Merrimack College Falls To St. Cloud State, 4-2

Sophomore forward Annie Boeckers had a goal and an assist for the Warriors
Prd Time  Team Score Type Scored By Assists
1st 4:40  STC1-0 EV Julia Tylke (2)Lauren Hespenheide/2, Brooke Kudirka/1
2nd 3:40  STC2-0 EV Julia Tylke (3)Lauren Hespenheide/3, Janine Alder/1
2nd 13:07  STC3-0 EV GW Jordan Stewart (1)Rachel Herzog/1, Janna Haeg/1
3rd 5:12  MER1-3 PP Katelyn Rae (1)Dominique Kremer/1, Annie Boeckers/1
3rd 10:44  MER2-3 PP Annie Boeckers (1)Dominique Kremer/2, Felila Manu/1
3rd 14:26  STC4-2 PP Brittney Anderson (1)Lauren Hespenheide/4, Kelsey Saelens/1
Scoring 1st 2nd 3rd Final
Merrimack  0022
St. Cloud State  1214
Shots on Goal 1st 2nd 3rd SOG
Merrimack  1110526
St. Cloud State  1413633
Team Stats and Records  PP PIM SHGF
Merrimack (0-1-0)  2/4 2/4 0
St. Cloud State (1-2-0)  1/2 4/8 0
Merrimack Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Léa-Kristine Demers (L, 0-1-0)58:484 1311529
Empty Net1:120     
St. Cloud State Goaltending MIN GA 1 2 3 Saves
Janine Alder (W, 1-0-0)60:002 1110324

ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Despite a late comeback effort that saw two goals in the third period to cut the Warriors' deficit to one goal, the Merrimack College women's ice hockey team would eventually fall in their sophomore season opener at St. Cloud on Friday night, 4-2.

The Basics

Score: St. Cloud State 4, Merrimack 2
Records: Merrimack (0-1, 0-0 HEA) | St. Cloud State (1-2, 0-2 WCHA)
Location: Herb Brooks National Hockey Center | St. Cloud, Minn.

How It Happened

St. Cloud opened the scoring early on Friday night, as Julia Tylke netted her first of two goals in the game for the Huskies just under five minutes into the first period, putting the Warriors at a an early 1-0 deficit.

The Warriors would get their first power play of the season 14:07 into the first period with a chance to tie the game up. Merrimack would get multiple shots on net during the advantage, but would be unable to convert and would head to the first intermission down a goal.

The Huskies again would find the back of the net minutes into the period, as Tylke would strike again, this time on a 4-on-4 situation after both teams took penalties, to put St. Cloud State up by two goals 3:40 into the second.

St. Cloud's third and final unanswered goal of the game would come at the 13:07 mark of the middle frame, putting the Warriors down 3-0 and forcing Merrimack to have to come from behind in the opening game of their second season.

That comeback effort would get some life just over five minutes into the third period. Sophomore Katelyn Rae (Courtice, Ontario) would cut Merrimack's deficit to just two goals with 14:48 remaining in the third, netting a power play tally for the first goal of the season for the Warriors, putting the score at 3-1.

Just 5:32 after Rae put Merrimack on the board, the Warriors would net another goal on a power play opportunity thanks to the first of the season from sophomore Annie Boeckers (Otsego, Minn.) to bring Merrimack within one with 9:16 to play in the game.

The Warriors continued to battle, but a penalty would put them down a player with just over seven minutes remaining. The Huskies would capitalize on the advantage, answering Merrimack's two power play goals with a man-advantage score of their own to go back up two scores, leading to St. Cloud's 4-2 win.

Inside The Numbers

- As she did on Friday night, Rae also scored the first goal of the season for Merrimack last year, as she is responsible for the first goal in the history of the program. Her program-opening goal last season was also on the power play.

- Freshman goaltender Léa-Kristine Demers (Repentigny, Quebec) performed well in her first-career start on Friday night, making 29 stops in her first outing.

- After missing 13 games at the beginning of the inaugural season, Boeckers got her second season off to a quick start, scoring the third tally of her career in the season opener. Boeckers also assisted on Rae's goal for a two-point game.

- Picking up where she left off last season, sophomore defenseman Dominique Kremer (West Fargo, N.D.) assisted on both goals in Friday's game. SHe finished last year ranked third on the team with nine helpers.

Goaltenders: L - Demers (0-1, 29 saves) | W - Alder (1-0, 24 saves)
Power Plays: Merrimack (2-4) | St. Cloud (1-2)
SOG: MC - 26 | SCSU - 33

Up Next

The Warriors are back in action Saturday in St. Cloud at 4:00 p.m.