#11/13 SCSU Men's Hockey opens week two at the NCHC pod

Wednesday, December 9

Omaha, Neb.

3:35 p.m.

St. Cloud State

Western Michigan University

Seamus Donohue (right) and Kyler Kupka

Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann/Omaha Athletics

12/8/2020 1:40:00 PM | Men's Hockey

The #11/13 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team (3-0-0, 3-0-0 NCHC) will continue play at the NCHC Pod in Omaha this week with a 3:35 p.m. on Dec. 9 against Western Michigan University (0-3-0, 0-3-0 NCHC). On Dec. 12, SCSU will play #1 North Dakota (3-0-0) at 4:05 p.m. and the Huskies will play #18 Omaha (2-2-0) at 8:05 p.m. on Dec. 13. All games will be played at Omaha's Baxter Arena. Please check the Huskies' schedule at scsuhuskies.com for any updates throughout their stay in Omaha.

FOLLOW THE HUSKIES:

TV: MidcoSN
LIVE VIDEO: NCHC.tv/scsu
RADIO: The River 96.7 FM and KVSC FM 88.1
LIVE STATS: NCHC Pod Stats
TEAM NOTES: St. Cloud State

SCSU HUSKIES HEADLINES

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. Fans with Midco cable service can also watch the pod games on MidcoSN.

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 rmoved into the NCAA Division I polls this week with a #11 ranking in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll and a #13 ranking in the USCHO.com poll. Both polls were released on Dec. 7. This marks SCSU's first top 20 national ranking in 2020-21.

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.

PERFECT RECORD: SCSU is 9-0-0 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 before the pod, SCSU swept the Mavericks (5-0 and 4-1) and also clinched the 2019 NCHC regular season championship.

MEET YOUR CAPTAINS: St. Cloud State junior Spencer Meier will serve as the Huskies' team captain in 2020-21. The team alternate captains include senior Luke Jaycox, senior Kevin Fitzgerald and senior Seamus Donohue.

DRAFT PICK: Current SCSU players who have been selected in the NHL draft include Nick Perbix (Tampa), Sam Hentges (Minnesota), David Hrenak (Los Angeles) and Veeti Miettinen (Toronto). Over the years, a total of 36 former Huskies have gone on to play in the NHL.

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.

DID YOU KNOW? SCSU head coach Brett Larson owns a winning record against six of the seven other teams in the NCHC. He is 6-1-0 in play against Omaha, 5-2-0 in play against Western Michigan, 8-0-2 against Miami, 5-4-0 vs. Denver and 5-4-0 vs. UMD. The lone team that he does not have a winning record against during his time at SCSU is North Dakota (2-3-1).

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: The Huskies opened its time at the NCHC pod on Dec. 1 with a 4-3 victory over Western Michigan. Nick Perbix scored the game winner at 19:32 of the third to cap an exciting comeback that saw SCSU trail 3-2 after the second. SCSU's other goals were added by Kevin Fitzgerald, Micah Miller and Kyler Kupka. David Hrenak earned the win with 21 saves to his credit as SCSU outshot the Broncos 27-24...on Dec. 5, SCSU posted a 4-3 win over #4 ranked Denver as the GWG was notched by Nolan Walker. Sam Hentges, Fitzgerald and Spencer Meier also had goals in the game as Hrenak gained the victory with 30 saves...to wrap up the first week of play in the Pod, SCSU charted a 5-3 win over Omaha. Brady Ziemer scored SCSU's GWG at 18:45 of the second, while the Huskies' other goals were added by Veeti Miettinen, Easton Brodzinski, Jami Krannila and Jared Cockrell. SCSU outshot the Mavs 35-27 in the game. Jaxon Castor made his 2020-21 goalie debut with 24 saves and the win for SCSU.

FIRST GOALS AT SCSU: Several SCSU players charted their first collegiate goals over the past week. In the win over WMU, Kyler Kupka gained his first collegiate goal. In play against Omaha freshman forward Veeti Miettinen scored his first college goal and senior Jared Cockrell posted his first goal at SCSU. A transfer from Colgate, Cockrell now has 24 goals scored during his college playing career. Rookie blueliner Brady Ziemer also scored his first college goal and first GWG during the win vs. Omaha on Dec. 6.

ASSIST NOTES: Senior Seamus Donohue scored his first point as a player at SCSU with his assist on Spencer Meier's goal against Denver on Dec. 5. A transfer from Michigan Tech, the assist was Donohue's 49th career assist and 56th point as a Husky (48 of those assists were with the MTU Huskies). Brady Ziemer also had his first collegiate point and assist in the game vs. Denver. Veeti Miettinen coined his first two college assists in SCSU's win over Omaha and he also hit a career-high with his 3 points against the Mavs. Of note, Brendan Bushy added an assist in the win over Omaha, which was his first point at SCSU since an assist vs. Colorado College on March 22, 2019 at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

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).

THE STOPPER FROM SLOVAKIA:- Senior goalie David Hrenak, a resident of Slovakia and draftee of the Los Angeles Kings, now has 51 career wins at SCSU. He is tied in the SCSU recordbook for career wins along with Charlie Lindgren (2013-16). Of note, Lindgren is currently playing in the Montreal Canadiens orgranization. Ryan Farahger (2011-14) ranks second in the team records with 53 wins and Brian Leitza (1994-98) set the team record for career wins with 66. Hrenak is tied for the team's career shutout lead with nine along with Scott Meyer (1996-01) and he is 8th on the team's charts with 2056 career saves.

ASSORTED NOTES: Kevin Fitzgerald posted his 50th career point as a Husky on Dec. 1. He also added his 30th career assist in the Huskies' win vs. Denver on Dec. 5. Fitzgerald, Jami Krannila and Veeti Miettinen all lead SCSU this winter with 3 points apiece and Fitzgerald leads the team with two goals...SCSU has outshot its opponents 90-84 this year...Sam Hentges and Miettinen pace the squad with 11 shots on goal in 2020-21...a draft pick of Tampa Bay, junior blueliner Nick Perbix scored his 10th career goal at SCSU vs. WMU...senior forward Easton Brodzinski has scored 10 points (5g/5a) in play against WMU during his college career at SCSU.

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 17-6-4 in the all-time series against WMU...SCSU is 3-2-0 in the last five outings against WMU and SCSU is 7-2-3 in play against WMU at the Lawson Arena. SCSU is 1-0-0 in play vs. WMU at neutral sites...On Dec. 1, SCSU opened the NCHC pod with a 4-3 win vs. WMU. Nick Perbix posted the GWG in the contest, while SCSU's other goals were added by Kevin Fitzgerald, Micah Miller and Kyler Kupka...Easton Brodzinski has notched 5g/5a in play vs. WMU during his collegiate career...David Hrenak had 21 saves in the win vs. WMU on Dec. 1.