St. Cloud State men's hockey to face Western Michigan on Jan. 24-25

Friday, January 24

Kalamazoo, MI

7:00 p.m. ET

St. Cloud State

Western Michigan University

(L-R) Jack Poehling, Kevin Fitzgerald and Thomas Rocco.

St. Cloud State men's hockey to face Western Michigan on Jan. 24-25

1/21/2020 4:31:00 PM | Men's Hockey

The St. Cloud State men's hockey team (8-10-4, 5-7-0 NCHC) will continue its 2019-20 season with games at Western Michigan University (9-9-4, 5-5-2 NCHC) on Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25 at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. Both of these games are scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. CT. Fans can watch these games live on the world wide web by visiting NCHC.tv/scsu - a PPV service. St. Cloud State and Western Michigan both received votes in this week's USCHO.com poll.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES:
RADIO: The River 96.7 FM
WATCH: NCHC.tv/scsu
LIVE STATS: WMU Live Stats
NOTES: SCSU Weekly Notes

SCSU HUSKIES HOCKEY NOTES AND NEWS:

SKATE WITH THE HUSKIES:  SCSU Fans!  Make plans now to join the SCSU Huskies on the ice at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center during the Skate with the Huskies open skate on Saturday, Feb. 1 after the SCSU-Miami game.  The game gets underway at 6:07 p.m. that night and Skate with the Huskies begins after the game is completed.  Skate with the Huskies is free and open to the public. Fans attending the game that night are encouraged to bring their own skates, or you can rent them from the HBNHC pro shop on the night of the game.  For more details on this special event, please call 1-877-SCSUTIX or visit the SCSU Athletics TIcket website at scsutickets.com

TICKET TIME:  Great seats are still available for home games throughout 2019-20.  For complete details on all 2019-20 home games at the Herb Brook National Hockey Center, please call 1-877-SCSUTIX or visit www.scsutickets.com

TOP 20 RESULTS:  SCSU is 5-5-1 in games played against top 20 ranked teams this season, which includes a weekend sweep over Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 17-18.  SCSU has also gained wins this season over nationally ranked #3 Minnesota State, #11 Northeastern and #19 Northern Michigan and a 3-3 tie against NMU.

WHERE DO WE STACK UP:  The Huskies currently sit in fifth place in the NCHC standings this week with a 5-7-0 NCHC record.  SCSU has 15 league points, while Western Michigan is in fourth place with 19 league points and a 5-5-2 league record.  The sweep over UMD helped SCSU move from 8th place in the league standings to fifth place.  Miami and Omaha both have 12 NCHC points in sixth place and CC is in eighth place with 10 points.  UND (31), UMD (23) and Denver (22) own the top three spots in the league standings this week.

UMD SWEEP:  SCSU gained its second sweep of the season with a pair of wins over UMD on Jan. 17 (2-1) and Jan. 18 (2-0). On Friday, SCSU opened the scoring with a goal by Luke Jaycox and then won the game with the second period GWG by Chase Brand, which was his first GWG as a Husky. In the game, David Hrenak gained 32 saves and only allowed one power play goal in the game...to end the weekend, SCSU charted its first shutout of the season that included goals by Nick Poehling (GWG) and Micah Miller (ENG) in the final three minutes of the game. Hrenak earned the shutout with 27 saves in the contest. The last time that the Huskies swept a regular season series at the HBNHC was a pair of wins over UMD on Mar. 8-9, 2019.

GOALIE OF THE WEEK: David Hrenak was named the NCHC Goalie of the Week on Jan. 20 after his weekend of success against UMD. In the two games, Hrenak had 59 saves and allowed only one goal in 120:00 of play. This was his first shutout of 2019-20 and his first since Feb. 23, 2019, when he had 30 saves in a 5-0 win at Omaha and this was his first shutout at the HBNHC since Jan. 18, 2019 with 23 saves in a 3-0 win vs. WMU at the HBNHC. He now has eight career shutouts, which ties him for second in the team records along with Charlie Lindgren (2013-16). The team's all-time leader is Scott Meyer, who had nine shutouts from 1996-01. Of note, Hrenak owned a 3.12 GAA last week and now has a GAA of 2.84 after the two games vs. UMD.

GETTING CLOSER:  Jack Ahcan, a two time NCHC Defensive Player of the Week this season, now has 96 career points (18g/78a) and is fourth on the Huskies' career points by a defenseman list. SCSU's all-time leader on defense is Jimmy Schuldt, who had 118 points from 2015-19. Ahcan also ranks 16th in the team records with 78 career assists and 37th with 96 points. Ahcan is on the verge of joining SCSU's 100 point club and would become the 34th place (all games played at the DI level) to join the 100 point club. Last year's 100-point club entries were Jimmy Schuldt, Robby Jackson and Patrick Newell.

FIRST ENG OF THE YEAR: The Huskies scored their first ENG of the season on Jan. 18 with an ENG by Micah Miller in the closing minute of the 2-0 win at the HBNHC. The last time a Husky had scored an ENG was Blake Lizotte, scored an ENG in a 6-3 win vs. Miami on Mar. 16, 2019. Lizotte is currently playing pro hockey this season for the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. He was in attendance at the games vs. UMD this past weekend since the Kings were on a bye week in NHL play.

HEATING UP: In the first two months of the 2019-20 season, the Huskies owned a 2-6-4 overall record. So far in the third and fourth months of the season, SCSU has improved to 6-4-0 in December and January.

CLASS ACTS: SCSU seniors have scored 18g/35a for 50 points this season, while the Huskies' sophomores have scored 18g/36a for 53 points in 2019-20. SCSU's juniors have scored 17g/18a and the freshmen have scored 11g/20a in 2019-20. Of note, SCSU's sophomore have scored three GWGs this season.

NCAA STAR: David Hrenak was named as the NCAA #2 Star of the Week on Jan. 21. He is the first Husky to earn an NCAA Star of the Week in 2019-20.

SCSU NOTES: Jack Ahcan has scored 10 assists in play against WMU during his collegiate career...SCSU currently owns a 34th ranking in the current Pairwise rankings and WMU is #26...Jake Wahlin and Jack Poehling lead the team on the +/- at +7 in 2019-20.

OPPONENT NOTES: Western Michigan is led by seventh year head coach Andy Murray. A 10-year head coaching veteran in the NHL, Murray posted a 333-278-58-71 career record that included stints with the Los Angeles Kings (1999-2006) and the St. Louis Blues (2006-10). He also served as an assistant coach with Philadelphia, Minnesota (North Stars) and Winnipeg (Jets) during his pro coaching career..SCSU is 16-4-4 in the all-time series against WMU...SCSU is 5-0-0 in the last five outings against WMU and SCSU is 7-0-3 in play against WMU at the Lawson Arena in the series, which dates back to a 4-2 win in St. Cloud on Dec. 29, 2011...SCSU is 9-4-1 in games played against WMU at the HBNHC...SCSU is 7-2-1 in the last 10 games played against WMU...last year at WMU, SCSU scored a 5-4 and 8-2 series sweep at WMU...Hugh McGing leads the Broncos this season with 4g/13a and 17 points, while Paul Washe has 8g/8a...in the nets, rookie Brandon Bussi is 9-9-3 with a 2.81 GAA.

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 on the call.

WATCH THE HUSKIES: Fans can watch SCSU home games and NCHC road games online at NCHC.tv/scsu  -  This is a pay per view online video streaming service.

NCHC CHAMPS:  The Huskies claimed the 2018-19 NCHC championship with a 5-0 win at Omaha on Feb. 23. This marks the third time the Huskies have won the Penrose Cup, which is the most of any team in the NCHC. SCSU also won the NCHC regular season title in 2014, 2018 and 2019.

2020 FROZEN FACEOFF TICKETS: All session tickets for the 2020 NCHC Frozen Faceoff go on sale to the public on Friday, Nov. 8. The 2020 Frozen Faceoff will take place on March 20-21 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, Minn. All-session ticket packages start at $60 and can be purchased at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com beginning on Firday, Nov. 8 at Noon. Any fan who purchases a 2020 NCHC Frozen Faceoff all-session ticket package by Dec. 31, 2018 is eligible to win access to a special NCHC Chalk Talk and VIP Brunch on March 21. Visit NCHCHockey.com for details.