Minnesota State women’s hockey
The Minnesota State Mavericks edged a 3-1 win and a Western Collegiate Association split series over St. Cloud State in their game at the Verizon Center on Saturday. This win is the first against St. Cloud State since the Mavericks’ 2014-2015 season win against the Huskies, when they secured a victory with a regulation time score of 5-1 on Feb. 2, 2015.
The spectacular feat was achieved with three third-period goals from sophomore forward Demi Gardner at the 9:54 mark, junior forward Jordan McLaughlin at the 12:57 mark, and the game-winning goal that sealed the fate of St. Cloud State, coming from Hannah Davidson at the 17:11 time mark. The win is the first after a six-game losing streak.
The fierce rivalry between the two in-state teams was evident in the first period through to the second. The first 40 minutes of play was intense as the Huskies flexed a bit of muscle in the attack with shots on goal and attacks at 17 and 36, respectively, against the Mavericks’ 13 and 33.
The first period was goal-less, but the tenacity of the St. Cloud State team was rewarded in the second period by a goal from Julia Tylke at the 18:56 time mark with a play assisted by Laura Kluge and Emma Turbyville. With that goal, the Huskies chances for a victory looked promising but after seizing the 1-0 lead, the Huskies let up in the final frame and the Mavericks took advantage. The Mavericks faced a 1-0 deficit into the third period and were able to overturn the results and secure a comeback victory against St. Cloud State.
The third and final period was electrifying to say the least. The Mavericks had their comeback spearheaded by Gardner and finished off by Davidson. The plays were assisted by senior forward Amanda Conway, freshman forward Brittyn Fleming, junior forward Corbin Boyd, senior defenseman Emma Wittchow and sophomore defenseman Jordan Jackson.
In spite of the 3-1 loss, Emma Polusny was great in net for the Huskies, saving 22 shots while sophomore Chloe Crosby made 21 saves in net for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks finished 0-for-2 and the Huskies 0-for-1 on power plays, respectively.
The Huskies’ disappointing third period play was taken advantage of by the Mavericks. They let the lead they had gained in the second period slip through and it costed them three valuable WCHA points.
Minnesota State will play at home in the WCHA series against the University of Minnesota at the Verizon Center on Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4 before going on the road to play Ohio state in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 10 and 11.