St. Cloud State
Air Force Academy
Players Mentioned
#1 St. Cloud State opens NCAA tournament play on March 23 vs. Air Force
3/20/2018 4:21:00 PM | Men's Hockey
The #1 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (25-8-6, 16-4-4 NCHC) will open NCAA Division I tournament play on Friday, March 23 with a 3 p.m. (CT) game against Air Force (22-14-5, 13-11-4 AH) at the NCAA West Regional. The game will be played at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Huskies are the region's number one seed and the tournament's overall number one seed. Air Force is the region's number four seed. In the other first round game, #6 Minnesota State (29-9-1) will play #11 Minnesota Duluth (21-16-3) at 6:30 p.m. (CT). The two winning teams will play in the Regional title game at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. The winner of the 2018 NCAA West Regional will advance to the upcoming 2018 NCAA Frozen Four, which will be played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on April 5 & 7.
SCSU PRE-GAME SOCIAL AT BUFFALO WILD WINGS: Attention SCSU fans! Join the fun at the pre-gam social at the Buffalo Wild WIngs in Sioux Falls, S.D. prior to the start of the SCSU-Air Force game on Friday at the Regional. Buffalo Wild WIngs is located at 909 West Ave. in Sioux Falls, S.D.
| SCSUÂ Men's Hockey Central |
| Television: ESPNU (Friday game vs. Air Force) |
| Radio: The River 96.7 FM and KVSCÂ FM 88.1 |
| Tickets: Ticketmaster.com |
| NCAA Game Center: SCSU vs. Air Force |
| Live Stream: ESPN Watch |
| Team Notes: SCSUÂ Team Notes |
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES IN 2017-18 ON THE RADIO:Â 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. Â Fans can also listen on KVSC FM 88.1 or at kvsc.orgÂ
WATCH: Watch the SCSU-Air Force game on Friday, March 23 on ESPNU. Fans can also watch the regional championship game on ESPN2. 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.  Air Force received votes in the latest polls, while UMD was ranked #11 and Minnesota State was ranked #6.
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.Â
NCAA NOTES: This marks the first time that the Huskies have earned the top seed in the NCAA tournament... this is SCSU's 12th NCAA tournament bid ....SCSU's last NCAA bid was in 2016. The Huskies also gained NCAA bids in 1989, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Â
HOBEY HOPEFULL: Postseason honors candidate Jimmy Schuldt ranks third among the nation's defensive players with a scoring rate of .97 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 84. Schuldt also ranks 15th in the nation with 28 asssits. Â
OPPONENT NOTES: . The Huskies will be playing Air Force for the first time in the NCAA playoffs...SCSU is 9-0-0 vs. Air Force during its Division I era. The Huskies most recently scored an 8-2 win over the Falcons on Jan. 29, 1994...SCSU head coach Bob Motzko is 0-0-0 in games against Air Force...the Huskies have not lost a game to Air Force since an 8-3 loss to the Falcons back during the 1985-86 season (when SCSU was an NCAA DIII affiliate)...Bob Motzko served as an Associate Head Coach under Frank Serratore at Denver in 1993-94...Air Force is led this season by senior Erik Baskin with 27 points (16g/11a)...Junior Billy Christopoulos is AF's top goalie with a 2.09 GAA and a .920 save rate (22-14-5)...of note, Air Force scored a 3-2 win and a 1-1 tie against Alaska this season and also posted a 6-3 win over Colorado College and a 6-0 loss to Denver this winter (all common opponents for SCSU and AF this year).
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.
NCHC AWARD WINNERS: Will Borgen was named the NCHC's Defensive Defenseman of the Year for 2017-18...SCSU's Bob Motzko was named the NCHC Coach of the Year for 2017-18...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.
MORE NCAA NOTES: In 2013, SCSU won its first regional title at the Midwest Regional in Toledo and also advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time. Since 2010, SCSU is 5-5 in NCAA playoff games...SCSU won its first NCAA playoff game with a 4-3 OT decision over Northern Michigan at the West Regional in 2010 at the Xcel Energy Center...Since that victory, SCSU has won first round playoff games in the NCAA in 2013 (5-1 vs. Notre Dame), 2014 (4-3 OT vs. Notre Dame) and 2015 (3-2 OT vs. Michigan Tech)...SCSU's last trip to the NCAA tournament was a 5-4 OT loss in the first round of the West Regional against Ferris State in 2016 at the Xcel Energy Center...SCSU has never played an NCAA playoff game in Sioux Falls, S.D. and the Huskies have never faced Air Force in the NCAA tournament...SCSU's Bob Motzko is 5-7 in NCAA tournament competiton...SCSU advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four in 2013 in Pittsburgh.
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 11 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.
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 10-2-3 during the months of February and March...SCSU ranks 4th in the nation with a scoring average of 3.67 goal per game...SCSU ranks 14th in the nation on defense with 2.49 goals allowed per game this winter...SCSU's power play rate of 22.8% ranks 10th in the nation...SCSU's winning percentage of .718 ranks fourth in the nation...SCSU ranks #1 in the latest Pairwise rankings..SCSU has outshot its opponents 1221-1037 in 2017-18...The Huskies are 16-3-2 at home in 2017-18. The Huskies are 326-175-56 since the doors opened at the Brooks Center in 1989. Â
ON DECK: The winner of the 2018 NCAA West Regional will advance to the NCAA Division I Frozen Four, which will be play at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on April 5 & 7.
SUCCESS:Â SCSU is 16-6-4 this season against team ranked among the nation's top 20 (when SCSU played team).Â
HOT STREAK: Since a 5-1 loss at UMD on Jan. 26, the Huskies have only lost two games (a 3-2 OT loss vs. Miami on March 10 and a 4-1 loss on March 17 vs. Denver). SCSU is 11-2-3 during that streak.
OT NOTES: The Huskies have played in 11 overtime games this season. SCSU is 4-1-6 in those OT games. Since Feb. 16, the Huskies have been involved in seven OT games (so that is 7 out of the Huskies last 11 games have gone into the extra session).
IRONMAN AT SCSU: Hobey Baker Award top 10 finalist Jimmy Schuldt played in his 115 consecutive career game last night. He has never missed a game during his entire collegiate career at SCSU. Schuldt has 83 career points (28g/55a) during his career at SCSU. An All-NCHC First Team selection, Schuldt is a two-time team captain at SCSU.
POEHLING POINT: Nick Poehling now has 7 goals this season and 3 of those goals are game winners, including March 16's GWG in OT. Nick Poehling also had the OT GWG vs. Alaska on Oct. 14 in a 5-4 win at the HBNHC.Â
FROZEN FACEOFF REPORT: The Huskies placed second at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Mar. 16-17 in St. Paul. SCSU opened the tournament with a 3-2 OT win over North Dakota. Nick Poehling scored the GWG in OT, while SCSU's other goals were scored by Patrick Newell and Easton Brodzinski. David Hrenak was the goalie of record for the Huskies with 21 saves. SCSU outshot the Hawks 34-23 in the game...in the title game on Mar. 17 at the Xcel Energy Center, SCSU lost a 4-1 decision to Denver. The Huskies' lone goal was notched by Ryan Poehling in the third period with a solo assist to Kevin FItzpatrick. Hrenak suffered the loss with 10 saves to his credit. SCSU outshot DU 29-27 in the game.
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.
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/
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