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Huskies sweep by UND
Women's hockey team gets confidence boosting wins against non-conference foe UND.
By Ben Birnell
Published:
Monday, February 3, 2003
Media Credit: Blair Schlichte
SCSU sophomore Carrie Holldorf chases UND�s Jessica Kovacevich during Saturday�s game at the National Hockey Center. Holldorf scored two goals which helped the Huskies to a 6-0 win.
The SCSU women's hockey team probably wishes they could play their entire schedule against non-conference opponent, the University of North Dakota.
In a two-game set over the weekend, the Huskies bested the "Fighting Sioux" 4-3 and 6-0 in impressive fashion, and for at least one weekend, their scoring troubles seemed to vanish. With the two wins, the SCSU train gained some steam heading into next weekend's huge WCHA matchup against the nationally-ranked University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
Friday night's game got off to a fast start as SCSU put pressure on early and had many scoring chances during the first few minutes of the game. With UND's Meaghan Nelson in the penalty box, SCSU senior Erin McNamara would answer the call for the Huskies, slapping in a rebound in the front of the crease for the early 1-0 lead and her third goal of the year.
UND answered back at the 14:39 mark of the first period as UND's Devon Fingland found the back of the net on a shot from the right side of the crease to tie the game at one.
"I thought we came out and for about the first 12 minutes, we just controlled the entire game," Husky head coach Jason Lesteberg said. "The shots on-goal were 12-0, and what happened (later in the first period) was we got lackadaisical and started stepping up in the neutral zone when we shouldn't have. One of our goals coming in was not to give up any odd man rushes. We gave up seven in the first period."
The second period saw the Huskies come out on a roll. SCSU would score its second power play goal of the day at the 2:34 mark when sophomore defenseman Tina Ciraulo pumped one in from just in front of the crease. It was Ciraulo's first goal of the season.
SCSU would answer back no more than two minutes later. With SCSU on the power play, McNamara lit the lamp for the second time on the night to put SCSU up 3-1.
But UND would storm back and cut the Huskies lead to one when junior forward Stasia Bakhit found a hole between the pipes, and netminder's Laura Gieselman's pads, at the 13:26 mark. With 19:48 left in the period, Bakhit broke away with the puck again and senior captain Kobi Kawamoto's diving sprawl to try and break it up was enough for referee Ray Doocy to award UND with one of the greatest and most heart-stopping plays in all of hockey: the penalty shot. Gieselman would deny Bakhit's attempt, and the period would end with St. Cloud clinging to a one-goal lead.
"When we're playing well, we're good with the puck, winning the little battles and playing our systems. When we did that, we controlled and dominated the game," Lesteberg said. "When we went away from that and got lackadaisical with the puck, they're a team that will take advantage of anything you give them."
At the 13:18 mark, the Huskies pumped in another goal to go up by two. Kelly Stewart would be credited with her second of the year. But UND would answer back late in the third at the 18:12 mark to cut the Huskies lead back to one. Sherrie White's crisp slap shot found the back of the net to trim the score to 4-3.
UND would pull goalie Amber Hasbargen with 1:34 remaining to get the extra attacker and try for the tie, but the strategy worked to no avail and the Huskies picked up their eighth win of the season.
After the game, the happiness on McNamara's face wasn't hard to see. The senior's two goals, coupled with her one last weekend against Bemidji State, have put an extra bounce in her step as of late.
"I'm playing for my team, I'm having a great time and I'm getting encouragement from other players," McNamara said. "I think playing with my senior friends is helping a lot too. Playing with Jenny Swanson, Abby Cooper, Laura Gieselman and Amanda Mathison, they help out a lot. So when I go out there and play, I just enjoy doing it. I told Jenny tonight, 'Let's just go out there and play for each other and we'll come out winners, regardless of the outcome.'"
Lesteberg also had good things to say about McNamara.
"She's a tough, hard-nosed kid that we put in front of the power play. She can shoot and elevate the puck. She also has a good eye of deflecting it on net," Lesteberg said. "Whenever you can redirect a puck, it's going to be hard for a goaltender to stop it."
Saturday's game was a different story as the Huskies outworked, out played and all around dominated the young visiting team from Grand Forks. By the time the final horn had sounded on Saturday's game, the Huskies had outshot their opponents 52-23, marking two firsts for SCSU. The first being the first time in the 2002-03 season where the Huskies have had more than 50 shots on net. The second would be the first time the Huskies have scored more than four goals on the season.
In the first period, the Huskies came out slow and looked as though the jinx of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was back for the second game in a row. Fortunately for SCSU, they started to come around at the 15 minute mark.
With less than four minutes left in the first, Holldorf pumped in her sixth of the season off a nice feed from Kawamoto. But SCSU wasn't done there; at the 17:43 mark, and the Huskies on the power play, McNamara pumped in her third goal of the weekend to put the Huskies up 2-0.
The Huskies went up 3-0 at the 19:51 mark when Roxy Stang pumped in her fifth goal of the year. The second period would again be dominated by the Huskies as they pumped in two more unanswered goals by Ashley Stewart and Holldorf.
Hauge would add a sixth and final goal to complete the sweep. Freshman Brie Anderson was stellar between the pipes stopping all 23 shots she faced, and earning her first collegiate career shutout. Anderson was happy with her play, but said the entire team helped her.
"It feels good to get the shutout," Anderson said. "I didn't do it alone that's for sure. Being a freshman coming in, I'm learning every game. You get experience and you just want to go out there and do your best. Today the bounces went my way and we pulled it out."
The game also marked a total team effort for St. Cloud. Lesteberg was happy with the performances that his team turned out.
"We were proud of everyone's play," Lesteberg said. "We had probably the worst start to a game that we've had, the first five or six minutes didn't go well, but we hit a switch in our minds and started to do the little things."
"We're gonna use these wins as stepping stones into next weekend. I told the team that we can play like that against anyone, it doesn't matter who it is."
