(RV) St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Travels to St. Paul for First-Ever Games at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena

Friday, January 30

Lee & Penny Anderson Arena • St. Paul, Minn.

2 p.m.

St. Cloud State

(RV) St. Thomas

Photo by: Jason Soria

(RV) St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Travels to St. Paul for First-Ever Games at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena

1/29/2026 4:06:00 PM | Women's Hockey

Series Notes

Huskies play (RV) St. Thomas in important WCHA series Friday and Saturday

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – (RV) St. Cloud State Women's Hockey (8-16-2, 4-14-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) heads to St. Paul to play its first-ever games at the new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena this weekend. The Huskies play (RV) St. Thomas (10-16-0, 5-15-0 WCHA) on Friday and Saturday with puck drop scheduled for 2 p.m. both games.

SERIES NOTES

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
Both games will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus (note – a paid subscription is required). Audio coverage will be provided on 97.5 FM RadioX with KVSC talent Brian Moos on the call. Live stats will be provided by St. Thomas.

Game 27 – @ (RV) St. Thomas (Lee & Penny Anderson Arena // St. Paul, Minn.) – Friday, Jan. 30 / 2 p.m. / Watch ($ - B1G+) / Live stats / Listen (97.5 FM RadioX)
Game 28 – @ (RV) St. Thomas (Lee & Penny Anderson Arena // St. Paul, Minn.) – Saturday, Jan. 31 / 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.

SERIES HISTORY
SCSU leads the all-time series against St. Thomas, 12-5-2 and are 6-3-1 against the Tommies in the last 10 matchups. The series will mark the Huskies first ever time playing at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, but SCSU is 4-3-1 on the road against UST (Mendota Heights). SCSU went 1-1-0 against St. Thomas earlier this season with both games going into overtime. The Huskies won the first game 4-3 and UST won the series finale 4-3.

LET'S GO POLLING
The Huskies dropped out of the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Poll and the USA Hockey Poll for the first time since January 17, 2023 (77 weeks) but is receiving votes in both polls. UST is also receiving votes in both polls. The WCHA has five programs featured in the rankings, including two additional clubs receiving votes.

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. 15/14 SCSU was swept by No. 3 Minnesota in its home-and-home series against the Gophers. The Huskies dropped the series opener 8-1 at home before falling 5-1 in the series finale at Ridder Arena.

Notes from the games
GAME 25 - 8-1 loss vs. #3 Minnesota (1-23-26)

SCSU moved to 6-111-4 all-time against Minnesota and 2-7-1 in the 10 games against the Gophers. The Huskies moved to 4-47-2 all time against the 'U' in St. Cloud and 0-3-0 against Minnesota this season.
The eight goals against were the most this season and the seven-goal defeat was the largest against Minnesota since Dec. 10, 2022, when the Gophers took down SCSU 9-0.
SCSU moved to 3-8-1 in home games this season and 5-14-2 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 1-for-3 on the penalty kill and did not get a power play opportunity. For the season, SCSU is 61-for-80 (76.3%) on the penalty kill and 11-for-71 on the power play (15.5%).
The Gophers led the game in shots on goal (48-25) and won 59.2% of the faceoffs. SCSU led the game blocks (15-12).
SCSU blocked 15+ shots for the third time this season.
Junior forward Sofianna Sundelin (Ulvila, Finland) scored the lone SCSU goal. It was her second consecutive game with a goal, and she had scored goals in six of the last nine games. It was her team-leading 11^th goal of the season which ties her season high mark from last year. She also leads the team in points this season with 19.
Junior forward Alice Sauriol (Sherbrooke, Quebec) and freshman forward Raili Mustonen (Kalajoki, Finland) each provided assists on Sundelin's goal. Sauriol provided an assist for the second consecutive game. It was her team-leading 12^th assist of the season, and she ranks second on the team in points this season with 17. Mustonen was the lone Husky to skate to a +1 mark, which tied her single game career best.
Graduate defender Grace Wolfe (Owatonna, Minn.) and redshirt junior defender Regan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories) each blocked a game-high four shots. Wolfe blocked 4+ shots for the third time this season. She leads the Huskies in blocks this season with 41. Bulger blocked 4+ shots for the first time this season. She has 11 blocks in her last five games.
Graduate goaltender Jojo Chobak (Chicago, Ill.) made 40+ saves for the third time this season and the second straight game.

GAME 25 – 5-1 loss @ #3 Minnesota (1-24-26)

SCSU moved to 6-112-4 all-time against Minnesota and 2-8-0 in the 10 games against the Gophers. The Huskies moved to 1-62-2 all time against the 'U' in Minneapolis and 0-4-0 against Minnesota this season.
SCSU moved to 4-7-1 in home games this season and 5-15-2 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 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. For the season, SCSU is 64-for-84 (76.2%) on the penalty kill and 11-for-74 on the power play (14.9%).
The Gophers led the game in shots on goal (43-20) and won 54.7% of the faceoffs. SCSU led the game blocks (17-11).
SCSU blocked a season high 17 shots, the most in a game since it blocked 23 at Wisconsin on Feb. 4, 2024.
Freshman defender Sydney Lamb (Lombard, Ill.). scored the lone goal for the Huskies. It was her third goal of the season which tied her for the team lead among blueliners. Her nine points rank second among SCSU defenders.
Senior forward Avery Farrell (Rogers, Minn.) provided the only assist on Lamb's goal and skated to a +1 mark. Her assist was her 11^th of the season and her 17^th point, both of which rank tied for second on the team this season.
Wolfe led the game in blocks with four. She blocked 4+ shots for the fourth time this season and second straight game. She leads SCSU with 45 blocks this season.
Sundelin went 9-for-15 on the faceoff dot. She leads SCSU with 235 faceoff wins this season.
Redshirt junior forward Laura Zimmermann (Ringgenberg, Switzerland) blocked three shots. It was her 95^th career game and final before she leaves for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Milano Cortina.
Junior forward Payton Holloway (Tomah, Wis.) went 7-for-12 on the dot and skated to a +1 mark.
Chobak made 38+ saves for the fourth time this season and the third straight game.
Bulger skated in her 75^th career game.

THIS WEEK IN THE WCHA
Friday, Jan. 30
(RV) St. Cloud State at (RV) St. Thomas* - 2 PM
No. 14/13 Minnesota State at Bemidji State* - 6 PM
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 Ohio State* - 5 PM
No. 1 Wisconsin at No. 3 Minnesota* - 6 PM

Saturday, Jan. 31
(RV) St. Cloud State at (RV) St. Thomas* - 2 PM
No. 1 Wisconsin at No. 3 Minnesota* - 2 PM
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 Ohio State* - 2 PM
No. 14/13 Minnesota State at Bemidji State* - 3 PM

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

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).

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.

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.