St. Cloud State Men's Hockey to open 2020-21 season on Dec. 1

Tuesday, December 1

Omaha, Neb.

7:35 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Western Michigan University

Sam Hentges

Photo by: Tom Nelson

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey to open 2020-21 season on Dec. 1

11/29/2020 8:24:00 AM | Men's Hockey

The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (0-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) will kick-off its 2020-21 with 10 games at the NCHC pod in Omaha, Neb. on Dec. 1 to Dec. 20. The Huskies will open games at Omaha's Baxter Arena with a 7:35 p.m. game against Western Michigan University (0-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) on Dec. 1. The Huskies will continue their time in Omaha with games against western teams Colorado College, Omaha, Denver and North Dakota and one additional contest against fellow eastern team Western Michigan. Please check the Huskies' schedule at scsuhuskies.com for any updates throughout their stay in Omaha.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES:

LIVE VIDEO - NCHC.tv/scsu
LIVE AUDIO - River 96.7 FM
LIVE STATS - NCHC Pod Live Stats
SCSU TEAM NOTES - Weekly Team Notes

FOLLOWING THE HUSKIES IN OMAHA: SCSU fans can watch all of the games from the pod in Omaha on NCHC.tv/scsu - this PPV online streaming service will also carry NCHC games throughout 2020-21. Of note, no fans will be allowed to attend games in Omaha due to COVID 19 restrictions.

LISTEN TO THE HUSKIES: All St. Cloud State games at the pod in Omaha will be broadcast on The River 96.7 FM out of St. Cloud, Minn. Fans can listen online at river967.com - once again Jim Erickson will provide play-by-play of the games along with color commentary from SCSU All-American Dave Reichel.

IN THE POLLS: The Huskies received votes in the USCHO.com poll on Nov. 23. SCSU was ranked #4 in the 2020-21 preseason NCHC poll.

TICKET DETAILS: Please contact the SCSU Athletic Ticket Office for complete information regarding ticket availability or other related ticket information for games in 2020-21. Due to COVID restrictions, the 2020-21 schedule is subject to change and attendance limitations will be in effect. To contact the SCSU Athletic Ticket Office, please call 1-877-SCSUTIX or visit www.scsutickets.com

PERFECT RECORD: SCSU is 6-0-0 in games played at Omaha's Baxter Arena since it opened during the 2015-16 season. SCSU did not play at Baxter Arena in 2019-20. The last time SCSU played at Baxter Arena, SCSU swept the Mavericks (5-0 and 4-1) and also clinched the 2019 NCHC regular season championship.

LAST YEAR: The Huskies posted a 13-15-6 overall record in 2019-20 and placed fifth in the always rugged NCHC with a 10-12-2 conference record. SCSU's season was ended early before the start of the NCHC playoffs due to the COVID 19 crisis. Of note, SCSU was 7-5-2 in its last 14 games of the season that included key wins over nationally ranked Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Denver - all were ranked among the nation's top 10 teams at the time.

BY THE NUMBERS: SCSU lost six players from its 2019-20 roster, which includes seniors Jack Ahcan, Jack Poehling, Nick Poehling, Clark Kuster and Jake Wahlin...SCSU will return a total of 21 players from its 2019-20 roster. This list of veterans includes six returning seniors, six juniors and nine sophomores...SCSU brings back 3 goalies, 7 defense and 11 forwards...SCSU has four NHL draft picks on its roster this year including Nick Perbix (Tampa), Sam Hentges (Minnesota), David Hrenak (Los Angeles) and Veeti Miettinen (Toronto)...SCSU will welcome in two senior transfers to its roster this year (Seamus Donohue from Michigan Tech and Jared Cockrell from Colgate)...SCSU newcomers include two defenseman and four forwards.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: The Huskies' game vs. Colorado College on Dec. 3 at the pod has been postponned. A make up date has not been determined yet but if it is rescheduled, the game will be played after Jan. 1. SCSU's games on Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 have had time changes. The Dec. 12 game vs. UND will now start at 4:05 p.m. and the game on Dec. 13 vs. Omaha will begin at 8:05 p.m.

FAMILY TIES: SCSU returns seven of its top 10 point producers from its 2019-20 roster. The Huskies' top goal scorer and point scorer in 2019-20 was Easton Brodzinski and he returns to the lineup this winter after leading SCSU with 12 goals and 27 points. He is the younger brother of former Husky Jonny Brodzinski, who played in the NHL last winter with San Jose. Their father Mike Brodzinski was a two-time All-American for the Huskies in 1986 and 1987, and their uncle Steve Brodzinski also played for the Huskies in the mid 1980s. In 111 games played at SCSU, Easton Brodzinski is the team's current active point leader with 42 goals, 38 assists and 80 points during his career.

HOMETOWN LEADER: Junior defenseman and team captain Spencer Meier has been selected as the Huskies' team captain for 2020-21. He posted 4g/6 last winter and now has 5g/15a in 72 games played during his tenure with the Huskies. He joins other local Huskies Ethan Prow (Sauk Rapids) and Andy Vicari St. Cloud/Tech H.S.) and Dan O'Shea (St. Cloud) as local players who have served as a team captains. Meier is a resident of nearby Sartell, Minn. and a graduate of the Sartell H.S. SCSU's other local players include Will Hammer (St. Cloud/Cathedral H.S.) and Trevor Zins (St. Michael-Albertville H.S.).

TICKETS IN 2020-21: Due to the COVID 19 crisis, ticket availability for home games at St. Cloud State University has not been detemined. Please contact the SCSU Athletic Ticket Office during regular business hours on Monday-Friday at 1-877-SCSUTIX for more information regarding tickets for all home games this season. Updated information regarding game dates and times will also be available on the well liked SCSU website at scsuhuskies.com

NEW ONLINE FAN APP: The new St. Cloud State Huskies mobile fan app is now available! You can download the app at The App Store or the Google Play. The app offers complete information on SCSU athletics, fun games and great deals - all through the convenience of your mobile device from anywhere in the world (or at least where you get cell coverage).

STOP FORCE:- Junior Nick Perbix, a draftee of Tampa Bay, paced the Huskies in 2019-20 with 55 blocked shots. He was tied for the team lead at 55 with Jack Ahcan, who was signed during the summer by the Boston Bruins organization. Spencer Meier was third on the squad last year with 54 blocked shots to his credit.

ONE MORE TO 50: The next point scored by senior forward Kevin Fitzgerald will be his 50th point at SCSU. Fitzgerald currently has 20g/29 in 95 games played at SCSU. A resident of Hinsdale, Ill., Fitzgerald will serve as one of SCSU's alternate captains this season.

THE FINNISH LINE: SCSU's roster this season will feature Finnish players Jami Krannila and Veeti Miettinen. A resident of Nokia, Finland, Krannila was named SCSU's Rookie of the Year in 2019-20 and paced the Huskies' newcomers with five goals, nine assists and 14 points. The top scoring forward in his junior league back home in Finland, Miettinen was picked in the sixth round of the NHL draft (#168) by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is a resident of Espoo, Finland. Other Finnish players in recent years for the Huskies include Kalle Kossila, Niklas Nevalinen and Rasmus Rejola. Nevalinen and Rejola both are playing professionally for Sport Vaasa in 2020-21, while Kossila played in the AHL last year with the Toronto Marlies.

FIRST YEAR SENIORS: Senior forward Jared Cockrell (Kents Hill, Maine) and senior defenseman Seamus Donohue (North Oaks, Minn.) join the SCSU roster this year. Cockrell is a transfer from Colgate, where he scored 23g/29a in 112 games played. Donohue is a transfer from Michigan Tech, where he scored 7g/48a in 117 games played.

NEW FACE AT SCSU: Former WMU associate head coach Dave Shyiak will join SCSU's coaching staff as an associate head coach in 2020-21. Shyiak also served as a head coach at Alaska-Anchorage along with assistant coaching duties at Northern Michigan during his career.