#13 St. Cloud State men's hockey to face #5 MTU at NCAA Regional

Friday, March 27

Fargo, N.D.

3:30 p.m. (CT)

St. Cloud State

Michigan Technological University

Smolinski Inks Deal with ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones

Thursday, March 12

Gross Signs Entry-Level Contract with Calgary Flames

Thursday, March 12

Tyson Gross and Austin Burnevik Earn All-NCHC Recognition

Tuesday, March 10

St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey’s Season Ends in OT loss to No. 10 Minnesota Duluth

Saturday, March 07

Next Event

Michigan Technological University

W, 3-2

Mar 27 (Fri)

3:30 p.m. (CT)

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Joe Rehkamp

/ Men's Hockey

Jonny Brodzinski

Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn

#13 St. Cloud State men's hockey to face #5 MTU at NCAA Regional

3/24/2015 3:41:00 PM | Men's Hockey

The #13 St. Cloud State University Huskies men's hockey team (19-18-1, 11-12-1-0 NCHC) will open play in the2015 NCAA Division I West Regional on Friday, March 27 with a 3:30 p.m. (CT) match-up against #5 Michigan Tech University (29-9-2). The West Regional will be played this year at the Scheels Arena in Fargo, N.D. SCSU is the #3 seeded team while Michigan Tech is seeded #2. In the second game of the regional on March 27, #1 seed North Dakota (27-9-3) will play #4 seed Quinnipiac (23-11-4) at 7 p.m. (CT). The Regional title game is scheduled to be played on Saturday, March 28 at 8 p.m. This is a single-elimination tournament with the Regional winner advancing to the upcoming 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in Boston, Mass. on April 9-11 at the TD Garden. Fans can listen to all games on KCML FM 99.9 (www.lite999.com) and on KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org). Fans can watch the Huskies' game on March 27 on ESPN3 (www.watchespn.com). The regional title game will be televised live on ESPNU.

COMPLETE SCSU MEN'S HOCKEY PRESS RELEASE (PDF FORMAT)

LISTEN TO THE GAMES: KCML FM 99.9 - www.lite999.com or KVSC FM 88.1 - www.kvsc.org

WATCH SCSU vs. MTU GAME - ESPN3

WATCH UND vs. QUINNIPIAC GAME - ESPNU or WatchESPN

WATCH REGIONAL CHAMIONSHIP GAME - ESPNU or WatchESPN

LIVE STATS for SCSU vs. MICHIGAN TECH GAME

NCAA TOURNAMENT TIDBITS: The Huskies are back in the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season (2013, 2014 and 2015)...this marks the Huskies' 11th trip to the NCAA tournament. SCSU has also made trips to the NCAA tournment in 1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014...SCSU is 4-11 in NCAA tournament play since 1989...since 2010, the Huskies are 4-3 in NCAA tournament play...the Huskies won their first NCAA regional title with a top finish at the 2013 Midwest Regional in Toledo, Ohio. SCSU also gained their first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2013...SCSU has advanced to the championship game of the NCAA regional in 2010, 2013 and 2014. Last year, the Huskies charted a 4-3 OT win vs. Notre Dame in the first round of the West Regional and then lost a 4-0 match in the regional title game against Minnesota...SCSU junior Joey Benik has notched 5 goals and 2 assists in NCAA play during his college career...SCSU head coach Bob Motzko is 4-5 in NCAA tournament play during his career with the Huskies.

FROZEN FACEOFF: The Huskies made their first appearance at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on March 20-21 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. SCSU opened the weekend with a 3-1 victory over #1 seed and #1 ranked North Dakota on March 20. David Morley opened the day's scoring, while Joey Benik added the game winner in the first period. Joe Rehkamp ended the game with an ENG at 18:55 of the final period. In the nets, Charlie Lindgren made 19 saves to gain the win as SCSU outshot UND 24-20...in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game on March 21, the Huskies lost a 3-2 decision vs. Miami. The Huskies' goals were posted by Benik and Jonny Brodzinski in the contest. Lindgren made 18 saves in the game as the RedHawks outshot the Huskies 21-20.

ALL-TOURNAMENT: SCSU players named to the 2015 NCHC Frozen Faceoff team were forward Joey Benik, goalie Charlie Lindgren and defenseman Tim Daly. Benik had two goals and one assist over the weekend, while Daly made 11 blocks in the tournament. Lindgren was 1-1-0 with 37 saves to his credit in the two games at Target Center.

HUSKIES vs. HUSKIES: This will mark the first time that SCSU and MTU have played each other in NCAA tournament play...in the all-time series, SCSU owns a 53-28-5 series lead. The series started on Jan. 23, 1948 with a 9-1 win by MTU in Houghton, Mich...in the last meeting between these two teams, SCSU lost a 5-1 match on March 2, 2013 in St Cloud...SCSU is 7-3-0 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams...until the end of the 2012-13 season, SCSU and MTU were both members of the WCHA...since 2000, SCSU owns a 33-5-2 series lead against MTU...in postseason play, SCSU is 2-4 in play against MTU (all games in the WCHA postseason tournament).

MORLEY MINUTE: SCSU is now 12-0-0 this season when David Morley scores a goal...since the holiday break, Morley has posted 15 goals and six assists in the last 22 games. He has also scored five goals in SCSU's last five games this season.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Joey Benik has enjoyed the postseason spotlight during his career at SCSU. The 2013 NCAA Midwest Regional MVP, Benik has charted 5 goals and 2 assists in five NCAA playoff games as a Husky. In all postseason play at SCSU, Benik has scored 10 goals and 7 assists in 15 games played (NCAA and conference tournament play combined)...Benik currently paces the Huskies in 2014-15 with 22 assists and 38 points. In three seasons at SCSU, Benik now has 36g/41a for 77 points.

POWER PLAY POWERHOUSE: SCSU juniors Jonny Brodzinski leads the nation this winter with 11 power play goals. In his career, Brodzinski has 21 PPGs and now ranks 10th in the team records for career PPGs behind Ben Hanowski, who had 22 from 2012-13. Jeff Saterdalen owns the team record for career PPGs with 40 from 1988-92. Eric Johnson set the team record with 14 PPGs in 1994-95. Brodzinski leads the team with 20 goals this season and is second with 37 points...of note, Brodzinski has charted 20-plus goals in each of his three seasons at SCSU. The last SCSU player to achieve that feat was Mark Hartigan, who had three consecutive 20-goal seasons from 1999 to 2002...Brodzinski's 63 carrer goals ranks 8th in team history, while Hartigan is the all-time leader with 86 from 1999-02.

KALLE COUNTDOWN: Kossila needs two more points to join the Huskies' 100-point club. In 114 career games, Kossila has 33 goals and 65 assists for 98 points at SCSU. Earlier this season, Brodzinski joined the 100-point club and now ranks 21st in the team records with 109 points.

GREAT GOALIE: Sophomore goalie Charlie Lindgren owns a 19-17-1 record this season for the Huskies. He has a 2.26 goals against average and a .919 save rate with 899 saves to his credit. Lindgren's season GAA ranks sixth in the team records, while his save rate ranks eighth in the team records. His current save total ranks 8th in the team records behind Jase Weslosky, who had 910 saves in 2007-08. Of note, Jase Weslosky owns the team records for best GAA in a season at 2.11 in 2007-08 and best save rate at .931 in 2007-08.

200 WINS: Earlier this season, SCSU coach Bob Motzko became just the second coach in team history to gain his 200th career victory. In 10 seasons with the Huskies, Motzko has 202 career wins to his credit. The all-time win leader is Craig Dahl, who had 338 wins from 1987-2005.

TOUGH ROAD: The Huskies have been down a grueling road during the 2014-15. Since Feb. 13, SCSU has played 12 consecutive games against teams ranked among the nation's top 10 teams in this week's polls. On the year, SCSU is 14-16-0 in play against nationally ranked teams. SCSU's schedule in 2014-15 was rated second toughest by the KRACH poll.

UND & QUINNIPIAC: The Huskies have never faced North Dakota in NCAA tournament play. SCSU's only meeting vs. Quinnipiac in the NCAA tournament resulted in a 4-1 loss at the Frozen Four semifinal game on April 11, 2013 in Pittsburgh....in 2014-15, SCSU split a weekend series at home against Quinnipiac. On Jan. 2, the Huskies won 3-2 and then lost a 4-1 decison at the HBNHC on Jan. 3...SCSU was 2--3-0 in play against UND during the 2014-15 season. SCSU posted a 3-1 win over UND on Nov. 21 and then completed the home series with a 3-2 loss on Nov. 22. On Feb. 27-28, UND swept the Huskies by scores of 3-2 and 3-1 at the REA. Most recently, SCSU gained a 3-1 win over UND at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on March 20 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

NICE ON THE ICE: SCSU is the fourth least penalized team in DI hockey this winter. The Huskies have an average of 8.7 penalty minutes per game this year in 38 games.

TOP FIVE: The Huskies power play ranks fifth in the nation at 23.7% (36/152) in 2014-15.

ON THE AIR: KCML Lite 99.9 FM will broadcast all home and away SCSU men's hockey games during the 2014-15 season. Fans can tune into KCML on the web at www.lite999.com. Dan Terhaar, the Voice of the Huskies, and Dave Reichel will provide the call for KCML in 2014-15...select SCSU hockey games will also be broadcast live on KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org). KVSC sports director Declan Goff will lead the KVSC broadcast team.