Brian Moos / Sports Director

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State women’s hockey continues to keep games close, but fell short again on Saturday. The Huskies 3-2 loss to Minnesota-Duluth dropped them to (4-8-0) on the season and stuck with just one win in WCHA play.

The Huskies would get scoring started late in the first period. An offensive zone entry started by Avery Farrell would be finished by Sofianna Sundelin, set up by a great pass from Raili Mustonen. Sundelin beat UMD goalie Sophia Villanueva all alone for her third goal of the season.

SCSU couldn’t hold onto the lead for long, as Duluth answered less than two minutes later. The game entered the second period tied at 1-1. Duluth controlled the second period, getting plenty of shots on SCSU goalie Jojo Chobak. Scoring wouldn’t be seen until late in the frame, with Duluth grabbing a 2-1 lead they would take into the third.

Duluth came out of the second intermission fast, extending their lead to 3-1 just 29 seconds in. The Huskies certainly looked like they knew their backs were against the wall the rest of the game. SCSU would get rewarded for turning up the heat on offense, getting a goal from Payton Remick, the first of her college career.

As Duluth tried to run the clock out on the Huskies, SCSU kept chipping away. With less than three minutes to go, SCSU used their timeout and played with an empty net for the extra skater. Even as multiple penalties changed the number of players on the ice, the Huskies attempted the last 14 shots of the game. Nothing got through and the Huskies came so close once again.

St. Cloud State will get a much-needed bye week next Friday and Saturday. Their next series will be against the defending champions, the Wisconsin Badgers in St. Cloud.