ST. CHARLES, Mo. – (RV) St. Cloud State Women's Hockey relied on aggressive and opportunistic effort in the offensive zone to dump Lindenwood 7-2 in their series opener at the Centene Community Ice Center on Friday evening.
 
12 different Huskies tallied a point as SCSU outshot Lindenwood 38-24 in a game that featured a great deal of ebb and flow. Taylor Lind and Jeniina Nylund each lit the lamp twice while Taytum Geier provided two assists. Sanni Ahola made 22 saves to earn her fifth win of the season in goal.
 
Following a sloppy first 10 minutes of play, the Huskies scored a pair of successive goals to build a 2-0 lead. Lind struck first, sliding down to the slot and redirecting a shot by Geier from the left point. Nylund kept the top-six buzzing on the ensuing faceoff, anticipating a pass on the forecheck to step in front and intercept then throwing it home for her first of the game.
 
St. Cloud State added to their lead 42 seconds into the second as Bailey Burton drew a penalty shot. The senior forward made a wicked move to the backhand and went bar-down on the tender to make it a 3-0 game. Nylund scored her second just two minutes on the penalty kill, again stealing a pass on the forecheck and skating across the slot with a strong move to beat the goalie.
 
McKenna Welsoh scored the team's third goal of the period on the power play eight minutes in, scooping up a rebound then skating around the tender to toss in a backhanded wrister. Lind lit the lamp for the second time just 42 seconds into the third period, deflecting a shot from Regan Bulger past the goaltender.
 
Lindenwood scored a pair of goals in under a minute a bit later into third period, stealing momentum away from the Huskies for a brief spell. St. Cloud State found the back of the net once more with just under eight to play as Svenja Voigt tipped in an Emma Gentry rocket for her first collegiate goal.
 
Quotables – St. Cloud State head coach Brian Idalski
 
"It took us a little bit to get going. With a week off, we were a little shaky in the beginning – but once we got going, I thought we competed well, possessed the puck and did a lot of good things."
 
"I felt we did a nice job of getting some traffic on net, getting some screens, tips and dirty goals. That was something we had spoken about earlier – it was good to see them executing. That's who we are and what we have. Identity-wise, that's how we have to play."
 
On the ups and downs of the game… "It's a mixed bag. We enjoy the fact we were able to roll four lines and had lots of people contributing. At the same point, mindset-wise we have to get better every time we're out. I thought we kind of took our foot off the gas there a little bit in the third period, let them get some energy and get back into the game with a couple goals. That's going to happen. That was a good learning experience for us – we'll get better tomorrow."
On Jenniina Nylund and Taylor Lind's two-goal nights… "Both did a nice job of moving their feet and competing hard throughout. They were hungry to get the puck and brought a lot of good energy for us today."
 
Quotables – St. Cloud State senior forward Taylor Lind
 
"A big win is always exciting. It was nice to get that outburst of offense – we were good when we worked hard. It shows we're a really good team when we work hard."
 
On the Huskies' ability to manage the flurries that Lindenwood put on… "We've dealt with adversity well. It goes to show through those moments we know how to bounce back. We know that we have to work our tails off in those big moments to keep the momentum on our side."
 
On the excellent SCSU forecheck… "I think that's one of our high points. We're a hard-working team, and that stays true with our forecheck. We like to throw the body around and battle hard for the puck to create some turnovers."
 
Quotables – St. Cloud State graduate defender Taytum Geier
 
"It's always fun to play an opponent we normally don't get to play, especially to beat them on their home ice – it feels good. We knew this weekend that we'd have a little more time and space with the puck, and it felt good to put that into action and put those goals up."
 
On preparing for the long holiday road trip… "It's what we've been working on going into the week. We've been trying to practice like we planned to play against them, running our power play how they would kill. Taking care of our bodies, we knew we'd be spending a lot of time on the road, so focusing on recovering and getting a lot of water while preparing mentally as well."
 
"We knew we'd have more time and space. A big key for myself was trying to find those lanes to get the puck through. I was able to do that, and my teammates were able to put them away."
 
"We're going to try and manage better tomorrow. Making sure we're not giving them any confidence – I felt like that last period we kind of took a break and gave them a couple goals, which increased their confidence. Keeping those breaks at a minimum tomorrow and putting the pressure on for 60 minutes will be important."
 
Notables
 

• Seven goals are the most SCSU has scored in a game since they potted seven against Colgate on January 6, 2017
• 12 different Huskies recorded a point
• Taylor Lind and Jenniina Nylund each scored two goals, with one of Nylund's being the Huskies' first short-handed marker of the year
• Nylund passed Laura Fast for 13^th all-time on the program's scoring list and is now three points away from entering the top-10
• Svenja Voigt scored her first collegiate goal
• McKenna Wesloh and Bailey Burton each scored their second goal of the season
• Burton's goal came on a penalty shot
• Taytum Geier led SCSU with two assists while Dayle Ross, Grace Wolfe, Klára Hymlárová, Emma Gentry, Regan Bulger and Olivia Cvar each provided one
• Sanni Ahola made 22 saves en route to winning her fifth game of the season
• The Huskies outshot Lindenwood 38-24
• SCSU went 39-23 on faceoffs to win 62.9% of draws
• Hymlárová was 13-4 in the dot while Nylund went 11-6
   

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