By Carl Goenner / Sports Director / @carlgoenner.bsky.social / Duluth, Minn.

-The WCHA tournament began on Friday afternoon when the St. Cloud State Women’s hockey team faced off with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs defeated the Huskies 3-2 scoring their third goal with just 5 seconds left in the game.  

St. Cloud State got goals from Emma Gentry and Alice Sauriol while Duluth’s Caitlin Kraemer finished with 2 goals on the night.  The Huskies now trail the Bulldogs 0-1 in the best of three series in the first round of the WCHA Tournament.

Period #1.

The first period started out slow and contained a lot of back-and-forth play.  The two teams were evenly matched but the game changed when Dayle Ross received a five minute major for checking from behind.  

Roughly four minutes into the powerplay, freshman Caitlyn Kraemer scored to give Minnesota Duluth a 1-0 advantage.  The Bulldogs couldn’t score again and soon took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Period #2.

St. Cloud State came out of the first intermission with something to prove playing with a newfound confidence.  St. Cloud’s Brea Parent and Duluth’s Kamdyn Davis each received minor penalties and the teams played four on four.

Shortly after, Duluth’s Caitlin Kraemer caught St. Cloud’s Sofianna Sundelin’s leg as she was driving towards the net and sent her in to the Goalie, Eve Gascon.

Kraemer received a two minute minor for interference and the Huskies went on a 4 on 3 power-play.  Just as Kraemer was exiting the box, St. Cloud’s Emma Gentry tapped a puck past Gascon, tying the game up.

Almost four minutes later, Danielle Burgen received a tripping penalty sending SCSU to the Power Play once-again. This time, Alice Sauriol found the pack of the net on the powerplay.  The Huskies soon took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

Period #3.

The Bulldogs stepped up their game in period three and put a lot of shots on net.  St. Cloud State stepped up on defense trying to maintain their lead.

With just under 2 minutes remaining, Duluth pulled their goalie and Caitlin Kraemer scored her second goal of the game. This tied things up at 2 goals a piece and gave the Bulldogs the momentum.

St. Cloud State tried to run the clock down and it seemed like things were headed to overtime. However, UMD’s Olivia Wallin scored the game winning goal with just five seconds to go in the game. 

The Bulldogs earned a 3-2 win behind Caitlin Kraemer’s 2 goals. Minnesota Duluth now leads the Huskies 1-0 in WCHA Quarterfinal series.

The WCHA Quarterfinals continue tomorrow in the 3 game series as the two teams face off at 1:00 PM.

Tomorrow’s game kicks off at 1:00 PM with Carl Goenner and Sam Roering on the call, live on 97.5 RadioX.

Photo credit: Bill Prout. (CenterIceView)