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St. Cloud State
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Western Michigan University
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Players Mentioned
#5 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey to Host WMU in NCHC Playoffs
3/10/2016 12:08:00 PM | Men's Hockey
SCSU MEN'S HOCKEY - HOCKEY NOTES MARCH 9, 2016
PLAYOFF TIME: The #5 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (27-8-1, 17-6-1 NCHC) will open up play the first round of the 2016 NCHC playoffs with a best-of-three series at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. against Western Michigan. SCSU is the number two seed in the tournament, while WMU is the number seven seed. Game one of the series is slated for Friday, March 11 at 7:37 p.m. Game two of the series will take place on Saturday, March 12 at 7:07 p.m. and game three (if needed) will take place on Sunday, March 13 at 7:07 p.m. The winner of this series advances to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19.
TICKETS FOR UPCOMING NCHC PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND GAMES: The Huskies have clinched home ice in the upcoming NCHC first round playoff games. The best of three series will take place on March 11-13 at the HBNHC. SCSU's first opponnent will be determined by the results of this weekend's NCHC games. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX. You can also stop by the SCSU Athletic Ticket Office in the HBNHC during regular business hours and purchase your tickets in person.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES THIS WEEKEND: The SCSU games will be aired live on 99.9 MORE FM (www.999morefm.com) with Dan Terhaar and Dave Reichel making the call from the HBNHC. KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org) will also broadcast the games lives this weekend...follow the live in-game blog from the HBNHC with SC Times writer Mick Hatten and Tim "Mr. Blog" Wright.
WATCH THE HUSKIES: All games in the first round playoff series will be televised live on the SCSU Sports Network (Charter 426/823). Fans can also watch the March 11-13 games on the live video stream at www.NCHC.tv/scsu
TRADING CARD NIGHTS: Sets of SCSU hockey player trading cards will be available for free to the first 500 fans attending the games on Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12. Always a fan favorite, the trading cards are sponsored this year by Rengel Printing of St. Cloud, Minn. Get to the games early this weekend to make sure you get a set of cards before they run out!
NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF: The 2016 NCHC Frozen Faceoff will take place on March 18-19 at Target Center in Minneapolis. For complete ticket information, please visit www.nchc.com or www.axs.com
POLL POSITION: SCSU was ranked #5 in the USCHO.com and #5 in the USA Today/USA Hockey DI national polls this week....SCSU has been ranked among the nation's top 20 teams in every poll so far this season.
LAST TIME OUT: SCSU completed its regular season schedule in top order with a 5-2 and 9-3 series sweep at Colorado College on March 4-5. The Huskies ended their regular season with a 27-8-1, 17-6-1 NCHC
WINNING WAYS AT SCSU: The 27 wins equals the most wins by a SCSU team during its regular season schedule in team DI history. The Huskies also hit 27 regular season wins during the 2001-02 season and the 2000-01 season...The 27 wins ranks third best in team history for most wins in an entire season. The SCSU record for most wins in a season was 31 (31-9-1) in 2000-01 and the Huskies had 29 wins (29-11-2) in 2001-02. Of note, SCSU was 4-1 in the postseason of the 2000-01 season and SCSU was 2-3 during the 2001-02 postseason run.
SHORT(HANDED) STORY: On the topic of records, SCSU set a new team record by scoring four shorthanded goals during its 9-3 win over CC on Mar. 5 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The previous game-high was three shorties set during several games in the past for SCSU. SCSU also hit a team record by scoring three shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill in the second period of the game. SCSU had never scored more than one SHG on a PK previously. In an exhibition game, SCSU had two SHGs on the same penalty when Mike Doyle and Matt Gens each scored SHGs in the 2nd period vs. St. Clair on 10/11/03.
MORE SHG TALES: SCSU now has seven SHGs this season. In comparison, SCSU only scored one SHG during the entire 2014-15 season and the Huskies only scored two shorthanded goals during each of the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. The team record for SHGs in a season is 14 set during the 1993-94 season.
ONE FOR THE RECORDS: On the topic of records part II, Charlie Lindgren set a new team season record by charting his 26th win of the year on March 5. Lindgren had 17 saves in the 9-3 win and now owns a 26-8-1 record this season. The old record of 25 wins was set by Scott Meyer in 2000-01. A Mike Richter Award candidate in 2015-16, Lindgren leads the nation with 26 wins this season. He was named to the All-NCHC First Team this year.
BIG NUMBERS: Kalle Kossila has 33 assists this season for the Huskies, which ranks 4th best in the team records for assists in a season behind Mark Hartigan with 38 in 2001-02, Brandon Sampair with 38 in 2000-01 and Drew LeBlanc with 37 in 2012-13...In his career, Kossila has 145 points and he 98 assists. He ranks seventh for career points in the team records and sixth in the team records for career assists. He needs two assists to become the fifth SCSU player in team DI history to notch 100 career assists. Kossila was named to the 2016 All-NCHC Second Team this week.
ANOTHER RECORD SET: Joey Benik joined Kossila on the 40-point list this season by chalking up 2g/2a at CC. Benik now has 21 goals and 21 assists this season. He also ranks 17th in the team's scoring charts with 120 career points and 11th with 57 career goals...Joey Benik had two GWGs in play against CC this past weekend, which set a new team record for most GWGs in a season. Teammate Patrick Russell set the record a few weeks ago when he hit six GWGs this season. The previously tally of five GWGs was held by several SCSU players over the years. Benik currently ranks second in the nation with his seven GWGs in 2015-16. Benik was also named to the 2016 All-NCHC Second Team this week.
NATIONAL LEADERS: The Huskies rank second in the nation on offense with 4.33 goals per game and they lead the country with 156 goals scored this year...On defense, SCSU ranks 10th in the country with an average of 2.14 goals allowed per game. The Huskies also lead the country with a scoring margin of 2.19 goals per game...SCSU ranks second in the nation on the power play at 29.5 percent (36/122)...SCSU ranks second in the nation for least penalty minutes per game at 7.3 PIM in 2015-16.
TEAM NOTES AND NEWS: Of note, SCSU has outscored its opponents 156-77 this season and the Huskies have notched 437 points this year. The current SCSU record for goals in a season is 179 in 2001-02 and the record for fewest goals allowed in a season is 92 set in 2000-01.
NCHC AWARD WINNER: Hobey Baker candiate Ethan Prow was named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week on March 7. This is the third time in 2015-16 that Prow has gained this honor. He currently paces all DI blue liners with 26 assists and 34 points. He also ranks eighth among all DI players with an average of 0.81 assists per game this winter...Prow has 76 career assists and now ranks second in the team records for most assists by a defenseman. The team record of 79 assists by a blueliner was set by Kelly Hultgren from 1991-95. Prow also ranks second in the defenseman category with 95 career assists behind Hultgren's 107 career points...Prow was recently selected to the 2016 All-NCHC First Team this week.
POINT PRODUCTION: A total of six SCSU players have 30-plus points in 2015-16. This group includes seniors Kalle Kossila (46), Joey Benik (42), David Morley (35), Ethan Prow (34) and Jimmy Murray (33). Sophomore Patrick Russell has 37 points. The five seniors on the list have combined for 190 points this season. The Huskies also have 12 players with 20-plus points this winter on their roster.
NCHC LEADERBOARD: For the final conference stats (league games only), Kalle Kossila ranked second in the league with 32 points (1.33 ppg) and Joey Benik was third with 30 points. Benik ranked second for goals scored with 15 and Kossila was second with 22 assists in NCHC play. Ethan Prow led the NCHC in power play points with 11 (5g/6a) and was second with 5 PPGs in NCHC games. Prow led all NCHC defenders with 24 points in 22 games, while Benik led the NCHC with 5 GWGs this winter. Charlie Lindgren's 17 wins topped the league this year. As a team, SCSU led the league with 4.33 goals per game on offense and a 25.9 percent rate on the power play.
SCSU VS. WMU: SCSU will face Western Michigan in the first round of the NCHC playoffs on March 11-13 at the HBNHC. The Huskies own 4-0 record vs. WMU this season which includes a 5-2 and 11-1 sweep in Kalamazoo and an 8-2, 7-3 sweep at the HBNHC this season...The Huskies are 7-3-2 in the all-time series against WMU dating back to a 4-2 win on Dec. 29, 2011. The Huskies own a 4-3-1 in play against the Broncos at the HBNHC.
PLAYOFF HOCKEY: In NCHC first round playoff action, the Huskies own a 2-2 record. Last year, SCSU scored a two-game sweep at Omaha to advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the first time. The Huskies went on to beat UND by a 3-1 tally in the semi's before losing a 3-2 decision against Miami in the Frozen Faceoff title game in 2015 at Target Center...If you combine SCSU's games in the WCHA and NCHC first round series, the Huskies own a 33-26 record daring back to 1991. SCSU has advanced out of the first round of the conference playoffs 15 times since 1991. SCSU's lone postseason tournament title was a first place finish in the WCHA playoffs in 2001.
