SCSU men's hockey falls short in comeback bid at Denver

Saturday, January 11

Denver, CO

8:07 p.m.

St. Cloud State

6-10-4, 3-7-0-0

University of Denver

15-4-3, 5-3-2-1

St. Cloud State

Denver

Jack Ahcan (left)

1/11/2020 10:47:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

A stretch of three unanswered goals helped St. Cloud State University rally from a 4-0 deficit but #5 University of Denver still managed to hold on for a 5-3 victory over the Huskies on Saturday, Jan. 11. The loss moved SCSU's record to 6-10-4, 3-7-0 NCHC, while Denver improved to 15-4-3, 5-3-2 NCHC.

The two squads battled to a 0-0 draw after the first period of play before DU hit first with a goal by Brett Edwards at 4:57 of the second period. The Pioneers padded their lead to 2-0 with a marker by Tyler Ward at 8:10. Ward added his second goal of the night at 9:53 of the second to give Denver a 3-0 margin. To close Denver's scoring the second period, Emillio Pettersen tallied on the power play at 13:20 to make the scored 4-0.

The Huskies finally broke into the scoring column at 14:57 of the second period with a goal by Jake Wahlin. He was assisted on his third goal of the season by Kyler Kupka and Clark Kuster. This was Kupka's first collegiate point at St. Cloud State and it was Kuster's second assist of the season.

Lob pass from Kupka results in a goal for Wahlin - another video angle of the play. pic.twitter.com/2q4olnpWuJ
— SCSU Men's Hockey (@SCSUHUSKIES_MH) January 12, 2020

The rally continued for SCSU with a goal by Will Hammer at 18:06 of the second period. Assists were tallied on the play by Jack Ahcan and Jake Wahlin. The goal was Hammer's third of 2019-20 and it was Ahcan's 13th assist of the year. Of note, Ahcan now has 95 career points during his collegiate career and needs just five more points to join the Huskies elite 100 point club.

More 2nd period intermission replays - Hammer goal. pic.twitter.com/CYGyW32Geh
— SCSU Men's Hockey (@SCSUHUSKIES_MH) January 12, 2020

In the third period, SCSU narrowed the gap to one goal at 4-3 with a goal by Nick Perbix at 7:10 of the third. He was assisted on the play by Wahlin and Hammer. On the night, Wahlin finished with one goal and two assists. His three points at DU are a new single-game career high for Wahlin.

Take another look at it...@SCSUHUSKIES_MH goal by Perbix (even strength) in 3rd period and the score moves to DU 4, SCSU 3. pic.twitter.com/T1Jh6HOkKt
— SCSU Men's Hockey (@SCSUHUSKIES_MH) January 12, 2020

The Huskies pulled their goalie in the closing minutes of play to gain the extra attacker and managed to outshoot Denver 17-7 in the final period but they were unable to convert for the tying goal. Denver iced the game at 19:13 of the third with an ENG by Pettersen.

In the game, Denver outshot the Huskies 31-29. SCSU's Jaxon Castor made 26 saves in the game, while Magnus Chrona had 26 saves in the win for Denver. On the power play, SCSU was 0-of-1 and Denver was 1-of-3.

SCSU will continue its 2019-20 season on Jan. 17-18 with a pair of home games against Minnesota Duluth at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Tickets are available for both of these games at scsutickets.com or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX.

JERSEY AUCTION!!! Fans will have a chance to bid on game-worn jerseys during the SCSU-UMD game on Jan. 18 in St. Cloud. An in-game silent auction will be held during the game, which will feature specially designed SCSU jerseys...sure to be a true collector's item for any SCSU fan. All proceeds from the auction will go to support SCSU Athletics. For more details on this special event, please call 1-877-SCSUTIX or visit the SCSU Athletics TIcket website at scsutickets.com