By Carl Goenner / Sports Director / @carlgoenner.bsky.social / Madison Wis.

-On Sunday, January 26, 2025 the St. Cloud State Women’s hockey team tied the #1 Wisconsin Badgers 2-2, falling in the shootout. Ally Qualley and Laura Zimmerman scored goals for the Huskies with Emma Gentry earning 2 assists on the night.   Goaltender Emilia Kyrkko finished with 30 saves on the night.

The first period started fast and the Huskies kept up with the Badgers fast pace of play.

Just over 5 minutes into the period St. Cloud State struck first.  Svenja Voked popped a puck in the air off of the goaltender and Ally Qualley batted it into the back of the net giving the Huskies an early lead.

Less than two minutes later, Wisconsin’s Lacy Eden capitalized on a power-play opportunity to tie the game up and the first period ended with a score of 1-1.

Frustrations started to mount in period number two.  After the Badgers forced a turnover in their offensive end, Dayle Ross checked a Wisconsin player in the back resulting in a checking from behind penalty.   Luckily the Huskies were able to kill off the penalty, but soon the Huskies went on the penalty kill once again when Emma Gentry was called for high sticking.   This time the Badger power-play was successful giving Wisconsin a 2-1 lead that they took into the second intermission.

Period number three was much different.  The Huskies shut down the Badgers offensive attack and controlled the puck for the majority of the later half.  With 8:42 to go in the third period, Emma Gentry sent a shot in from the blue line that Mcnaughton stopped with her knee pads.  Laura Zimmerman grabbed the rebound, spun around and fired the puck into the net tying the game up 2-2.

Neither St. Cloud State or Wisconsin scored again in the third period and the game was soon headed into overtime.

St. Cloud State gained possession early in overtime and earned several quality scoring chances.  The Huskies held possession for the majority of the overtime period putting 5 shots on goal compared to Wisconsins 1.  After the overtime period ended scoreless, the teams headed to a shootout where the Badgers emerged victorious.

After the game, Coach Idalski talked about having changed up their strategies to help St. Cloud’s players get better chances in the game saying “I’m Super Proud of them.”  

Next up:  Next weekend St. Cloud State will play a home-and-home series against St. Thomas.

Game 1 on Friday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center kicks off at 3:00 PM.  You can catch the game live on 97.5 RadioX.

Photo Credit: SCSU Athletics.