Max Steigauf / Sports Director / @Max_Steigauf

St. Cloud State’s Womens hockey team entered their weekend series against the St. Thomas Tommies on the edge of cracking the Top-15 teams in the polls. The Huskies were just 13 votes from #15 Princeton.

In game one on Friday St. Cloud would score the first two goals thanks to Emma Gentry and the third line giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead about a minute into the second period. The Tommies wouldn’t give up though scoring a goal in the final five minutes of the second period cutting their deficit to 2-1.

Then with about seven minutes left in the third period disaster struck St. Cloud State. Huskies Captain Taylor Lind chased after a puck in the offensive zone corner and was brought down awkwardly. While Lind was laying on the ice the Tommies broke out of their own end and capitalized on the odd-skater rush netting the game tying goal. Lind wouldn’t return for the rest of the series against the Tommies leaving the already banged up Huskies without their captain.

St. Cloud would battle back though and less than three minutes later the third line would strike again when Addi Scribner would find a streaking Courtney Hall on a stretch pass. Hall was all alone with the Tommies goalie, Alexa Dobchuk. Hall would toss the puck past Dobchuk’s stick for her first goal of the season and also gave the Huskies a 3-2 lead. St. Cloud would hold onto that lead to secure their tenth win of the season. This is the fastest the Huskies have gotten to ten wins since the 2008-09 season.

In Game two, in St. Paul, St. Cloud would be down a skater due to Taylor Lind’s injury. The Huskies wasted no time getting on the board scoring on the powerplay about a minute into the game. Klara Hymlarova would release a wicked wrist shot from the blue line to beat Saskia Mauerer.

Late in the first period St. Thomas scored on a one timer to knot the game at one a piece heading into the first intermission. The Tommies weren’t done yet though scoring again five minutes into the second period taking a 2-1 lead on the injured Huskies. Three minutes after the Tommies took the lead the reigning WCHA forward of the week Jenniina Nylund would wrap around Mauerer and throw a puck off a Tommy defender to once again tie the game.

St. Thomas would score again to take another lead just pasty the midway mark in the second period, but once again the tenacious Huskies answered. Senior forward Olivia Cvar sniped the far side post to tie the game again.

Later in the second period Jenniina Nylund would go to the penalty box for interference. St. Cloud boasts one of the best penalty-kill teams in the nation killing penalties 90% of the time. During the Penalty Kill Klara Hymlarova poke checked the puck away from a Tommy in the neutral zone and then went down and scored on the shorthanded break-out rush for her second goal of the game. Hymlarova’s goal also gave the Huskies a 4-3 lead. St. Cloud’s first lead since the first period.

Coming out of the second intermission St. Cloud hoped to close out the game and walk away with a win. The Huskies added on to their one goal lead midway through the third period. Once again, the Huskies were on the power play, and once again Klara Hymlarova would release a rocket from the blue line to give the Huskies a 5-3 lead. The goal also gave Hymlarova a hat trick for the game. With two minutes left Emma Gentry would score the sixth and final goal of the game giving the St. Cloud a 6-3 win and sweeping the Tommies.

The sweep helped push the Huskies over the top and into the USCHO rankings. The polls that were released earlier Monday has the Huskies sitting in the #14 spot. This is the first time St. Cloud has made it into the USCHO polls since Jan. 21, 2009. The Huskies received 34 points which is the most they have ever received.