Coming off back-to-back shutouts against No. 5 Minnesota, St. Cloud State looked like a different team entirely Saturday in a 9-3 win over North Dakota.
St Cloud (9-13-1, 6-10-1 WCHA) was led offensively by the line of senior Kristy Oonincx and juniors Hailey Clarkson and Denelle Maguet, who accounted for four goals and seven assists against the Sioux (5-16-2,
1-14-2 WCHA).
“We’ve been getting our passing and timing down and it seemed like today we
got all the bounces,” Maguet said. “Some days it seems like you get a hundred shots and never score, but today they were finding the back of the net.”
Clarkson opened the scoring at 3:44 of the first when she took a pass from
Maguet in front, made a slick spin around and beat UND senior goaltender Margaret-Ann Hinkley far side on the ice. She finished with two goals and an assist.
Oonincx scored 34 seconds into the second period for a 4-0 lead, en route to a three-point night.
Maguet provided her 10th goal of the year on the power play in the third and
added four assists including one on Oonincx’s eventual game-winner.
“We changed lines just before Christmas, and they’ve been definitely the
catalyst of our team,” said SCSU coach Jason Lesteberg. “They move the puck well, they see the ice well, they shoot well, and they definitely were the leaders of the squad today.”
“I think that our line is really clicking offensively and defensively,” Oonincx said. “We just know where each other are, we talk out there, and listen to each other. Any line can do it on any given day, but we’re the type of players that should be scoring and if we’re not we aren’t doing our job.”
The Huskies played well along the boards and in the corners getting to loose
pucks and creating scoring opportunities. SCSU capitalized on seemingly every opportunity it had en route to the victory.
“We talk about that as a team that any little battle can turn into something
good or bad, and if you’re winning the battles you’re going to win the war,” Lesteberg said. “They did a great job today bearing down and winning those
battles.”
The Fighting Sioux thought they had scored a goal in the first when junior
Sarah Connelly shot the puck at the net. They celebrated as if the shot
went in, but no goal was signaled by the referee nor by the goal judge.
SCSU junior goalie Lauri St. Jacques made the save, one of 24 in the win.
“I could see her arm come over and make the save and I didn’t know if the
puck was in,” Lesteberg said. “They were celebrating, but I looked at the ref and he wasn’t doing anything, and I looked at the goal judge and he wasn’t doing anything so I turned to somebody on the bench and said ‘I think it’s in her glove,’ and she just kinda nonchalantly got up and had it in her glove.”
For UND, Hinkley finished with 8 saves and took the loss after allowing three goals. Fellow senior goaltender Amber Hasbargen replaced Hinkley at the start of the second period and made 27 saves. SCSU finished the game 2-for-3 on the power play, UND went 1-for-4.
The two teams finish the weekend Sunday at 3:05pm at UND’s Ralph Engalstad
Arena.
