#1 St. Cloud State men's hockey advances to championship game of NCHC Frozen Faceoff

Friday, March 22

St. Paul, Minn.

4:08 p.m.

St. Cloud State

30-4-3

Colorado College - NCHC Frozen Faceoff

17-19-4

Colorado College

St. Cloud State

#1 St. Cloud State men's hockey advances to championship game of NCHC Frozen Faceoff

3/22/2019 7:53:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

The #1 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (30-4-3) advanced to the championship game of the 2019 NCHC Frozen Faceoff by virtue of a 5-2 victory over Colorado College (17-19-4) in the early semifinal game on Friday, March 22 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

The Huskies battled back from an early 1-0 deficit in the first period to bring home their 30th win of the season, which is the third time in the team's NCAA DI era that the Huskies have posted 30-plus victories in a season. The ticket to the championship game of the Frozen Faceoff marks the fourth time since 2015 that SCSU will play in the title bout. SCSU won the NCHC Frozen Faceoff crown in 2016 and placed as the runner-up in 2015 and 2018.

Colorado College gained an early lead thanks to a power play goal by Westin Michaud at 9:47 of the first period. The Tigers held that lead until 12:27 of the first period, when SCSU Hobey Baker top 10 finalist Patrick Newell scored his 20th goal of the year. His power play tally was assisted by Blake Lizotte and SCSU Hobey Baker top 10 finalist Jimmy Schuldt.

We are TIED!@SCSUHUSKIES_MH slips this one in. #FrozenFaceoff pic.twitter.com/RD01xLrf0z
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 22, 2019

Nolan Walker shifted the game's momentum with his marker at 12:51 of the first period, which was assisted by Jon Lizotte. This was Walker's eighth goal of the year and Jon Lizotte's eighth assist of the year.

How's that for a GOAL?@SCSUHUSKIES_MH takes a 3-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/N4ggsMWRHu
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 22, 2019

🚨 And just like that, @SCSUHUSKIES_MH has the lead!

Walker strikes only 24 seconds after their first goal#FrozenFaceoff | #unleashSCSU pic.twitter.com/MzF4tYTKBu
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) March 22, 2019

Robby Jackson earned the game winner with his goal at 9:38 of the second period. Spencer Meier and Blake Lizotte each had assists on the play, which was Jackson's 18th goal of the year and his 51st career goal - which places him 18th in the team's career goal scoring records.

The Huskies padded their lead to 4-1 at 7:21 of the third with a goal by Jack Ahcan. Newell and Kevin Fitzgerald both had assists on the goal. Of note, Newell now has a team leading 20g and 45 points. In his four years at SCSU, Newell has charted 37 goals and 81 assists for 118 career points. This was his 14th multi-point game of the season and he currently ranks among the nation's top 10 point producers this season with a scoring average of 1.22 ppg.

CC rallied at 14:47 with a power play goal by Bryan Yoon, which made the score 4-2. The Huskies capped the game with a goal at 16:47 of the third by Nick Poehling, which included assists from Fitzgerald and Brendan Bushy. This was Poehling's seventh goal of the season.

The Huskies are moving on.@SCSUHUSKIES_MH takes this one 5-2. #FrozenFaceoff pic.twitter.com/bUJWxIWAh7
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 22, 2019

In the contest, CC outshot the Huskies 33-27 as sophomore netminder David Hrenak had 31 saves and allowed only two power play goals in 60:00 of play. Hrenak improved to 23-3-2 on the season with the victory for the Huskies. His 23 win ranks fourth in the team records for most goalie wins in a season.

On the power play SCSU was 1-4 and CC was 2-of-7 on the advantage.

The Huskies will now face the winner of the Denver-UMD game in the title match of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at 7:38 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. Fans can purchase tickets for the game at the gate or online at https://www.nchchockey.com/tickets

The championship game will air live on the CBS Sports Network and fans can listen to the call live on The River 96.7 FM or KVSC FM 88.1.