ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Stellar special teams work sent St. Cloud State Women's Hockey past RPI 3-2 on Saturday evening at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, earning the Huskies a season-opening sweep over the Engineers.
 
St. Cloud State killed off each of their three penalties to secure a 6-for-6 weekend while scoring twice on a 5-on-3, setting the tone for a gritty finale. Emma Gentry scored her second goal of the season while Addi Scribner and Klára Hymlárová each lit the lamp for the first time in 2022-23.
 
Sanni Ahola stopped 26 of 28 shots including all seven she faced on the power play, earning the win in her season debut. Scribner provided the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period, following Gentry on an odd-man rush and sending home a rebound after positioning herself perfectly across the slot.
 
Turning Point
After a pair of successful kills in the first, the Huskies drew a pair of quick penalties just two minutes into the second period. Klára Hymlárová struck first a minute and a half into the 5-on-3, skating to the point and ripping home the game's first goal as Taylor Lind threw a gorgeous screen ahead of the goaltender. Half a minute later, Olivia Cvar won a dump by Dayle Ross into the right corner and sent the puck to Emma Gentry in the near circle. Gentry skated through and launched a wrister home for a 2-0 Huskies lead.
 
Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Brian Idalski
 
"It's always nice to get a few games under your belt and get some film, an opportunity to teach and hammer down on some of the structure and systems that you like. That's what I'm most excited about, to get some games under our belt and try to get a little bit better."
 
On the critical pair of goals on the second period's 5-on-3… "Until that point, we thought through the first period they had a little better play. They had a couple power plays in the first, and we had none. When we got our opportunity, it was nice to see us execute. It was good to see the special teams executing and having some success. That was big for us to grab some momentum there."
 
On the Huskies' PK going 6-for-6 throughout the series… "It's still a work in progress. You can start to see some of the structure, but we still need a lot more reps to get it where we want it. Obviously you're happy without giving up a goal – that's a start, but we need to be better."
 
On areas to tweak looking ahead… "Bench management – there's obviously a little different cadence. Getting into the game action, shortening the game a little bit at the end and juggling the lines. That can be sharper. That will be something we can discuss and clean up. It was nice to get some of that experience for the group to understand expectations of what that looks like."
 
Quotables – St. Cloud State senior forward Addi Scribner
 
On her eventual game-winning goal… "There were a couple yesterday that my teammates were giving me, so today I wanted to make sure I put it in the back of the net. Gentry put it right off the pad, it was a great play – what we've been working on in practice. She made it an easy rebound for me. I'm happy to just be able to help my team and close out the game."
 
On the effective Huskies special teams… "It's fun! There's a little game between our two power play units too, just more competitiveness that pushes us. Obviously we're cheering for the other units, but it helps us out. In practice we have two pretty different units, so it helps give us different looks for the PK to adjust to. Focusing on the details and keeping possession is a big key for us."
 
Notables

• Emma Gentry, Klára Hymlárová each scored on the power play while Addi Scribner added an even-strength goal
• Gentry provided an assist for a two-point game
• Dayle Ross, Allie Cornelius, Grace Wolfe, Jenniina Nylund and Olivia Cvar each recorded an assist on the night
• Sanni Ahola made 26 saves on 28 shots
• Ahola has won her first start of the season in each of her three campaigns with SCSU
• SCSU has scored three times on the power play through their first two games of the season after scoring just nine power play goals through 35 games last year
• St. Cloud State went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill over the weekend
• SCSU has won six straight games against RPI dating back to November 7, 2014
• RPI led 28-24 on shots

Information regarding single game and season tickets can be found at scsutickets.com. For all the latest on St. Cloud State Women's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.