#18 SCSU men's hockey to face #1 ranked Denver

The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (15-14-1, 9-10-1 NCHC) will return to action in the NCHC this weekend with a pair of dates at #1 University of Denver (22-6-4, 14-3-3 NCHC) on Feb. 24-25. SCSU will open the weekend with a 9:08 p.m. (CT) game at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. on Friday, Feb. 24. SCSU will finish the weekend with an 8:05 p.m. game at Denver on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Magness Arena.

SCSU MEN'S HOCKEY CENTRAL:
LISTEN: REV 96.7 FM
WATCH: CBS Sports Network (Friday game only) & ALT2 (Saturday game only in Denver area)
LIVE VIDEO STREAM: NCHC.tv/scsu (Saturday only)
LIVE STATS: Friday / Saturday
NOTES: SCSU Team Notes (PDF)

SCSU MEN'S HOCKEY HEADLINES:

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES THIS WEEKEND: Listen to the games this weekend on REV 96.7 FM (www.rev967.com) with Jim Erickson on the call. Fans can watch the game on Feb. 24 live on CBS Sports Network (check your local cable and dish listings) and on Feb. 25, the game will be available on the NCHC.tv/scsu video stream.

IN THE POLLS: The Huskies were ranked #18 in the USCHO.com poll and received votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll this week. Denver was ranked #1 in the USA Today/USA Hockey and USCHO.com polls this week. As of Feb. 21, SCSU was ranked 12th in the Pairwise rankings.

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 GAMES AT THE HBNHC: The SCSU men's hockey team will be back home on March 3-4 for games at the HBNHC against Colorado College. These will be the final regular season home games of the year for the Huskies.

SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE HBNHC:
March 3 - Youth Night! All kids get in free with a paid adult! Team Poster Giveaway to the first 1000 fans.

March 4 - SCSU Senior Night/$1 Hot Dogs: The SCSU senior hockey players will be saluted at the game. $1 hot dogs will also be available at the concessions stands throughout the evening. For complete information on any of these special offers or if you would like to purchase tickets to any SCSU home game, please visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX.

250th VICTORY: SCSU head coach Bob Motzko won his 250th career game with the Huskies on Feb. 11 with a 3-1 victory over Miami at the HBNHC. Motzko ranks second in the team records for most wins as a head coach. He has coached at SCSU since the 2005-06 season with a 250-178-43 career record with the Huskies.

TANNED AND RESTED: Well, maybe not tanned but the Huskies are coming off a bye week on Feb. 17-18. The last outing for the Huskies included a 4-2 and 3-1 sweep over Miami at the HBNHC on Feb. 10-11. In the 4-2 win on Feb. 10, Robby Jackson and Ryan Poehling each had 1g/1a to pace the SCSU offense. The power play goal for Ryan Poehling was his first PPG as a Husky. Jeff Smith gained the win in the nets with 30 saves as Miami outshot the Huskies 32-30 in the game...on Feb. 11, SCSU's Jake Wahlin scored the game winner and Jacob Benson iced the game late with an ENG. Smith made 19 saves in the game, as SCSU outshot the Redhawks 36-20.

SWEEPING UP: The Huskies gained their first weekend series sweep since a pair of wins at CC on Nov. 11-12, 2016. This also marked the first sweep at home for the Huskies since a pair of wins over Alabama Huntsville on Oct. 28--29...SCSU has won five consecutive games on Friday night heading into the DU series. The SCSU win on Feb. 11 vs. Miami was the first Huskies' victory on a Saturday night since a 4-2 win over Arizona State in Prescott, Ariz. on Dec. 31.

LAST LOSS: The last team to defeat #1 Denver this season was St. Cloud State. The Huskies gained a 3-2 OT victory over the Pioneers on Jan. 20 at the HBNHC. Ryan Poehling scored the OT game winner against the Pioneers in that contest. Denver has won its last seven games since that setback.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Since Jan. 13, the Huskies have played five games against the nation's two top ranked teams. If you add in this weekend's games at DU, the Huskies will have played seven of its last 12 games against the nation's two top ranked teams (DU and UMD). SCSU is 2-3-0 in the five games played vs. UMD and DU - and this includes three OT games during that stretch...of note SCSU is 8-9-1 in play against top 20 ranked teams this season. SCSU's strength of schedule this season currently ranks second best in the nation behind UMD. Schools in the NCHC own the top eighth spots in the nation's strength of schedule ranking this week.

BIG TIME DEFENSE:- SCSU has allowed only 19 goals over the past 10 games played. Jeff Smith has been impressive in the nets with a 1.89 GAA and a .937 save rate during that stretch.

THE NOTEBOOK: Jeff Smith scored NCHC Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 13 for his weekend sweep of Miami. He allowed only three goals vs. Miami and only one even-strength goal that weekend. On the season, Smith has improved his stats to a 2.44 GAA and .915 save rate...Niklas Nevalainen hit his first multi-point game of the season on Feb. 11 with two assists against Miami. He currently has 1g/8a this season and his career totals include 5g/42a. He is one of three seniors on the SCSU roster this winter... In his last five games player, sophomore forward Robby Jackson has notched six points (1g/5a). He scored 1g/2a in play against Miami on Feb. 10-11 and now has eight goals and 10 assists in 2016-17... Mikey Eyssimont continues to pace the Huskies this season on offense with 26 points and 12 goals. Patrick Newell owns the team's assist lead this winter with 19 to his credit. In his career, Eyssimont has 26g/33a and needs one more point to reach 60 career points with the Huskies. His numbers are impressive as he just played in his 70th career game with the Huskies on Feb. 11. Eyssimont currently owns a three game point scoring streak... Jimmy Schuldt leads SCSU with 72 blocks this year on defense. He scored two goals in the weekend sweep against Miami and now has six goals and nine assists this season...SCSU is the least penalized team in the nation with an average of just 8.7 PIM in 2016-17.

NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF: Don't miss a minute of the action at the 2017 NCHC Frozen Faceoff, which will take place at the Minneapolis Target Center on March 17-18. For complete ticket details, please visit www.axs.com

NEXT UP: SCSU returns home to finish the regular season schedule with NCHC games against Colorado College on March 3-4. Need tickets? Visit www.scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX