After numerous postponements and cancellations due to COVID-19, the Bemidji State University women’s hockey team is finally ready to drop the puck on the 2020-21 season. The Beavers (0-0-0, 0-0-0-0 WCHA) play host to St. Cloud State University (1-3-0, 1-3-0-0 WCHA) for a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series beginning Thursday, December 10 and concluding Friday, December 11. Puck drop for game on between the Beavers and Huskies is set for 6:07 p.m. Thursday and the series finale will take place at 3:07 p.m.

Bemidji State and St. Cloud State will meet for the 96th and 97th meetings in the all-time series history and the first-ever series to begin a season. The Beavers lead the all-time series record at 47-39-9 (.542) and are 24-16-4 (.591) when playing at home. Last season Bemidji State dominated the series going 4-1-0 against the Huskies. Bemidji State’s lone loss came in a 1-0 overtime victory for SCSU in the regular season finale, snapping the Beavers’ eight-game winning streak against the Huskies. Head Coach Jim Scanlan is 18-8-1 coaching against the Huskies while second-year head coach Steve Macdonald is 1-4-0. Bemidji State is led by senior captain Clair DeGeorge who has posted nine points (2g-7a) in 14 career games against SCSU while fellow senior Lydia Passolt follows with six points (2g-4a) in nine career games. The Beavers have only one goaltender on their roster who has faced the Huskies in senior Kerigan Dowhy. Dowhy has faced St. Cloud State one time in her career back on Nov. 20, 2018 in a 3-0 loss where she stopped 21-of-24 shots.

St. Cloud State continues its season after playing its first series Nov. 27-28 in St. Cloud against Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Huskies split the series with the Mavericks after earning a 1-0 victory in game one but fell 4-2 in the series finale. SCSU then traveled to Duluth to face No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth but fell in both games to the sixth-ranked Bulldogs. St. Cloud State enters its series at Bemidji with a 1-3-0 (1-3-0-0 WCHA) record and tied for fourth in the WCHA standings with three points.

St. Cloud State averages just 1.00 goals per game early on in the season which is last in the league while its defense allows 3.25 goals per game to rank fifth. SCSU has yet to score a power-play goal this season, coming up empty on all 13 of its chances while its penalty kill has allowed just one special team’s goal in its 16 opportunities (.938).

The Huskies are led on offense by sophomore and 2019-20 WCHA All-Rookie Team selection Klara Hymlarova who has posted two points in four games off of a goal and assist. She is joined by junior Jenniina Nylund who has also posted a goal and assist in four games. Junior Allie Cornelius and freshman Mackenzie Bourgerie are the only other Huskies to score this season. In net, freshman Sanni Ahola paces the team with a 1-2-0 record and has posted a 3.17 goals against average to go along with a .920 save percentage. Senior Emma Polusny follows with a 0-1-0 record, 3.44 goals against average and .931 save percentage.