Hali Lawrence looking forward to working with SCSU goalie coach Noora Räty

Most of the time, players who go into the transfer portal are looking for an opportunity for more playing time.

While more playing time would be nice, Hali Lawrence is more interested in her development as a goalie.

Lawrence, a 21-year-old from Okotoks, Alberta, recently decided to transfer to

St. Cloud State

after playing three seasons at Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut.

She is coming to SCSU knowing that there is not a high likelihood of seeing much playing time for the Huskies. St. Cloud State has two returning goalies who have both seen time as starters in fifth-year senior

Jojo Chobak

and freshman Emilia Kyrkkö. Plus, SCSU has sophomore Paige Hoogenstam on the roster.

Chobak split time with Sanni Ahola

for two seasons before taking a redshirt season in 2024-25. Kyrkkö, a member of the Finnish national team, split time with Ahola last season as a freshman.

But when Lawrence saw that former Finnish national team goalie Noora Räty was the Huskies goalie coach, she decided that it would be a good fit.

“I’m not coming in with any expectations,” she said. “I’m just excited to work and develop and continue to see myself grow with a program like that.

“(Räty) coached me once before in Minnesota. I had a lesson with her. I know she’s one of the best female goalies in the world, so it’s cool to have a chance to learn from her.”

In three seasons at Post, Lawrence was 1-7 with a 4.87 goals-against average and .862 save percentage in 14 games. Idalski understands why she chose SCSU.

“She’s excited to work with Noora because Noora has a track record of doing good things with goaltenders,” he said. “She wants to try to play overseas when she’s done and she wasn’t getting any of that (coaching) where she was. She’s happy to be in a program that’s trying to do it for real. She’s going to get some extra attention to make her game better.

“We wanted someone with some college experience and someone with just one year (left) and Hali fit that bill. It’s good for us. I don’t mind having four goaltenders. She understands the situation.”

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Her last season before college, Lawrence played for the Calgary Fire Under-18 AAA team. She ended up beginning her college career playing club hockey for Minot State in North Dakota.

“My year was really tricky for recruitment,” she said. “I had offers from other players, but then COVID-19 happened. I lost what I had there. I ended up going online to get started because I didn’t want to take a gap year. After I got to Minot, I was emailing schools to see if I could play NCAA, because that was my dream. Post reached out, and a school in Canada. I chose Post because I thought it would be amazing to move to the (United) States for a few years.”

She only stayed at Minot State for her first semester of college and then transferred to Post. Last season, she played in seven games and was 1-3 with a 3.90 GAA and .862 save percentage for Post.

“It’s been really good. I love the school and everything,” Lawrence said. “I’ve met some really, really great people here. This has helped me become the hockey player I am and to have a chance to go to a school like St. Cloud. I’m really grateful for it. I have nothing bad to say about Post. The one hard thing is that our home rink is 35 minutes away from school.”

While Lawrence may see limited playing time, she said she plays with a lot of determination.

“I think the biggest thing for me is the no-quit attitude, never giving up on pucks,” she said. “The moment you give up, that’s when pucks go in. I’m good with getting to rebounds.”

Lawrence grew up in Okotoks, which is about 40 miles south of Calgary. Her father, James Lawrence, was a forward in the WHL and is the director for Team WestCan Female Elite Hockey Development.

Her younger sister, Mya, recently completed her freshman season as a forward for the University of Vermont. Her sister, Saydi, is a 16-year-old defenseman for Shawnigan Lake School in British Columbia.

She said that the move to St. Cloud State will significantly cut down on her drive time home.

“It’s way closer,” she said. “It’s like an 8-10 hour drive (from St. Cloud). Where I am now, it is like a 40-hour drive.”

She is looking forward to seeing what the competition is like in practice at SCSU. At Post, the Eagles went 25-78-6. They play in the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance. Post finished eighth in the NEWHA when she was a freshman, seventh as a sophomore and sixth last season.

POST UNIVERSITY

The WCHA is considered the best conference in women’s hockey. The Huskies have gone 50-50-9 and finished in fifth place (out of eight teams) in the WCHA in each of Idalski’s first three seasons. But that is a big turnaround after 12 straight losing seasons and finishing above sixth in the WCHA just one season (fifth in 2015-16 under Eric Rud).

“When I talked to Brian, it was really good,” Lawrence said. “I pretty much was asking about the team and the culture. It sounds like a really exciting team to be a part of, the competition and the conference. The work they put in to be a team sounds amazing.

“I think what impresses me about him is the culture he created. Everyone is on the same page and has the same goal. The way he keeps that going with a strong group of people.”

She is glad that her experience in the transfer portal is over and is looking forward to getting to SCSU.

“It was kind of a stressful process, having schools reach out and deciding which one would be best for you,” Lawrence said. “I had a few good options. I looked really into it and St. Cloud, by far, was my first choice after hearing about the coaching, the facilities and the team culture.”

Lawrence is working on a degree in criminal justice.

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