MIAC Women’s Hockey Notebook – February 7, 2022

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Only two weeks remain in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women’s hockey regular season and teams are jockeying for playoff positioning ahead of the 2022 conference tournament. Ten of this week’s 12 scheduled contests will impact the conference standings.

STAT PACK
The latest MIAC women’s hockey Stat Pack as of Monday, February 7, 2022 can be viewed here.

POLL TALK
Gustavus stayed put at No. 6 in the latest USCHO.com Division III Top 10 Poll, released on February 7.

Gustavus ranks sixth in Division III in the most recent PairWise rankings. Saint Benedict is No. 22, Augsburg is No. 24, and Hamline is No. 25.

NATIONAL NOTABLES
Augsburg first-year forward Emily Cronkhite (Eagan, Minn.) has two short-handed goals this season, tied for sixth-most in NCAA Division III.

Augsburg sophomore forward Kensie Malone (Minneapolis, Minn. | Gentry Academy) has three short-handed goals this season, tied for third-most in NCAA Division III.

Concordia sophomore forward Jerica Friese (Argusville, N.D. | Fargo Shanley) has seven power-play goals this season, tied for fourth-most in NCAA Division III.

Gustavus junior forward Molly McHugh (Minnetonka, Minn.) ranks third in NCAA Division III with 250 faceoff wins this season.

Gustavus junior goaltender Katie McCoy (Grafton, Wis. | Cedarburg) has a goals-against average of 1.002 this season, sixth-best in Division III this season. She leads all divisions of women’s college hockey with eight shutouts this season.

Gustavus sophomore forward Brooke Power (Lakeville, Minn. | North) has five power-play goals this season, tied for sixth-most in D-III.

Hamline junior defender Hannah Dorsey (Fargo, N.D. | North) had four assists against Bethel on 1/28, tied for the fifth-most in any Division III game this season.

Hamline senior goaltender McKenna Hulslander (Kalispell, Mont. | Glacier) ranks ninth in NCAA Division III this season with a save percentage of 0.950.

Hamline junior forward Sophie Rausch (Fergus Falls, Minn.) is averaging 0.88 goals per game this season, eighth-best in D-III.

St. Catherine junior defender Kaitlyn Blair (New Prague, Minn.) has two short-handed goals this season, tied for sixth-most in NCAA Division III.

St. Olaf junior forward Annika Patterson (Hopkins, Minn.) had two short-handed goals against Concordia on 11/20, becoming one of just two players in NCAA Division III with multiple short-handed goals in a single game this season.

AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg sophomore forward Kensie Malone (Minneapolis, Minn. | Gentry Academy) had a goal and two assists in the team’s 4-4 tie with Gustavus on 2/5. The four goals scored by Augsburg were more than the total allowed by the Gusties (3) in their last 10 games combined.

Bethel junior forward Ally Halverson (Rochester, Minn.) scored the Royals’ lone goal in a 2-1 loss to St. Scholastica on 2/4. The score was her first of the season.

Concordia sophomore forward Jerica Friese (Argusville, N.D. | Fargo Shanley) scored for the Cobbers in a 1-1 tie with Saint Benedict on 2/5. Friese has scored a goal in seven of her last eight games and ten goals in as many contests.

Gustavus junior forward Emily Olson (Delano, Minn.) recorded the second hat trick of her career in a 4-4 tie with Augsburg on 2/5. Olson also tallied an assist in the game, being a part of all four Gustie goals. She helped the Gusties go undefeated during a 2-0-1 week with a 3-0 win against UW-Superior (2/1) and a 6-0 win over Augsburg (2/4).

Hamline junior forward Sophie Rausch (Fergus Falls, Minn.) registered a pair of two-goal games for the Pipers in their weekend sweep of St. Olaf. Rausch had two goals on three shots in a 4-0 win at St. Olaf on 2/4 before notching two goals – one on a power play and one on an empty net – and an assist in a 5-1 home win on 2/5. She finished at +3 for the weekend.

Saint Benedict senior goaltender Maggie Gilchrist (St. Paul, Minn. | Roseville) stopped 29 of the 30 shots she faced in regulation and overtime, then stopped both shootout attempts she saw to help CSB come away with a tie and an extra point in the MIAC standings in a 1-1 draw versus Concordia on 2/5. The shootout marked the first of Gilchrist’s career.

St. Catherine junior forward Laura Denchfield (Brooklyn Park, Minn. | Osseo) scored the Wildcats’ first two goals – including the game-winner – in a 3-1 win over Saint Mary’s on 2/5. The victory snapped an eight-game winless streak for the Wildcats, who began the season 4-0.

Saint Mary’s senior goaltender Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) stopped all 29 shots she faced in posting her second shutout of the season in SMU’s 1-0 wi over St. Catherine on 2/4. She went on to make 21 saves the following afternoon in a 3-1 loss to the Wildcats.

St. Olaf first-year defender Grace Lankas (Lakeville, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal in a 5-1 loss to Hamline on 2/5. The score came early in the third frame to cut the Pipers’ lead to two before Hamline pulled away later in the period.

St. Scholastica sophomore goaltender Ashlea Arvidson (St. Cloud, Minn. | Cathedral) allowed only one goal in a series sweep of Bethel over the weekend. Arvidson stopped all 28 shots she faced in 65 minutes of play before stopping four shootout attempts as the Saints picked up an extra point in the conference standings in a scoreless draw with the Royals on 2/5 for her second shutout of the season. She made 17 saves with one goal allowed in a 2-1 victory against Bethel on 2/4.

UP NEXT
Monday, February 7 | MIAC App | MIAC Scoreboard | MIAC Live
3:30 PM | UW-Superior at Hamline

Tuesday, February 8 | MIAC App | MIAC Scoreboard | MIAC Live
7:00 PM | UW-River Falls at Saint Benedict

Friday, February 11 | MIAC App | MIAC Scoreboard | MIAC Live
7:00 PM | Gustavus at Hamline*
7:00 PM | Concordia at Bethel*
7:00 PM | St. Catherine at St. Scholastica*
7:00 PM | Augsburg at Saint Mary’s*
7:00 PM | St. Olaf at Saint Benedict*

Saturday, February 12 | MIAC App | MIAC Scoreboard | MIAC Live
2:00 PM | Hamline at Gustavus*
2:00 PM | St. Scholastica at St. Catherine*
2:00 PM | Concordia at Bethel*
2:00 PM | Saint Benedict at St. Olaf*
4:00 PM | Saint Mary’s at Augsburg*

*MIAC game

LEAGUE LEADERS