#8 Huskies to host #1 Bulldogs in NCHC opener on Nov. 4-5

The #8 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (4-2-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) will continue its 2016-17 season on Nov. 4-5 with a two-game series at home against the #1 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (5-1-2, 2-0-0 WCHA). Both games will be played at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. The game on Nov. 4 will begin at 7:37 p.m. and the game on Nov. 5 will begin at 7:07 p.m.

This will mark the first game of the 2016-17 NCHC schedule for the Huskies.

SCSU GAME CENTRAL:
TICKETS: www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX (tickets available for both games).
RADIO: REV 96.7 FM (www.rev967.com) or KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org)
TELEVISION: Both games on Fox Sports North Plus (Charter 227/827 in St. Cloud)
WEB STREAM: nchc.tv/scsu
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/stcloudstate/mhockey/
TEAM NOTES: SCSU Notes for Nov. 4-5 (PDF)

SCSU NEWS AND NOTES:

LEAGUE AWARD: SCSU's Jack Ahcan was named the NCHC Rookie of the Week. The defender from Savage, Minn. and Burnsville H.S. scored the game winning goal on Oct. 29 in the Huskies' 5-2 win vs. UAH. He also had three assists and was +4 on the plus/minus in the series vs. the Chargers. He is the first SCSU player this season to gain a NCHC Player of the Week award. Ahcan brings a four-game point scoring streak into the Huskies' upcoming series against #1 ranked Minnesota Duluth.

LIVE ON THE RADIO: Listen to all SCSU men's hockey games at home and away during 2016-17 on REV 96.7 FM (www.rev967.com). Jim Erickson will provide the play-by-play along with color commentary by SCSU All-American Dave Reichel...fans can also listen to SCSU men's hockey (select games) on KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org).

WATCH THE HUSKIES: The SCSU-UMD games this weekend will air live on Fox Sports North Plus (Charter 227/827). Twin Cities sports media personality Jim Rich and former NHL and Husky standout Mark Parrish will call the games this season for Husky Productions. Special thanks to Brian Stanley and Austin Tema and the rest of the award winning Husky Productions staff for providing top quality programming throughout the season for SCSU fans. Select NCHC games featuring SCSU will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. Selected games will also be televised nationally on Fox Sports North, Fox College Sports and the American Sports Network. Please check you local guide for the channel location of CBS Sports, Fox Sports and ASN.

TOP TEAM: The Huskies earned a #8 ranking in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey Division I poll and they were ranked #8 in this week's USCHO.com poll released on Oct. 31. UMD is ranked #1 in both of the DI college hockey polls this week.

NEED TICKETS?: Need tickets for any SCSU home game? Visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX for all your ticket needs. Great season ticket packages are available for the 2016-17 campaign.

CHARGING UP: St. Cloud State University (4-2-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) pushed its current win streak to four games with a 5-1 and 5-2 series sweep over visiting Alabama Huntsville on Oct. 28-29 in St. Cloud, Minn. The pair of victories helped the Huskies move up to #8 in this week's USCHO.com and USA Hockey/USA Today Division I national polls on Oct. 31. The previous week, SCSU had been ranked #10 in the two national polls. - SCSU is now 13-0-0 in the all-time series against UAH, which dates back to 1988.

PETERSON'S PROGRESS: Junior Judd Peterson tallied goals in each game against UAH. He leads the team lead this winter with six goals, which ranks sixth in the nation among DI players. Peterson is a resident of Duluth, Minn. and a grad of Marshall H.S.

FIRST ONE: Sophomore goalie Jeff Smith added his first collegiate victory in the nets with 15 saves in the Huskies' 5-1 win on Oct. 28 against UAH. On the topic of college firsts, Ryan Poehling scored his first college goal on Oct. 28 and then added his second career goal on Oct. 29 against UAH. Jack Ahcan also scored his first collegiate goal on Oct. 29 against the Chargers.

SHOT CHART: The Huskies limited UAH to just 12 shots on goal on Oct. 29. This was the lowest number of shots allowed in a game by the Huskies since Alabama Huntsville posted 11 shots in a game on Nov. 15, 2013...SCSU had 53 shots in the game on Oct. 28, which is the most shots on goal posted the Huskies since they had 55 shots on goals against Colorado College in 2015-16...SCSU is averaging 39.0 shots per game over its last four games this season. The Huskies have outshot their opponents 156-95 in their last four games. SCSU is averaging 23.3 shots allowed per game in its last four outings.

IMPRESSIVE ROOKIES: Three of SCSU's four game winning goals this season have been charted by first year players. Ryan Poehling and Jack Ahcan had GWGs on Oct. 28 and 29. On Oct. 21, Jake Wahlin had the GWG at UM in the OT session.

THE OPENER: SCSU will open its 2016-17 NCHC season on Nov. 4-5 with two home dates at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center against top ranked Minnesota Duluth. The series between these two schools started in 1946-47 with an 8-1 win by the Huskies. Since that time, SCSU is 63-45-9 against the Bulldogs (60-41-8 at the DI level since 1987-88)...In the last meeting between SCSU and UMD, the Huskies gained a 3-1 win over UMD in the title game of the 2016 NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game at the Target Center...SCSU is 2-2-1 in the last five outings against UMD and the Huskies are 4-5-1 in the last 10 outings. Last year, SCSU lost a 4-1 and 2-1 series at home against UMD on Feb. 26-27, 2016...Jacon Benson will be playing in his 40th game at SCSU when he hits the ice for the next time.

OPPONENT NOTES: Last weekend, UMD posted a 5-2 and 3-0 series sweep against then #1 UND at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs are now ranked #1 in the nation...SCSU grad Chris Garner is the equipment manager at UMD... In the all-time series, SCSU is 63-43-9 against UMD...In the last meeting between SCSU and UMD, the Huskies gained a 3-1 win over UMD in the title game of the 2016 NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game at the Target Center...SCSU is 2-2-1 in the last five outings against UMD and the Huskies are 4-5-1 in the last 10 outings. Last year, SCSU lost a 4-1 and 2-1 series at home against UMD on Feb. 26-27, 2016...Neal Pionk leads UMD with 4g/6a and Alex Iafallo has 5g/4a...Hunter Miska is 4-0-0 in the nets with a 1.97 GAA and Nick Deery is 1-0-2 with a 1.54 GAA. All of UMD's goalies this season are freshmen.

NEWS AND NOTES FROM SCSU: Judd Peterson ranks sixth in the nation with 1.00 goals per game this season...SCSU leads the nation for the fewest penalty minutes per game this season at 7.3 PIM per game in 2016-17...SCSU ranks seventh in the nation with a scoring rate of 4.00 goals per game...Niklas Nevalainen leads SCSU active players with 35 career assists, while Mikey Eyssimont has 16g/21a in his two seasons at SCSU...Jack Ahcan ranks ninth in the nation among DI defenders and 10th among DI rookies for scoring at 1.20 points per game. He has 1g/5a this season...the last time SCSU lost a game at home was a 2-1 setback against UMD on Feb. 27, 2016. Since that game, SCSU has won five consecutive games at home (including a 3-0-0 home record in 2016-17).

HUSKIES ON THE WAY TO COLORADO: The Huskies will hit the road next weekend with a set of NCHC games at Colorado College at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. The game on Nov. 11 begins at 8:37 pm (CT) and the game on Nov. 12 begins at 8:07 p.m. (CT). The game on Nov. 11 is slated to air live on the American Sports Network. Both games will be broadcast live on REV 96.7 FM with Jim Erickson on the call from Colorado College.