SCSU Men's Hockey on the road to Grand Forks

The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (12-13-1, 6-9-1 NCHC) will return to action in the NCHC this weekend with a pair of dates at #12/13 University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. on Friday, Feb. 3 and Satruday, Feb. 4. Game time on Feb. 3 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena is 7:37 p.m. and the game on Feb. 4 will begin at 7:07 p.m.

SCSU HOCKEY CENTRAL

WATCH: CBS SPORTS NETWORK (Friday only) - Charter Cable Channel 412/807 & DirecTV 221 & Dish Network 158
WATCH: Fox College Sports (Saturday only) - Midco Sports Network and SCSU Sports Network (Charter 823/426 in St. Cloud)
RADIO: REV 96.7 FM or KVSC FM 88.1
VIDEO STREAM: NCHC.tv/scsu (Saturday only)
LIVE STATS: UND Live Stats (Friday) / UND Live Stats (Saturday)
NOTES: SCSU Weekly Notes (PDF)

SCSU Hockey News and Notes:

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 Feb. 3 live on CBS Sports Network (check your local cable listings) and on Feb. 4, the game will be televised live on Fox College Sports and Midco Sports Network (check your local listings). Fans in the St. Cloud area can watch the game on Feb. 4 on Charter Cable Channel 823/426. The game on Saturday will also be available on the NCHC.tv/scsu video stream.

IN THE POLLS: The Huskies received votes in the USCHO.com poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey poll this week.

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).

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE HBNHC: The SCSU men's hockey game on Feb. 10 has been designated as SCSU men's hockey alumni night. All former SCSU hockey players are invited to come out for this special evening at the HBNHC, which will include a salute to NCHA championship team from 1986-87 that was coached by Herb Brooks.

* The game on Feb. 10 has also been designated as Military and Veteran Appreciation Night at SCSU Hockey. All active military and veterans will be admitted free to the game that night along with a guest. Please call the hockey office at 320-308-4806 for more details.

* On Feb. 11, the SCSU game will be Zubaz hat give-away night. The first 500 fans into the game will receive a free SCSU stocking cap courtesy of Zubaz. In addition, the always popular $1 hot dogs will be once again offered for this game at the HBNHC.

OPPONENT NOTES: SCSU and UND played a weekend series at the HBNHC on Nov. 18-19, 2016. The Fighting Hawks gained a 4-0 and 3-0 weekend sweep against the Huskies that weekend...The first time these two squads played, SCSU gained an 8-1 win on Jan. 6, 1947. SCSU is 8-14-4 in games played at the new REA...SCSU is 1-4-0 in the last five outings against UND...SCSU is 3-7-0 in the last 10 outings against the Fighting Hawks...UND leads the all-time series 68-39-12 dating back to Jan. 6, 1947. At the DI level only, UND owns a 68-38-12 lead in the series...the last time these games were played at UND, the Huskies were swept by scores of 3-2 and 3-1 on Feb. 27-28, 2015...the Huskies did not play at REA during the 2015-16 season...last weekend, UND split at NCHC rival CC with a 5-2 win and a 3-0 loss against the Tigers...Shane Gersich leads UND this season with 18g/14a for 30 points. Tyler Jost has 11g/13a for 24 points...Cam Johnson paces UND in the nets with a 2.31 GAA and a .907 save rate. He is 13-8-3 this season.

LAST WEEK: In the final North Star College Cup tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the St. Cloud State University Huskies finished as runner-up. SCSU opened the weekend with a 2-1 win over WCHA rival Bemidji State on Jan. 27. Jacob Benson scored a power play goal in the first period with assists from Blake Winiecki and Jack Ahcan. In the second stanza, Winiecki added the game winner at 7:16 with helpers from Nick Poehling and Mikey Eyssimont. BSU added their goal later in the second to make the final 2-1. Jeff Smith made 26 saves in the game as BSU outshot the Huskies 27-21 in the game...on Jan. 28, SCSU took #1 Minnesota Duluth to the limit before losing a 2-1 decision in OT. Will Borgen scored in the first period to give SCSU a 1-0 lead in the game, which they held until :42 of the third period when UMD's Alex Iafallo scored to tie the game at 1-1. In the OT session, UMD's Kyle Osterberg scored the GWG at 6:00. In the game, UMD outshot the Huskies 34-32 as Smith made 32 saves in the loss for SCSU.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Huskies have faced a series of top opponents over the past few weeks. To start the run, SCSU split a weekend series against then #2/3 ranked Minnesota Duluth. The following weekend, SCSU split another series back at the HBNHC against then #1/2 ranked Denver. The run continued last weekend in St. Paul with games against #20 ranked Bemidji State and #2/3 ranked UMD at the North Star Cup. This week, SCSU will face #12/13 ranked North Dakota. SCSU is 3-3 in the last six games against these tough foes. Of note, SCSU's strength of schedule ranking according to the RPI is third in the nation behind #1 UMD and #2 Denver. North Dakota is ranked #4 for SOS and Western Michigan is #5. The list continues with #6 ranked Colorado College, #7 Miami and #8 Omaha. I guess that pretty much covers the NCHC.

100th GAME: Junior Judd Peterson played in his 100th career game at SCSU on Jan. 27. He now has 29 goals and 14 assists in 101 games played at SCSU. This season, Peterson has nine goals and four assists. He is a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres.

BACK HOME: Grand Forks residents Jon Lizotte, a sophomore defender, and Jacob Benson, a sophomore forward, will be enjoying a homecoming of sorts during the Huskies' trip to UND on Feb. 3-4. Lizotte played junior hockey at Minot (NAHL) and Benson played at Dubuque (USHL). Lizotte (2013) and Benson (2014) both graduated from Red River H.S. in Grand Forks, N.D. Benson has 7g/7a this season for the Huskies and Lizotte has 1g/3a from the blueline.

TEAM LEADERS:- Mikey Eyssimont had one assist this past weekend to maintain his point scoring lead at 23 (10g/13a). Blake Winiecki assumed the team's goal scoring lead with his solo goal vs. BSU on Jan. 27. He now has 11 goals this season to top SCSU's charts. Ironically, Winiecki has 11 goals and 11 assists this season and he has 28 goals and 28 assists in his career with the Huskies. Patrick Newell leads SCSU with 16 assists this year.

THE NOTEBOOK: SCSU goalie Jeff Smith has started the last 11 games for the Huskies. He owns a 6-7-0 record this season with a 2.69 GAA and a .908 save rate...SCSU continues to move up on the power play charts and the Huskies now rank 15th in the nation with a power play rate of 20.2 this season....SCSU's Jack Ahcan ranks 14th in the nation for DI freshmen at 0.82 points per game...Ahcan also ranks 13th in the nation for DI defenseman with a scoring rate of 0.82 points per game...Will Borgen now has two goals to his credit this season (and three in his career)...Borgen also leads SCSU with a +/- ranking of +5...Mikey Eyssimont leads SCSU with 101 shots on goal this season...on defense, Jimmy Schuldt had a team-high 61 blocked shots this winter.

NICE GUYS: SCSU is the least penalized team in the nation at present. The Huskies top DI with a low average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game. SCSU has amassed just 238 penalty minutes this season in 26 games played.

NEXT UP: SCSU is back home on Feb. 10-11 for games at the HBNHC against Miami University. Game time on Feb. 10 is slated for 7:37 p.m. and the game on Feb. 11 begins at 7:07 p.m. Need tickets? Visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX