Women's hockey to take on Huskies at home

After two series on the road the Sioux are set to come home tonight and Saturday against the St. Cloud State Huskies.

WISCONSIN

Friday the Sioux fell to No. 5 ranked Wisconsin 6-1. The Badgers scored two goals in each period. The lone goal for the Sioux was nabbed by freshman forward Nikki Hebert. Wisconsin freshman forward Hilary Knight was a difficult force for the Sioux to quell, she dropped a hat trick in the match and tallied one assist, which added to her season total of 15 goals and 14 assists. Another Badger in multiple scoring was sophomore forward Kyla Sanders who had two goals on the night.

Friday's game also marked the end of sophomore goaltender Brittany Kirkham's 56 game start streak. She sat out the game due to injury.

In her place was freshman goaltender Michelle Sauer who made 30 saves.

Saturday the Badgers won 5-2 and had another hat trick with sophomore forward Meghan Duggan scoring twice in the first period and once in the third.

The Sioux had both scores recorded by junior forward Casie Hanson. Sauer was in the net once again as she saved 26 of 31 shots.

Wisconsin's goalie Jessie Vetter saved 12 shots Saturday and 16 Friday.

In the weekend matches junior forward Melissa Jaques recorded two assists, one in each game, which gave her point 39 and 40, placing her ninth on the Sioux all-time assists list. Jaques is leading the team in goals (9) and is tied for first in assists (9).

"You know when she is getting the puck in the net good things are happening for the team," head coach Brian Idalski said.

ST. CLOUD

This weekend game against the Huskies marks the women's last regular season home stand.

St. Cloud has a 15-8-4 overall record and 10-8-3 conference record. The Huskies however have come under a recent losing streak. They have dropped their last four games to Mankato and No. 5 Wisconsin, losing by two goals or more in each game. Idalski thinks these losses will have an affect on how the Huskies come into the Ralph Engelstad Arena (REA) this weekend.

"St. Cloud has come off of two sweeps and will be looking to right the ship," he said. "The team is going to come out playing hard and wanting to get back on track."

The Huskies are led by sophomore forward Felicia Nelson who leads the team with 12 goals. Also strong for the Huskies are sophomore forwards Caitlin Hogan and Meaghan Pezon.

St. Cloud doubles up in the goalie position with senior Kendell Newell and freshman Ashley Nixon. Newell has the edge, she has played 19 games while Nixon has played eight; Newell also has a .925 save percentage.

It is undecided who will be in the net for Sioux, Kirkham has been listed as day to day.

A plus going into the matches is being able to stay at home after a couple hard fought games on the road.

"It is nice to be at home, you have a set routine and get to stay in your own bed," Idalski said.

The Sioux have one more series left in the regular season against Minnesota Mankato at Mankato.

With the end of the regular season Idalski still has the team focused.

"The mind set is that of preparing for the playoffs," he said. This weekend's games begin at 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday, each at the REA.