St. Cloud State
University of North Dakota
Players Mentioned
#1 ranked Huskies to open Frozen Faceoff Play on March 16 vs. North Dakota
3/13/2018 9:33:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The #1 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (24-7-6, 16-4-4 NCHC) match up against #12/13 North Dakota (16-12-10, 8-10-6 NCHC) in the semifinal round of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Friday, March 16.
The puck drops at 4:08 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, Minn. In the other first round game at 7:38 p.m. on March 16, #8 Minnesota Duluth (21-14-3, 13-11-0 NCHC) and #5 Denver (20-9-8, 12-6-6 NCHC) will match up. The winners of the games on Friday will then advance to the Frozen Faceoff championship game, which will be played at 7:38 p.m. on Saturday, March 17. The two losing teams will play in the tournament's consolation game at 3:38 p.m. on Saturday, March 17.
| St. Cloud State Hockey Central |
| Tickets: www.nchchockey.com/tickets |
| Frozen Faceoff Fan Events: www.nchchockey.com/frozenfaceoff |
| Xcel Energy Center Website: https://www.xcelenergycenter.com/events/detail/nchc-frozen-faceoff |
| Radio: The River 96.7 FM or KVSC 88.1 FM |
| Television: CBS Sports Network (Games on Mar. 16 and Championship game on Mar. 17) |
| Live Stats: NCHC Stats |
| Game Notes: SCSU Game Notes |
SCSU PRE-GAME SOCIAL AT THE LIFFEY: Attention SCSU fans! Join the fun at the pre-gam social at the Liffey in downtown St. Paul prior to the start of the SCSU-UND game on Friday and SCSU's game on Saturday at the Frozen Faceoff. The Liffey is located directly across the street from the Xcel Energy Center at 175 7th St W, St Paul. All fans are invited to attend the pre-game social at the Liffey.
BRACKET SHOW: The 2018 NCAA DI men's hockey tournament selection show will take place at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 18 on ESPNU. The Huskies will be hosting a viewing party at Buffalo Wild Wings in St. Cloud on that day. The doors will open for the event at 10:30 a.m. and fans can join the SCSU players and coaches as they watch the bracket announcement for 2018.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES IN 2017-18 ON THE RADIO: SCSU fans will be able to listen to the games on 96.7 FM The River (www.river967.com) with Jim Erickson and Dave Reichel on the call. Fans can also listen on KVSC FM 88.1 or at kvsc.org
WATCH: Watch the HBNHC playoff games on Friday and the championship game on the CBS Sports Network. Check your local listings for the cable and dish listings near you.
IN THE POLLS: The Huskies received a #1 ranking in the USA TODAY/USA Hockey Division I poll this week. SCSU also gained a #1 ranking in the USCHO.com poll this week...St. Cloud State was picked as the #2 team in the 2017-18 preseason NCHC poll. Of note, the Huskies received votes in the final USCHO.com poll of 2016-17. UND is ranked #12/13 in the polls, while Denver is #5 and UMD is #8 this week.
SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Judd Peterson has been selected as a top 10 finalist for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes college hockey's top senior player each season. Fans can vote for him at www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/hockey_2017-18/
LEAGUE CHAMPS: SCSU clinched the NCHC regular season title with its four point weekend vs. Denver. This marks the second time in team history that SCSU has won the Penrose Cup (first was in 2013-14) and the third time SCSU has won a regular season league title during the DI era. SCSU also won the WCHA regular season crown in 2012-13. As a DIII affiliate, SCSU won the NCHA league title in 1986-87.
MIKE RICHTER SEMIFINALIST: David Hrenak has been selected as one of the Mike Richter Award top 10 semifinalists for 2017-18. The award is presented annually to the nation's top NCAA DI goaltender. He was selected to the All-NCHC Rookie Team and was named an All-NCHC Honorable Mention pick in 2018. The award is presented by Let's Play Hockey and the Herb Brooks Foundation.
ALL-NCHC AWARD WINNERS: The following SCSU players have been selected to the 2017-18 All-NCHC team: Jimmy Schuldt (1st Team), Mikey Eyssimont (2nd Team), Will Borgen (HM), David Hrenak (HM), Robby Jackson (HM). They are joined in the league honors court this winter by 2018 All-NCHC Rookie Team award winners: David Hrenak, Blake Lizotte and Easton Brodzinski.
CENTURY CITY: Mikey Eyssimont scored three goals and two assists in the playoff series against Miami. His work pushed his career point total past 100 at SCSU. He now has 102 career points (45g/57a). Eyssimont also took over the team's goal scoring lead this season with 17 in 2017-18. He is the 30th player in SCSU history to score 100-plus points. Eyssimont enjoys the postseason as he has scored eight goals and three assists in nine postseason games (NCHC & NCAA) during his college career.
LEADERS: Robby Jackson leads SCSU with 42 points this season, while Jimmy Schuldt leads the team with 28 assists. Schuldt now ranks seventh in the team records for most career points by a blueliner. His career totals include 28g/55a and 83 points. Kelly Hultgren leads the all-time defensive list with 107 points from 1991-95. Of note, Schuldt is tied for 7th on the list with Garrett Raboin who also had 83 points from 2006-10. Raboin is now an assistant coach for the Huskies.
HOBEY HOPEFULL: Postseason honors candidate Jimmy Schuldt ranks second among the nation's defensive players with a scoring rate of 1.03 PPG. He has 10g/28 for 38 points. He is +21 on the plus/minus and he is among the nation's top shot blockers with 83. Schuldt also ranks 17th in the nation with 0.76 assists per game.
TOPS IN THE NCHC: The Huskies are the regular season champs in the NCHC. In NCHC games played this season, SCSU led the league with 93 goals scored, while WMU ranked 2nd with 82 goals. David Hrenak led all SCSU goalies with a .929 save rate and was second with a 1.94 GAA...Easton Brodzinski ranked second in the league among NCHC Rookies with 18 points (.78 ppg) and Schuldt was second in the NCHC for Defenseman Scoring with 23 points (.96 ppg)...Brodzinski led the NCHC this year with 4 GWG and Robby Jackson was tops in the league with three SHGs in 2017-18...for assists, Schuldt ranked second in the league with 20 helpers (.83 apg) in 2017-18, while Mikey Eyssimont and Robby Jackson ranked 6th in the league with 11 goals scored (.46 gpg). Jackson ranked fifth in the NCHC files this year with 27 points (1.12 ppg) and Eyssimont was ranked sixth with 26 points (1.08 ppg)
SCSU NOTES: SCSU was 3-4-0 during the month of January and the Huskies were 9-1-3 during the months of February and March...SCSU ranks 2nd in the nation with a scoring average of 3.76 goal per game...SCSU ranks 14th in the nation on defense with 2.46 goals allowed per game this winter...SCSU's power play rate of 23.5% ranks 9th in the nation...SCSU's winning percentage of .730 ranks third in the nation...SCSU ranks #1 in the latest Pairwise rankings...the Huskies are looking to gain their first NCAA playoff bid since 2015-16. Of note, SCSU has gained 12 NCAA playoff bids since 1989. SCSU is 5-7 in NCAA tournament play during the Bob Motzko era at SCSU since he joined the squad in 2005-06.
NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF NOTES: SCSU is now 6-5-0 in first round NCHC playoff games...at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, SCSU is 3-1 in its two previous appearances. In 2015, SCSU posted a 3-1 win vs. North Dakota and then lost in the title game by a 3-2 score to Miami. In 2016, SCSU claimed the top spot in the Frozen Faceoff with a 4-2 win over Denver in the semi's and a 3-1 victory over Minnesota Duluth in the title game. This will mark the first time that SCSU has played NCHC Frozen Faceoff games in the Xcel Energy Center...SCSU is 11-15 in games played at the Xcel Energy Center since it opened in 2000-01.
FROZEN FACEOFF: This is the week! 2018 NCHC Frozen Faceoff at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Mar. 16-17. Visit nchchockey.com for details.
ON DECK: Watch the NCAA bracket reveal show on Sunday, March 17 at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. SCSU fans can gather at Buffalo Wild Wings in St. Cloud for a bracket viewing party. Doors open at BWWs at 10:30 a.m. on March 17. All fans are welcome to join the Huskies as the NCAA tournament bracket is announced for 2018.
SUCCESS: SCSU is 15-5-4 this season against team ranked among the nation's top 20 (when SCSU played team).
HOT STREAK: Since a 5-1 loss at UMD on Jan. 26, the Huskies have only lost one game (a 3-2 OT loss vs. Miami on March 10). SCSU is 10-1-3 during that streak.
OT NOTES: The Huskies have played in 10 overtime games this season. SCSU is 3-1-6 in those OT games. Since Feb. 16, the Huskies have been involved in six OT games (so that is 6 out of the Huskies last 9 games have gone into the extra session).
NEED TICKETS FOR 2018-19?: For complete ticket information home games and season tickets for the upcoming 2018-19 season at SCSU, please call 1-877-SCSUTIX or visit www.scsutickets.com.
FIRST ROUND REPORT: The Huskies advanced to the Frozen Faceoff this year with a first round series win against Miami. On March 9, the Huskies scored a 5-2 win at the HBNHC and followed that with a 3-2 OT loss on March 10. To punch their ticket to St. Paul, the Huskies charted a 4-3 OT win over the RedHawks on March 11. Mikey Eyssimont scored two goals, including the game winner, in the victory over MU on March 11. Eyssimont had 3g/2a in the series, while Jack Ahcan had 1g/4a and Robby Jackson had four assists over the weekend.
AWARD WINNERS: The following Huskies have been named to the 2018 NCHC All-Academic Team: Blake Winiecki, Mika Ilvonen, Jimmy Schuldt, Mikey Eyssimont, Patrick Newell, Jon Lizotte, Clark Kuster, Jack Poehling, David Zevnik, Robby Jackson and Jeff Smith. NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award winners were: Jimmy Schuldt, Jon Lizotte and Clark Kuster.
