the United States, ten from Canada, and five from Europe (two from Finland and Sweden and one from Denmark).

In her sophomore season, Kyrkkö has made 11 appearances/10 starts and owns a 5-4-1 record, 2.04 goals against average and .936 save percentage with three shutouts. She has been named WCHA Goaltender of the Week once this season (Dec. 1) and was recently named to Team Finland ahead for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Milano Cortina. Among all DI netminders she ranks No. 8 in shutouts, No. 11 in SV% and No. 15 in GAA this season.

HUSKIES AT MILANO CORTINA 2026
Eight with ties to SCSU Women's Hockey (four current players and four alumnae) have been named to their respective countries Olympic rosters ahead of Milano Cortina 2026, doubling the previous program record (from 2022) for the most current & former players at an Olympics. The 10-team tournament is set for Feb. 5-19 in Milan, Italy.

The largest contingent of Huskies – two current players and two alumnae, will be suiting up for Team Finland. Sophomore goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö (Nokia) and sophomore defender Siiri Yrjölä (Vantaa) will be joined by goaltender Sanni Ahola (Helsinki), who played for the Huskies from 2020-25 and former alternate captain, forward Jenniina Nylund (Pietarsaari) who wore the red and black from 2018-23. Nylund, the lone Finn with previous Olympic experience, won a Bronze Medal in Beijing in 2022 with Suomi.

Senior forward Svenja Voigt (Cologne) and former alternate captain, forward Laura Kluge (Berlin) who wore a Huskies sweater from 2017-21 have been named to Team Germany and will make their Olympic debuts in Milan.

Redshirt junior forward Laura Zimmermann (Ringgenberg) will play for Team Switzerland and former alternate captain forward Klára Hymlárová (Opava), who skated for the Huskies from 2019-24 was named to Team Czechia. Both skated in Beijing at the 2022 games.

LAST TIME OUT
Then-No. 15 SCSU went 1-0-1 in its games in Duluth at AMSOIL Arena last weekend against then-No. 8 Minnesota Duluth. The Huskies tied UMD, 2-2 on Friday and won the shootout 1-0 for the extra WCHA point before beating the Bulldogs 5-2 on Saturday. The win was the Huskies first over Minnesota Duluth since December 9, 2023, and the first against the Bulldogs at AMSOIL Arena since February 9, 2019.

Notes from the games
GAME 23 - 2-2 tie (1-0 shootout win) @ #8 Minnesota Duluth (1-16-26)

SCSU moved to 15-94-13 all-time against Minnesota Duluth and 0-8-2 in the 10 games against the Bulldogs. The Huskies moved to 5-56-6 all time against UMD in Duluth and 0-2-1 against Minnesota Duluth this season.
The Huskies snapped an eight-game winless streak against UMD at AMSOIL Arena, picked up its first shootout win since Oct. 19, 2024, and its first road shootout win since February 17, 2024 (last time earning points on the road vs. UMD).
SCSU moved to 3-6-1 in road games this season, 4-13-2 in games against teams ranked/receiving votes in either the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Poll or the USA Hockey Poll and 1-1 in shootouts this season.
The Huskies went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play. For the season, SCSU is 58-for-75 (77.3%) on the penalty kill and 10-for-68 on the power play (14.7%).
SCSU blocked 11+ shots for the 10^th time this season and third consecutive game.
The Bulldogs led the game in shots on goal (41-25), blocks (15-11) and won 78.0% of the faceoffs.
Sophomore goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö (Nokia, Finland) made 39 saves in the game (.951 save percentage) including seven in overtime and was named the No. 1 star for her efforts. She made 39+ saves for the second time this season. Kyrkkö improved her season GAA to 2.03, her season SV% to .938, her career GAA to 2.00 and her career SV% to .931. The tie was the fifth of her career.
Graduate defender Grace Wolfe (Owatonna, Minn.) provided the primary assist on the game-tying goal and scored the shootout winner. She was named the game's No. 3 star. Wolfe's assist was her team leading 11^th of the season. Her 14 points this season are tied for second most on the team.
Senior forward Avery Farrell (Rogers, Minn.) scored one of the SCSU goals. The goal was her 5^th of the season and 30^th of her career. It was also her 65^th career point. Farrell was one of three Huskies to skate to a +1 mark. Her 14 points this season are tied for second most on the team.
Freshman defender Maélie Pion (Sherbrooke, Quebec) scored the game-tying goal for SCSU. The goal was just the second of her career. She tied for the team lead in blocks, with two.
Freshman defender Sydney Lamb (Lombard, Ill.) recorded her fifth assist of the season and tied for the team lead in blocks, with two.

GAME 24 – 5-2 win @ #8 Minnesota Duluth (1-17-26)

SCSU moved to 16-94-13 all-time against Minnesota Duluth and 1-7-2 in the 10 games against the Bulldogs. The Huskies moved to 6-56-6 all time against UMD in Duluth and 1-2-1 against Minnesota Duluth this season.
The win was the Huskies first over UMD since December 9, 2023, and the first against the Bulldogs at AMSOIL Arena since February 9, 2019.
SCSU moved to 4-6-1 in road games this season and 5-13-2 in games against teams ranked/receiving votes in either the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Poll or the USA Hockey Poll.
The Huskies went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play. For the season, SCSU is 60-for-77 (77.9%) on the penalty kill and 11-for-71 on the power play (15.5%).
SCSU blocked 14+ shots for the third time this season and the second time in the last three games.
The Bulldogs led the game in shots on goal (39-31), blocks (15-14) and won 55.2% of the faceoffs.
Freshman forward Maria Mikaelyan (Moscow, Russia) scored two goals and skated to a +2 mark and was named the game's No. 1 star. She posted her second multi-goal game and fourth multi-point game of the season. Mikaelyan's two goals gave her nine goals for the season which ranks second on the team and 15 points which ranks fourth.
Kyrkkö made 37 saves in the game (.949 save percentage) and was named the game's No. 3 star. She made 37+ saves for the third time this season and for the second consecutive game.
Farrell tallied a goal and an assist, for her 10^th career multi-point game. She was named the game's No. 2 star. Farrell's 16 points this season are tied for the second most on the team, her 10 assists are third most and her six goals rank fourth. It was her 130^th career game.
Junior forward Alice Sauriol (Sherbrooke, Quebec) recorded two assists. She tallied her sixth multi-point game of the season and third multi-assist game of the season. Sauriol's 11 assists are tied for the most on the team this year and her 16 points are tied for the second most.
Redshirt junior forward Laura Zimmermann (Ringgenberg, Switzerland) tallied a goal and an assist. She recorded her second multi-point game of the season and the third of her career. Zimmermann's seven goals rank third on the team this season.
Junior forward Sofianna Sundelin (Ulvila, Finland) scored her team leading 10^th goal of the season and won 12+ faceoffs for the seventh time this season. She also leads the team in points with 18.
Sophomore defender Siiri Yrjölä (Vantaa, Finland) skated to a game best +3 mark which was her new career high and tied for the team lead in blocks, with three.

THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
Friday, Jan. 23
(RV) St. Thomas at No. 2 Ohio State* - 5 PM
No. 15/14 St. Cloud State at No. 3 Minnesota* - 6 PM
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at No. 13 Minnesota State* - 6 PM

Saturday, Jan. 24
(RV) St. Thomas at No. 2 Ohio State* - Noon
Bemidji State at No. 1 Wisconsin* - 1 PM
No. 15/14 St. Cloud State at No. 3 Minnesota* - 2 PM - FOX9+
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at No. 13 Minnesota State* - 2 PM

Sunday, Jan. 25
Bemidji State at Wisconsin* - 11 AM

*WCHA Game
** Rankings are USCHO/USA Hockey
***All times in CT

NURSING STUDENT BY DAY, GOALTENDER BY NIGHT
Graduate goaltender Jojo Chobak's (Chicago, Ill.) journey as the first hockey player to make their way through St. Cloud State University's nursing program was recently featured on #OurSCSU.

WCHA COMMISSIONER'S CORNER
Redshirt junior forward Laura Zimmermann (Ringgenberg, Switzerland) was featured on the most recent installment of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Commissioner's Corner podcast series on Nov. 5. In the series, WCHA Commissioner Michelle McAteer sits down one-on-one with extraordinary student-athletes from across the league to discuss real-life topics, hockey, and everything in between. You can watch the video on the WCHA Hockey YouTube page.

PWHL HUSKIES
Last season, Klára Hymlárová (2019-24) became the first former Husky to be drafted into the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), the first to be named to an opening day roster and the first to play in a PWHL game. This season, Hymlárová was joined by SCSU alumnae Sanni Ahola (2020-25), Emma Gentry (2020-25), Laura Kluge (2017-21) and Dayle Ross (2021-25) on PWHL opening day rosters.

Hymlárová is looking to win back-to-back Walter Cups with the Minnesota Frost, who as a franchise have won the first two league championships. Ahola was the 37^th overall pick by the Ottawa Charge in the 2025 PWHL Draft in June becoming the program's first netminder to be drafted. Gentry became the highest draft pick in program history when she was selected in the second round with the 11^th overall pick by the Toronto Sceptres. Kluge, who became the second former Husky to play in a PWHL game after joining the Sceptres late in the 2024-25 season signed with the Boston Fleet during the offseason. Ross became the program's first blueliner drafted when she was picked No. 25 overall by the New York Sirens.

NEW LEADER OF THE PACK
Former assistant coach, Mira Jalosuo (MEER-ah YAH-loh-SUE-oh) was named the seventh head coach of the St. Cloud State Women's Hockey team on June 27, 2025. She is just the second woman to lead the Huskies during the program's 27-year history, following in the footsteps of Kerry Brodt Wethington, who was the programs first head coach from 1998-99 to 2001-02.

Jalosuo picked up her first win as the Huskies bench boss in her first game, a 5-0 win over Lindenwood (Mo.) on September 19. She earned her first series sweep the next day after SCSU took down the Lions 5-0 for the second straight game. It was the first time in program history that a team posted back-to-back shutouts to open a season and the fourth season in a row that the Huskies opened their season with a series sweep. Jalosuo earned her first ranked win in her third game when SCSU took down No. 12/13 UConn at the Toscano Family Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn. and her first WCHA win on Oct. 17 with a 4-3 overtime win over (RV) St. Thomas.

A highly decorated member of Finland's National Team, the two-time Olympian and five-time World Championships Bronze medalist spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Frost (formerly PWHL Minnesota), helping the franchise win back-to-back PWHL Walter Cups in each of the first two seasons of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

ALL-FEMALE COACHING STAFF
For the first time in program history, the Huskies have an all-female coaching staff. SCSU is one of two programs in the WCHA and one of six programs in all of NCAA DI Women's Hockey with an all-female staff.

O CAPTAINS! OUR CAPTAINS!
St. Cloud State named four captains ahead of the 2025-26 season on Friday. Graduate student defender Grace Wolfe (Owatonna, Minn.) with be the fifth Husky to wear the "C" as captain for two seasons, while redshirt junior defender Regan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories), graduate student goaltender Jojo Chobak (Chicago, Ill.) and redshirt junior forward Laura Zimmermann (Ringgenberg, Switzerland) will be alternate captains and wear a letter for the first time in their career.

Wolfe, who served as a co-captain in 2024-25 and an alternate captain in 2023-24, becomes just the second Husky to wear a letter in three seasons after Katy Battis (C – 1999-2000, A – 2001-02, 2002-03).

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.