St. Cloud State men's hockey falls 2-1 to Minnesota Duluth

Saturday, February 27

St. Cloud, MInn.

7:07 p.m.

St. Cloud State

25-8-1, 15-6-1NCHC

University of Minnesota Duluth

13-14-5, 9-10-3NCHC

Minnesota Duluth

St. Cloud State

2015-16 SCSU Seniors

Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane

2/27/2016 10:21:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

The #3 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (25-8-1, 15-6-1 NCHC) suffered just its second series sweep of the season with a tough 2-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth (13-14-5, 9-10-3 NCHC) on Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

SCSU's other weekend sweep of the season occured on Oct. 23-24 with a 5-2 and 4-1 loss at Quinnipiac. The Huskies are now tied for tied for second place in the NCHC along with Denver, which also has 47 league points this season. SCSU will complete the regular season portion of its 2015-16 schedule with a pair of NCHC contests at Colorado College on March 4-5 at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In front of a sellout crowd of 5,531 at the HBNHC on Feb. 27, the Huskies battled through a scoreless first period with UMD owning a slim edge in shots on goal at 10-8. In the second period, UMD gained a 1-0 lead with an even-strength goal by Dominic Toninato at 8:21. Alex Iafallo and Neal Pionk both had assists on the play.

UMD netted the game winner at 15:44 of the second period with a marker by Karson Kuhlman. He was assisted on the play by Willie Raskob and Tony Cameranesi.

The Huskies broke into the scoring column late in the period with a power play goal by Patrick Russell at 17:47 of the second. Mikey Eyssimoint and Joey Benik each had assists on the play. This was Russell's 17th goal of the 2015-16 season and his fourth PPG of the year.

The third period was another scoreless affair as Kasimir Kaskisuo was able to notch the victory with 25 saves to his credit on the night. SCSU's Charlie Lindgren had 25 saves in the game as the Huskies were outshot 27-26. On the power play, SCSU was 1-3 and UMD was 0-2.

After the game's conclusion, SCSU seniors Joey Benik, Kalle Kossila, David Morley, Jimmy Murray, Ethan Prow and Rasmus Reijola were all recognized for their contributions to the program over the past four seasons. This game marked the final regular season home game for the Huskies and the 2015-16 seniors.

HUSKIES NEWS AND NOTES:

Mikey Eyssimont posted his 16th assist of the year vs. UMD. He leads SCSU's freshmen this season with 9 goals, 16 assists and 25 points.
Joey Benik now has 61 career assists and 116 career points at SCSU.
The two goals scored by the Huskies this weekend against UMD are the least number of goals scored by the Huskies in a weekend series during the 2015-16 campaign.
SCSU and Denver are both tied for second in the NCHC with 47 points apiece. North Dakota clinched at least a share of the NCHC regular season championship tonight with its win tonight at Omaha.
Tickets for the first round games in the upcoming NCHC postseason tournament are on sale at the SCSU Athletic Ticket Office. This best of three series will be played at the HBNHC in St. Cloud on March 11-13. The winner of the series will advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, which will take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis on March 18-19. Tickets for the first round games can be purchase at www.scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX.
Fans can watch the March 5 game at Colorado College live on the American Sports Network. Check your local listings for the channel near you. Both games will also be available for viewing online at NCHC.tv/scsu