St. Cloud State women's hockey sweeps No. 7 UConn, but don't call it an upset

ST. CLOUD — The rankings will show a big upset as unranked St. Cloud State beat No. 7 Connecticut 4-2 on back-to-back days for a series sweep. However, with the confidence of this Husky team, “upset” is not quite the adjective they would use.

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>“We’ve been underrated every season I’ve been here; it’s part of playing in the WCHA,” captain left winger Alice Sauriol said. “We like playing the best teams in the country, so nothing to complain about here. It can be called an upset, but in our head’s it’s not, really.”

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>The series win marks the first time SCSU has swept a ranked opponent since opening the 2024-25 season with consecutive wins over Mercyhurst and the first under second-year coach Mira Jalosuo.

>Again, do not call it an upset. The Huskies are a confident group that knew they would be competing.

>“I like what I saw out there today,” coach Mira Jalosuo said. “I can tell this group is going to be more consistent than last year and will play the right way at the critical moments. Our breakouts were much cleaner than they were last weekend [against Bemidji State]; we worked on that a lot this week [and] it showed.”

>Senior defender Marie Moran, senior center Payton Halloway and senior center Sofianna Sundelin each added goals in the second game against UConn. Sundellin and fifth year center Laura Zimmermann also nabbed a goal each in the first game.

>Junior goalie Emilia Kyrkkö boasted a .927 save percentage with 51 saves on the weekend to firm up the backline.

>Sauriol led the way in the series with six points across the two games, two goals and an assist in the first game followed by one goal and two assists in the second match-up.

>It is a confident start after a hard-working off-season for the senior captain.

>“You work hard off the ice, and to see it on the ice is always fun,” Sauriol said. “But I got to give credit to my teammates, everyone showed up and is playing physical and winning battles which is why we scored so many goals this weekend.”

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>It certainly helps to score in bunches when you have a coach that likes to be aggressive.

>Taking a 2-1 lead after the first period, SCSU all but clinched the series by the middle of the second period as Moran slapped one into the corner pocket of the net.

>“I’m a coach that likes to extend the lead,” Jalosuo said. “I don’t think it’s any good for you to sit back in the second period; when we go up three goals, that’s usually a death sentence.”

>The Huskies will be traveling to Mankato next weekend to take on No. 14 Minnesota State (2-0) to start WCHA play, and they will be heading into that one with the same confidence that helped secure a sweep of UConn this weekend.

>“It helps winning two games and sweeping the number seven team in the country; it’s a good feeling,” Sauriol said. “We just feeling very good going into Mankato and feeling a little bit more confident.”

>You can reach St. Cloud Times sports reporter David Jacobs and send story ideas and tips to djacobs@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @davidrjacobs10 and on Instagram @ByDavidJacobs.

>This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud State women's hockey sweeps No. 7 UConn, but don't call it an upset