By Kyle Ginsbach/Assist. Sports Director/@GinsbachKyle

St. Cloud State Women’s Hockey rebounded from a 5-2 loss against the Gophers yesterday by defending their home ice to earn a series split.

Determined to play a game that was more evenly presented after a loss where the Huskies felt they played closer than the score read, St. Cloud State came out a bit flat-footed in the first period. Senior netminder Sani Ahola, in her return to the lineup, was up to the task of keeping the Huskies in the game. The Huskies would kill two penalties over the course of the period, and as the horn sounded, the shots read 23-8 in favor of the Gophers. Despite the lopsided scoresheet, the score, importantly, was 0-0.

In the second period, play would even out. Fifth-year forward Abby Promersberger would kickstart the scoring a little under halfway into the period, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead. A five-minute major on Brieja Parent would give the Gophers a chance late in the period, but the Huskies would kill the major, heading into the final intermission up 1-0. In the third period, the Huskies would jump out of the gate, keeping the pressure on. Brieja Parent would double the Huskies lead less than two minutes later, and on their next shift, her linemate Avery Farrell would triple the lead, effectively ending the Gophers chances less than 16 minutes into the final frame. Minnesota would continue to push, Natalie Mlynkova would get one back for the Gophers, but that would be all. A late penalty would be the final nail in the coffin, and the Huskies would skate away with a 3-1 win. It was the first Feburary 17th, 2010 that the Huskies have beaten the Gophers on home ice.

On the victory, forward Brieja Parent was asked about how the victory felt, “Awesome. It was so fun, and I think we always talk about playing for each other, and I think that’s what we did today, there was no individual play. It was just play as a team, do the little things right, see what happens, and it worked out for us.”

Up Next: The Huskies will be in action next weekend when they visit Union College. KVSC will have no on-site coverage, but you can expect recaps of both games as they conclude.