Nov. 27, 2004
[box score]
BEMIDJI, Minn. - St. Cloud State’s Kristy Oonincx delivered back-to-back power-play goals to seal a 3-2 victory and series sweep of the Bemidji State women’s hockey team (2-14-0, 1-13-0 WCHA) Saturday at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse. BSU’s losing streak now stands at six games.
St. Cloud State (5-8-1, 4-7-1 WCHA) tallied a 12-11 shot advantage in the first period and the Huskies recorded the lone goal of the stanza at 17:48 when Ashley Stewart earned her sixth tally of the season.
The Beavers responded with a pair of quick goals early in the second frame. Sophomore Helena Tageson (Malmö, Sweden) collected her second marker of the year after banging home a rebound on SCSU goaltender Kendall Newell 13 seconds after the two teams took the ice in the period. Sophomores Nikki Eckebrecht (Hamilton, Ontario) and Kelly Hart (Ajax, Ontario) each secured assists on the goal. Eckebrecht’s helper was her fourth of 2004-05, while Hart’s assist was her seventh and pushed her season point total to 12 (5-7).
Alternate captain Jenny Schnickel (Coon Rapids, Minn.) continued the scoring outburst with her third lamplighter of the season 52 seconds later. Schnickel skated in alone just inside the right circle and wristed a shot past Newell to give her squad a 2-1 lead. Rookie Tara Hiscock (Bemidji, Minn.) was credited with her fourth assist of her freshman campaign and ninth point as well.
The rest of the game belonged to St. Cloud State’s power-play unit, specifically Kristy Oonincx, who notched two markers with a player advantage. Oonincx’s first goal came at the 19:12 mark of the second stanza when she drilled the puck from the high point through the legs of BSU netminder Emily Brookshaw (Webster, Wis.). The team’s second-leading scorer struck again at 17:16 of the third period with an almost identical laser from the point that proved to be the game-winning score for the visitors.
Like Friday, the Beavers presented one final comeback attempt, which was unsuccessful. With his team already holding a five-on-four advantage because of a Husky penalty, head coach Bruce Olson pulled Brookshaw out of the net at the 19:06 mark to give his team a chance to tie the game with a six-on-four advantage. SCSU’s defense held off the BSU attack and the Huskies narrowly missed tacking on an empty-net goal in the waning moments of the game.
St. Cloud State outshot Bemidji State by a final clip of 29-28 on the afternoon.
Brookshaw and Newell each finished the game with 26 saves, while Brookshaw fell to 1-5-0 and Newell improved to 3-4-1 for the Huskies.
BSU was held scoreless in four power-play opportunities as compared to SCSU which converted two of its three chances with a player advantage.
The Beavers will travel to Detroit, Mich., for a pair of non-conference games against College Hockey America member Wayne State Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 4. Face-off is 2:05 p.m. Friday and 7:05 Saturday. Both times are Eastern Standard Time.
Notes: Tara Hiscock’s assist improved her point-scoring streak (3-2=5) to four games and she leads the team in freshmen scoring with nine points (5-4)... Jenny Schnickel also extended her point-scoring streak (2-2=4) to four games with a goal... Kelly Hart now has a two-game scoring streak (1-1=2) and she leads the team in points (12) and assists (7)... Helena Tageson also holds a two-game scoring streak (1-1=2)... BSU’s all-time series record versus St. Cloud State falls to 11-13-3 and 6-5-2 at home... The Beavers are winless in their last 14 games at the John S. Glas Fieldhouse...
