#1/2 St. Cloud State men's hockey back home on Dec. 7-8

The #1/2 St. Cloud State men's hockey team (11-1-2, 4-0-2 NCHC) will return to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Dec. 7-8 for a pair of NCHC games against rival Omaha (4-8-2, 2-3-1 NCHC). The game on Dec. 7 will begin at 7:07 p.m. and the game on Dec. 8 will begin at 6:07 p.m.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS: The annual Teddy Bear Toss at SCSU will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8. Fans are encouraged to bring a new or gently used Teddy Bear or plush toy to the game and throw it onto the ice during the intermission during the Teddy Bear Toss. All toys collected will be donated to the St. Cloud Toys for Tots campaign, which provides gifts to the area's needy during the holiday season. The game will also feature $1 hot dogs at the concession stands during the game against Omaha, which will start at 6:07 p.m. For complete ticket information, please visit scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX.

SKATE WITH THE HUSKIES: The always popular Skate with the Huskies have been scheduled for after the games on Dec. 8 and Feb. 2 on the main rink of the HBNHC. Fans will have a chance to skate on the Huskies' home ice with players from both the men's and women's hockey teams at SCSU. This is a great chance to get autographs and photos with your favorite players from both teams. Call 1-877-SCSUTIX for more details.

#SCSUonFSN: St. Cloud State will have four of its hockey games featued on Fox Sports North and FSN+ over the weekend. The SCSU women's game vs. Wisconsin and the men's game vs. Omaha on Dec. 7 will both air on FSN+. On Dec. 8, the SCSU women's game will air on FSN+ and Fox Sports Wisconsin. The men's game on Dec. 8 vs. UNO will be televised on Fox Sports North. Check your local cable and dish listings for the channel location of FSN, FSN+ and Fox Sports Wisconsin.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES vs. OMAHA:

TICKETS: scsutickets.com or call 1-877-SCSUTIX
RADIO: The River 96.7 FM and KVSC FM 88.1
TELEVISION: Dec. 7 on Fox Sports North Plus/Dec. 8 on Fox Sports North
LIVE STREAM: NCHC.tv/scsu
LIVE STATS: https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
TEAM NOTES: SCSU Weekly Notes (PDF)

SCSU HOCKEY HEADLINES:

NEED TICKETS: Tickets are available for all home games at www.scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX. A variety of great mini ticket packages and deals are available for SCSU home games throughout the remainder of the season. Don't Miss a Game in 2018-19 - Be There When It Happens This Season!

BRETT LARSON SHOW AT THE GREEN MILL: Fans can attend the Brett Larson Show every Monday during the 2018-19 season at the Green Mill in downtown St. Cloud. Host Jim Erickson will run the show along with Coach Larson and special player guests each week. The Green Mill also offers a complete menu of tasty food and drink items. If you cannot attend the show live, listen on The River 96.7 FM.

CONNECT WITH THE HUSKIES: Fans can follow their Huskies this week by listening to the live broadcast on The River 96.7 FM (www.river967.com) out of St. Cloud with Jim Erickson and Dave Reichel providing the call. Fans can also listen to select home games on KVSC FM 88.1 (www.kvsc.org). On the web, fans can watch both games on NCHC.tv/scsu

OMAHA NOTEBOOK: Mike Gabinet is in his second season as the head coach at Omaha. He is a 2004 Omaha grad served as an assistant coach at Omaha in 2016-17. He played college hockey at Omaha and played eight seasons of pro hockey in North America and Europe...the Mavericks own a 4-8-2, 2-3-1 NCHC record this year...SCSU is 20-10-2 in the all-time series against Omaha and 4-0-0 against Omaha at the Baxter Arena and 7-6-1 vs. UNO at the HBNHC...the series started on Jan. 9, 1998 with a 2-1 win by the Huskies in St. Cloud, Minn...SCSU is 5-0-0 in the last five outings against the Mavericks and 8-2-0 in the last 10 games against Omaha...The Huskies were 4-0-0 against UNO last winter with a 7-4 and 5-0 win in Omaha and a 5-3 and 6-2 sweep at the HBNHC in 2017-18...Robby Jackson has 7g/7a and Jimmy Schuldt has 1g/9a scored against Omaha during their college careers...last weekend, Omaha posted a 3-3 tie and a 6-3 loss at home against Colorado College...Omaha is 3-1-1 in its last five games played...Mason Morelli (9g/9a) and Fredrik Olofsson (7g/11a) leads the Mavs in scoring this season, while Evan Weninger owns a 4.05 GAA and a .885 save rate in the nets for UNO.

IN THE POLLS: The Huskies received a #1 ranking in the USA TODAY/USA Hockey weekly poll. In the USCHO.com poll this week, the Huskies earned a #2 ranking. SCSU has received the nation's number one ranking for two consecutive weeks heading into the series at Miami. SCSU has a current six-game winning streak.

TWO TIES: The Huskies skated to a 4-4 tie and a 2-2 tie at Miami on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. On Friday, SCSU hit a season game-high with 44 shots on target as Huskies' goals were scored by Robby Jackson (2), Sam Hentges and Patirck Newell. SCSU was 2-of-3 on the power play in the game and 3-of-3 on the PK. Jeff Smith was the goalie of record with 26 saves. After the scoreless 3x3 OT session, Blake Lizotte netted a goal in the shootout to give the Huskies the extra NCHC point and the team's first-ever OT shootout victory since the league adopted the shootout format in overtime...on Dec. 1, the Huskies ended the day with a 2-2 tie as goals were posted in the contest by Blake Lizotte and Easton Brodzinski. SCSU outshot Miami 30-27 in the match and David Hrenak had 25 saves in the game for the Huskies. Miami earned the extra point with a goal in the 3x3 OT session. SCSU and Miami have gone into OT during the two teams' last 4 meetings.

UNBEATEN STREAK: The Huskies own the second longest unbeaten streak in NCAA hockey this week at eight games. The last time SCSU has lost a game was a 3-2 loss at Northeastern on Oct. 27. At 11-1-2, SCSU is off to its best start since opening the 2001-02 season with a 12-1-1 record...the games at Miami were the first OT games that SCSU has played since a 3-2 OT win over UND at the NCHC Frozen Face-off on March 16, 2018 in St. Paul.

TOP 10 HUSKIES: On the national stage, SCSU ranks 3rd among NCAA teams with a 4.07 goals per game rate (best in the NCHC) and fifth on defense with a 2.00 goals allowed per game rate (2nd in the NCHC behind UMD's 1.86 gapg)...SCSU ranks 2nd in the nation with a 2.07 goals per game scoring margin and third with a .857 winning percentage (best in the NCHC)...SCSU ranks 2nd in the nation on the penalty kill at 88.7% (47-of-53) and ninth on the power play at 26.8% (15-of-56)...individually, SCSU's Nolan Walker ranks 4th in the nation among DI rookies with a scoring rate of 1.07 gpg...Patrick Newell ranks 2nd in the nation with four game winning goals this season and Easton Brodzinski is fifth with three...in goal, Jeff Smith ranks 7th in the nation with a 1.78 GAA rate and David Hrenak is 4th in the nation with a .944 winning percentage in goal.

CENTURY MARK WATCH: A trio of Huskies are all within 10 points of joining SCSU's 100-point club this week. Patrick Newell, the team's leading scorer in 2018-19 with 18 points (9g/9a), charted his 90th career point at Miami and now has 91 career points (26g/65a) in 120 career games. Senior defender Jimmy Schuldt enters this weekend with 96 points (32g/64a) and Robby Jackson also has 96 points (38g/58a). A total of 30 SCSU players are members of SCSU's 100-point club (all games played at the DI level). The last person to join the SCSU 100-point Club was Mikey Eyssimont in 2017-18.

HELPING HAND: Ryan Poehling, a first round draftee of Montreal in 2017, currently paces the Huskies this winter with 12 assists. He also ranks 2nd on the team with 15 points. Patrick Newell leads SCSU with nine goals and 18 points this year, while Robby Jackson (5g/10a) and Nolan Walker (5g/10a) also rank 2nd on the team with 15 points.

VERY RARE: The Huskies' earned their first-ever NCHC shootout win at Miami on Nov. 30. SCSU is now 1-7 all-time in NCHC shootouts and 2-3 in 3x3 OT periods. Blake Lizotte is the only active NCHC player with a shootout goal to his credit. In the shootout at Miami, SCSU netminder Jeff Smith made the first save and the shootout was over quickly as Blake Lizotte scored on SCSU's first attempt.

NEWELL NOTE: Patrick Newell owns an active 3-game point streak headed into the series against UNO. He has posted 2g/4a in SCSU's last three games played.

UP NEXT: The Huskies will be back home on Dec. 27 for a 6:07 p.m. game vs. the NTDP U18 team. Great tickets for these exciting NCHC showdowns are available at scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX.