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St. Cloud State
Bemidji State University - North Star Cup
Players Mentioned
SCSU Men's Hockey to battle for North Star Cup on Jan. 27-28
1/26/2017 2:21:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (11-12-1, 6-9-1 NCHC) will participate in the 2017 North Star Cup at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Jan. 27-28. The Huskies open defense of their 2016 North Star Cup title with a 4 p.m. game against #20 Bemidji State (16-9-3, 16-4-2 WCHA) on Friday, Jan. 27. In the evening game at 7 p.m., #1/2 Minnesota Duluth (15-5-4, 11-4-1 NCHC) will play #6 Minnesota (14-6-2, 6-2-0 B10) on Jan. 27. The consolation game of the tournament will take place on Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. and the championship game will be played at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
SCSU HOCKEY CENTRAL:
WATCH:  NCHC.tv/scsu (SCSU vs. BSU game on Jan. 27 and game without Minnesota playing in it on Jan. 28)
TELEVISION: Fox Sports North (Minnesota vs. UMD on Jan. 27/Whoever plays Minnesota on Jan. 28)
TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000 (or purchase at Xcel Energy Center Box Office)
RADIO: Â REV 96.7 FM (www.rev967.com) or KVSCÂ FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org)
LIVE STATS: SCSU vs. BSUÂ / UM vs. UMD
TEAM NOTES: SCSU Weekly Release
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SCSU HOCKEYÂ NOTEBOOK:
TICKETS FOR THE CUP: Tickets for the North Star Cup games are available at the gate at the Xcel Energy Center on Jan. 27-28. You can also purchase tickets by calling 800-745-3000 or through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES THIS WEEKEND: Listen to the games this weekend on REV 96.7 FM (www.rev967.com) with Jim Erickson and Dave Reichel on the call. Fans can also listen to the games live on KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org). Fans can watch the game on Jan. 27 live on the NCHC.tv/scsu PPV video steam. The games that include the University of Minnesota at the North Star Cup will be televised on FSN Plus. The other game on Saturday will will be available on the NCHC.tv/scsu video stream.
IN THE POLLS:Â The Huskies received votes in the USCHO.com poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey poll this week.
NORTH STAR CUP PRE-GAME: St. Cloud State men's hockey fans! If you are going to the Huskies' games at the North Star Cup on January 27-28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, stop by The Liffey across the street and gather with other St. Cloud State alumni and Huskies fans! The pre-game social on Friday, Jan. 27 will get underway at 2 p.m. - prior to the start of the SCSU game against Bemidji State at 4 p.m. Food and beverage will be available for purchase at The Liffey. SCSU fans are invited to come back to The Liffey on Saturday, Jan. 28 before the Huskies play again in the North Star Cup. Game times on Jan. 28 are at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., and the SCSU game time will be determined by the results of the games on Jan. 27. The other teams competiting at the North Star Cup this season include Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota. The Liffey (theliffey.com) is located at 175 W. 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55102. Â
NEED TICKETS?: Need tickets for any SCSU home games. Visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX for all the details. Remember, SCSU hockey tickets are the perfect gift idea for all of your favorite Huskies fans (and you can shop online in the comfort of your own home).
CONGRATS! Former Husky Kalle Kossila (2012-16) made his NHL debut with Anaheim on Jan. 25. He is the 29th former Husky to skate in an NHL game.
LAST WEEK: SCSU split a weekend series vs. #3 Denver. On Jan. 20, the Huskies scored a 3-2 OT win at the HBNHC. The Huskies outshot the Pios 43-26 in the game. Ryan Poehling posted the OT GWG, while Jack Poehling and Robby Jackson added the first two goals for SCSU. Jeff Smith had 24 saves in the win. On Jan. 21, the Huskies lost a 3-1 match against DU. Jake Wahlin scored SCSU's lone goal in the game, as Jeff Smith took the loss with 35 saves. SCSU and DU both had 38 shots on goal in the contest.
NORTH STAR FACTS: The Huskies are the defending North Star Cup champions. Last year, SCSU posted a 5-4 win over Minnesota State in the semi's and won the title with a 5-2 victory over Bemidji State...The Huskies did not play in the North Star Cup during the 2014-15 season, and they placed third at the North Star Cup in 2013-14 with a 4-1 loss to Minnesota in first round play and a 6-4 win over Minnesota State in the third place game that season...Of note, SCSU is 8-13 in games played at the Xcel Energy Center since the building opened. In the last five games played at the Xcel, SCSU is 3-2-0...Sophomore forward Mikey Eyssimont was named the tournament MVP at last year's North Star Cup. He had three goals and two assists in tournament play last year.
TOPPING THE CHARTS: Eyssimont currently paces SCSU this season with 10 goals, 98 shots and 22 points. In two years with the squad, Eyssimont aleady has 55 points (24g/31a). He was a draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2016...Junior forward Blake Winiecki, one of five Lakeville residents on the squad this season, is tied for the team's goal scoring lead at 10. He also ranks second on the team with 20 points in 2016-17. He played in 100th career game on Jan. 21 and now has 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points at SCSU.
A YOUTH MOVEMENT: Eight of SCSU's top 10 point producers this season are either sophomores or freshmen. The only two juniors in the top 10 are Winiecki (10g/10a) and Judd Peterson (9g/4a). Sophomore Patrick Newell leads SCSU with 16 assists, while freshman Jack Ahcan paces SCSU's blueliners with 17 points (5g/12a). Newell and sophomore defender Will Borgen lead SCSU this season at +5 on the plus/minus this year.
PLAYING THE BEST:  Over the past two weekends, SCSU has gained wins against team's ranked among the nation's top two teams. On Jan. 13, SCSU posted a 2-1 win at Minnesota Duluth and on Jan. 20, the Huskies chalked up a 3-2 OT win. SCSU is 2-3-0 in its last five games played and 4-6-0 in the last 10 games played. SCSU is 6-9-1 in action against teams ranked among the nation's top 20 teams this season (at the time SCSU played them). SCSU's strength of schedule ranks 4th best in the nation this season in the latest RPI charts.
THE NOTEBOOK: SCSU goalie Jeff Smith has started the last nine games for the Huskies. He owns a 5-6-0 record this season with a 2.89 GAA and a .901 save rate. Smith is 4-4-0 in the last nine starts with a 2.74 GAA and a .909 save rate...Mikey Eyssimont and Jack Ahcan lead the Huskies with three game winners apiece this season...Jimmy Schuldt, a SCSU team captain this season, leads the Huskies with 55 blocks on defense...SCSU ranks second in the nation for the fewest penalty minutes per game at 9.5 PIM...SCSU's Jack Ahcan ranks 10th in the nation among DI blueliners with 0.85 ppg (5g/12a).
BEAVER BITES: SCSU is 19-4-1 in action against Bemidji State in the all-time series at the DI level. Prior to the DI era of this series, SCSU was 27-41-3 in play against the Beavers dating back to 1947-48...SCSU is 3-1-1 in play against BSU during the last five games of this series. SCSU is 6-2-2 in the last 10 games played against the Beavers...SCSU assistant coach Mike Gibbons was an All-American for the Beavers during his collegiate hockey career. He later served as an assistant coach at BSU from 1981-82 and was an interim head coach for BSU in 1982-83.
NEXT UP:Â SCSU travel to the University of North Dakota on Feb. 3-4 for games in Grand Forks, N.D.
