Saturday, February 28
Ridder Arena • Minneapolis
2 p.m.
St. Cloud State
12-22-2, 7-20-2
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4
#4 Minnesota
25-10-1, 19-9-1
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F
St. Cloud St.
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Minnesota
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Photo by: Jacob Sanders
(RV) St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey Drops Game Two of WCHA First Round Series at No. 4 Minnesota
3/1/2026 3:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Wolfe ties career games played record, Gophers avenge game one loss with 4-1 victory
MINNEAPOLIS – (RV) St. Cloud State Women's Hockey (12-22-2, 7-19-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) fell in game two of its WCHA First Round Series at No. 4 Minnesota, 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.
Despite SCSU leading the game in shots on goal in the early going, the Gophers (25-10-1, 18-9-1 WCHA) opened the scoring with their first goal of the weekend 8:15 into the first period. The Huskies went 0-for-2 on the power play in the period and Minnesota was also unable to convert on their lone player advantage.
The 'U' added a pair of goals in the second period, including one on the power play to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but the Huskies cut into their deficit after freshman forward Maria Mikaelyan (Moscow, Russia) scored for the Huskies 4:50 into the third period. Mikaelyan applied pressure with a good forecheck in the Huskies zone and forced the Gophers into making a turnover. Senior forward Avery Farrell (Rogers, Minn.) picked up the puck in the neutral zone, skated back into the o-zone, drawing multiple Gophers to her before finding Mikaelyan streaking down the middle of the ice wide open. Once she got the puck on her stick, Mikaelyan let a shot go from inside the left dot, going bar-down to beat the Minnesota netminder.
With 2:11 left in the game, the Huskies pulled sophomore goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö (Nokia, Finland) and were unable to register a shot before Minnesota scored an empty net goal with 1:00 left. The Gophers were called for a penalty before the ensuing faceoff, so once SCSU gained possession after losing the draw, pulled Kyrkkö with 42 seconds left but were unable to score despite the short 6-on-4 opportunity.
TOP HUSKIES
The Huskies will meet Minnesota for game three at Ridder Arena at 3 p.m. on Sunday with a chance to go their first Final Faceoff since 2008. Links to each coverage option can be found on the SCSU Women's Hockey game day central or 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.
Despite SCSU leading the game in shots on goal in the early going, the Gophers (25-10-1, 18-9-1 WCHA) opened the scoring with their first goal of the weekend 8:15 into the first period. The Huskies went 0-for-2 on the power play in the period and Minnesota was also unable to convert on their lone player advantage.
The 'U' added a pair of goals in the second period, including one on the power play to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but the Huskies cut into their deficit after freshman forward Maria Mikaelyan (Moscow, Russia) scored for the Huskies 4:50 into the third period. Mikaelyan applied pressure with a good forecheck in the Huskies zone and forced the Gophers into making a turnover. Senior forward Avery Farrell (Rogers, Minn.) picked up the puck in the neutral zone, skated back into the o-zone, drawing multiple Gophers to her before finding Mikaelyan streaking down the middle of the ice wide open. Once she got the puck on her stick, Mikaelyan let a shot go from inside the left dot, going bar-down to beat the Minnesota netminder.
With 2:11 left in the game, the Huskies pulled sophomore goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö (Nokia, Finland) and were unable to register a shot before Minnesota scored an empty net goal with 1:00 left. The Gophers were called for a penalty before the ensuing faceoff, so once SCSU gained possession after losing the draw, pulled Kyrkkö with 42 seconds left but were unable to score despite the short 6-on-4 opportunity.
TOP HUSKIES
- Mikaelyan scored the lone SCSU goal.
- Farrell provided the lone assist on the Huskies goal.
- Kyrkkö made 46 saves (.939 save percentage) and only allowed two even strength goals.
- SCSU moved to 7-113-4 all-time against the Gophers and 3-7-0 in the 10 games against the 'U'. The Huskies moved to 2-63-2 all time against Minnesota in Minneapolis and 1-5-0 against the Gophers this season.
- The Huskies moved to 5-12-1 in road games this season and 7-21-2 in games against teams ranked/receiving votes in either the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Poll or the USA Hockey Poll.
- SCSU went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. For the season, SCSU is 80-for-107 (74.8%) on the penalty kill and 17-for-93 on the power play (18.3%).
- The Gophers led the game in shots (50-18) and won 70.3% of the faceoffs. The Huskies led the game in blocked shots (13-5).
- SCSU's blocked 13+ shots for the 11th time this season.
- The Huskies moved to 8-43 in WCHA Tournament games and 8-41 in First Round games.
- Mikaelyan's goal was her 13th of the season (second most on the team) and 19th point (fifth most on the team).
- Farrell's assist was her 15th of the year which is tied for the second most on the team this season. and her 21st point which is tied for the third most on the team. It was also her 45th point as a Husky.
- Kyrkkö's 46 saves were the second most this season.
- Graduate defender Grace Wolfe (Owatonna, Minn.) skated in her 153rd career game which is tied for the most in program history with former teammate and two-time alternate captain Taytum Geier (2018-23).
The Huskies will meet Minnesota for game three at Ridder Arena at 3 p.m. on Sunday with a chance to go their first Final Faceoff since 2008. Links to each coverage option can be found on the SCSU Women's Hockey game day central or 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.
Team Stats
SCS
MIN
Shots
18
50
PPG
0
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
4
Penalty Mins
10
8
Faceoffs Won
19
45
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
0
A
1
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
0
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Hockey
Goaltender
/ Women's HockeyForward
/ Women's Hockey
Defender
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