NCAA REGIONAL NOTEBOOK - SCSU vs. Notre Dame - St. Cloud State University Athletics

The #8 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (21-10-5, 15-6-3-0 NCHC) will open NCAA West Regional play on Saturday, March 29 with an 8 p.m. game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul against the #9 University of Notre Dame (23-14-2, 9-9-2 HE). The Regional will open at 4:30 p.m. on March 29 with the first game between host #1 Minnesota (25-6-6, 14-3-3 Big10) and Robert Morris University (19-17-5, 13-9-5 AH). SCSU is the regional's third seeded team, while Notre Dame is seeded second. Minnesota is the top seed and Robert Morris is the fourth seed at the tournament.

#8 St. Cloud State (21-10-5,15-6-3-0 NCHC) - NCAA Playoffs vs. #9 Notre Dame (23-14-2, 9-9-2 HE)
Date / Time	Saturday, March 30, 2014 - 8 p.m. (CT)
Location	Xcel Energy Center - St. Paul, Minn.
Audio	KNSI Radio AM 1450/FM 103.3 KVSC Radio FM 88.1
TV	ESPNU
Live Video Stream	WATCHESPN
Live Stats	TBA
Game Notes	Complete Game Notes from (PDF) St. Cloud State
Social Media	@SCSUHUSKIES_MH \| Facebook

NCAA FAST FACTS: This marks the Huskies 10th appearance at the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Huskies won the 2013 Midwest Regional and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time in team history...SCSU is 1-0-0 in NCAA playoff action against Notre Dame, which includes a 5-1 win over the Irish in the first round of the Midwest Region in 2013...SCSU has never played Robert Morris or Minnesota in the NCAA playoffs...SCSU has received NCAA tournament bids in 1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2013 and the Huskies are 3-10 in NCAA playoff action. The Huskies' first trip to the NCAA tournament was in 1989 Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Huskies also advanced to the NCAA DI tournament in 2000 (East Regional - Albany, N.Y.), 2001 (West Regional - Grand Rapids, Mich.), 2002 (West Regional - Ann Arbor, Mich.), 2003 (Northeast Regional - Worcester, Mass.), 2007 (East Regional - Rochester, N.Y.), 2008 (East Regional - Albany, N.Y.), 2010 (West Regional - St. Paul, Minn.), 2013 (Midwest Regional - Toldeo, Ohio). Of note, the Huskies placed third in the nation at the 1987 NCAA Division III championship. The legendary Herb Brooks was SCSU coach during that season, while current SCSU coach Bob Motzko was a student assistant coach on that squad.

THE CHAMPS: St. Cloud State University captured the inaugural regular season championship of the NCHC with a weekend sweep at Colorado College on March 7-8. The Huskies finished the year with a first place mark of 15-6-3-0 in the always rugged NCHC. SCSU posted 48 league points to win the Penrose Trophy, while North Dakota trailed in second place with 45 points. This marked the second consecutive season that SCSU has won a regular season conference title. In 2013, the Huskies won the WCHA regular season championshp. These are the first two regular season league titles claimed by the Huskies since they moved to the NCAA DI level in 1987-88.

LISTEN TO THE HUSKIES THIS WEEKEND: Fans can follow all the action from live on KNSI AM 1450/FM 103.3 this weekend. You can listen on the web atwww.knsiradio.com with Dan Terhaar and Dave Reichel providing the call. The games will also be carried on KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org) with Scott Gross and Gina Carlson on the call.

WATCH THE GAME ON TV: Fans can watch the NCAA regional tournament games on the ESPN networks this weekend. The SCSU-Notre Dame game will be televised live on ESPNU and the Minnesota-Robert Morris game will be televised live on ESPN2. The regional title game is slated to be televised live on ESPNU on March 30 from the Xcel Energy Center.

WISE GUY: SCSU's Nic Dowd was named the 2014 NCHC Student-Athlete of the Year. This marks the second consecutive season that a Husky has been selected as a conference Student-Athlete of the Year as Drew LeBlanc gained WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year honors in 2013. Dowd was also selected as the NCHC's Defensive Forward of the Year in 2013-14

COACH OF THE YEAR: .On the topic of league honors, SCSU coach Bob Motzko was selected as the first NCHC Coach of the Year in 2014. This marked the third time in his career that Motzko has been selected as a conference coach of the year. Motzko was named the WCHA Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

SENIOR POWER: SCSU senior blueliner Kevin Gravel enjoyed a strong offensive showing in the two game set against Miami. On March 14, Gravel scored two of SCSU's goals – including an epic goal with :01 showing on the clock in the third period to force the OT session. On March 15, Gravel opened the game's scoring with a marker at 10:30 of the second period and then added an assist on Nic Dowd's goal in the third period. On the season, Gravel has a career season-high 10 goals, 13 assists and 23 points. Of note, Gravel only had three goals to his credit in his first three years at SCSU combined.

20/50 GOALS: Nic Dowd hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his college career thanks to a pair of goals in the series against Miami. Dowd currently paces the Huskies with 21 goals this season and is tied for the team's scoring lead with Jonny Brodzinski at 39 points... Dowd scored his 50th goal as a Husky on March 14 with his goal at 10:39 of the third period against Miami. In four years at SCSU, Dowd now has 51 goals, 69 assists and 120 points. He is the 17th SCSU player in the team's DI history to score 50-plus goals in a career. He also ranks 15th in the team's scoring charts with 120 points. He moves ahead of Chris Scheid, who had 119 points from 1987-91.

GLAD HE IS BACK: David Morley returned to the ice on Mar. 14-15 after being an injury scratch for three games. He replied with a pair of assists in the series against Miami. Morley currently ranks second on the team with 22 assists this season and he also has 31 points. Morley becomes the fourth Husky to reach the 30-point plateau in 2013-14. The other members of the 30-point club include Dowd (39), Brodzinski (39) and Kalle Kossila (38).

ROLLING ALONG: Kalle Kossila extended his point scoring streak to six games with his work against Miami on March 14-15. Kossila has one goal and eight assists in the last six games for the Huskies. On the season, Kossila leads the club with 25 assists.

HUSKY NOTES: Nic Dowd became the 11th player during SCSU's Division I era to score 10 power play goals in a season. Dowd posted his 10th power play goal of the season at 9:20 of the third period on March 15... SCSU junior netminder Ryan Faragher has 840 saves for the Huskies in 2013-14. In his career, Faragher has charted 2,450 saves and currently ranks second in the team records behind all-time save leader Brian Leitza, who had 3,500 saves from 1994-98. Faragher also ranks second in the team's career charts with 52 wins.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP: SCSU sophomore Jimmy Murray charted one goal and two assists in the weekend series against Miami. He currently owns a four game point streak and has notched three goals and four assists in those last four games. On the season, Murray has a career season-high 13 goals, 12 assists and 25 points. He is one of three residents of Illinois on the SCSU roster this winter.

HONOR ROLL: SCSU's Nic Dowd was named to the All-NCHC squad as a first team selection, while Ryan Farahger was a second team selection. Huskies earning All-NCHC Honorable Mention status were Jonny Brodzinski and Andrew Prochno. SCSU freshman Charlie Lindgren was also named to the 2014 All-NCHC Rookie Team.

PLAYOFF POISE: In NCAA playoff competition last year, Joey Benik scored an impressive five goals and one assist in three games played in 2013. Benik was named the Regional MVP last year for his efforts. Cory Thorson also posted 3g/2a in his three NCAA games last year, while linemate Brooks Bertsch added three assists in the NCAA playoffs...this marks the 2nd trip to the NCAA playoffs for 22 players on the SCSU roster this winter.

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