University of St. Thomas Athletics
Minnesota State
Game Notes -- Women's Hockey gets back into WCHA action after non-conference series split
10/19/2022 11:08:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Women's hockey will compete in their first home-and-home series of the young 2022-23 season this weekend against the Minnesota State University Mavericks.
St. Thomas will head to Mankato for game one of the series Thursday at 6 pm and will come home for a Friday game also scheduled for a 6 pm puck drop.
The Tommies are coming off a home series against the Franklin Pierce Ravens in which they split the non-conference series, winning game one 3-0 and losing game two 2-1 in overtime.
The Mavericks have gotten off to a slow start losing their first six games however looking closer into the details of their season tells a different story. MSU is receiving votes in both national polls and have matched up with Ohio State, Minnesota Duluth, and Minnesota to start the year. They have battled opponents to one-goal margins in half of their games and took No. 4/5 Duluth to overtime on the road. Most recently they dropped two games to the Minnesota Gophers 11-0 and 9-4.
The Toms were given great goaltending over the weekend with Saskia Maurer between the pipes for all 122:54 minutes. Maurer notched her first career shutout on Friday stopping 11 Raven shots, and ultimately finished the weekend with 29 saves, a 1.00 GAA and a .935 SV%.
Maddy Clough scored three points against Franklin Pierce. She assisted on goals from Maija Almich and Anna Solheim on Friday and notched her first goal of the year sneaking one by Suzette Faucher who finished with 56 saves on Saturday.
It was good to be home
Last weekend the Tommies went 1-1 and split a two-game weekend series against the Franklin Pierce Ravens.
On Friday night, Sophomore goalie Saskia Maurer and her teammates recorded Tommie Women's Hockey's first shutout of the Division I era as she stopped all 11 shots and helped the Purple take a 3-0 victory over Franklin Pierce in non-conference play at the Saint Thomas Ice Arena.
St. Thomas scored its three goals in a 6:45 stretch of period two, as senior Maija Almich, freshman Molly Grundhoffer and graduate student Anna Solheim lit the lamp. It was Grundhoffer's first collegiate goal.
On Saturday, the Tommies fell 2-1 in a 3-on-3 overtime period. The Purple set their D-I era record for shots on goal with 57 and allowed only 20 shots on the evening. Maddy Clough contributed the lone goal for the Tommies after assisting on two of the three goals the night before.
She's a Clough Cookie
Maddy Clough wears sweater number two and is a sophomore defenseman from Andover, Minnesota.
In high school, Maddy was a one-time All-State nominee, two-time All-State honorable mention, three-time All-Conference selection, and helped her team qualify for state four times. Maddy was a member of the state champion team in 2020.
As a Tommie:
During her freshman season Maddy skated in 31 games, scored two goals, and tallied six assists.
During the 2022-23 season, Maddy has one goal and two assists in four games played. Maddy recorded all three points against Franklin Pierce last weekend and leads the team on the season.
Scouting the Mavericks
Minnesota State (0-6-0 overall, 0-6-0 WCHA) is coming off two losses to No. 2 Minnesota. The Mavericks fell 0-11 and 4-9.
Do not let their record fool you, the Mavericks are receiving votes in both latest national polls and have started the season facing off with three top-five ranked teams in Ohio State, Minnesota Duluth, and Minnesota.
MSU took No. 4/5 ranked Duluth to overtime in their first game and lost by a slim two-goal margin in the ladder match, both games took place in Duluth.
The Mavs are led by Alexis Paddington and a Kennedy Bobyck each with four points on the year. They have gotten point scoring from 15 different skaters through six games.
In goal, time has been split between Alexa Berg with a 4.89 GAA and .889 SV% and Lauren Barbro with a 5.41 GAA and .880 SV%.
Series History
The Tommies have dropped all four of their first meetings with the Mavericks.
Each game was played in St. Thomas' inaugural year in the WCHA as part of two home-and-home series. On the road the Tommies lost 3-1 in each game and at home they fell 4-1 and 3-0.
Emma Larson and Jenna Hartung each scored goals against Minnesota State last season.
