St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Starts 2021-22 Campaign with St. Thomas

Saturday, October 2

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

St. Thomas

Tickets

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Starts 2021-22 Campaign with St. Thomas

10/1/2021 5:26:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Huskies and Tommies will play home-and-home on Saturday and Sunday

GAME NOTES

THE MATCHUP

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will open the 2021-22 season with a home-and-home weekend series against St. Thomas on Saturday, Oct. 2, and Sunday, Oct. 3. Saturday's contest will start at 6 p.m. CT at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and will be televised on Fox 9 + with Jim Rich and Pat Micheletti on the call. On Sunday, the Huskies will travel to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for a 5 p.m. CT tilt on FloHockey. A radio broadcast of both game's will also be available on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM) with Jim Erickson and Dave Reichel on the call. The Huskies are looking to build off their first-ever NCAA Championship Game appearance a season ago, while the Tommies will be playing in their first-ever series as a Division-I program.

THE SERIES

This weekend will be the 41st and 42nd all-time matchups between the two programs, but the first since the 1979-80 season when both team's were Division-III members. St. Thomas currently holds a 24-16 lead in the all-time series, although the last 10 matchups have been an even tilt, 5-5. In the last game between the two schools, St. Cloud State won a thriller, 8-7, in overtime in the 1979-80 season.

A MAGICAL 2020-21

Head Coach Brett Larson and the Huskies put together a historic season in 2020-21, making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey National Championship game in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Huskies posted a 20-11-0 overall record with a 15-9-0 conference record to finish second in the always rugged NCHC. From there, St. Cloud State advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship game and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Northeast Regional, where the team beat Boston University and Boston College for the championship to advance to the Frozen Four for just the second time in program history. The Huskies played in the Division I National Championship game for the first time in school history and finished as the runner-up.

THE (ALMOST) WHOLE SQUAD IS BACK

St. Cloud State will return a majority of its roster from its historic run a season ago, as 23 of 27 student athletes from the 2020-21 team will don the Red and Black again in 2021-22. Among that group includes 2020-21 All-NCHC performers defenseman Nick Perbix (Second Team) and forward Veeti Miettinen (Rookie Team, Rookie of the Year.) Below is a look at some other returning stats for this season's team.
- 94 percent of SCSU's points (252 of 268)
- 98 percent of SCSU's goals (99 of 101)
- All three of SCSU's goalies from 2020-21 return this season, including three-time All-NCHC selecltion David Hrenak
- All 4 captains/alternates return: Spencer Meier, Seamus Donohue, Kevin Fitzgerald, Luke Jaycox

POTENTINAL MILESTONE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE OPENING WEEKEND

With a veteran team taking the ice for the Huskies in 2021-22, a pair of grizzled veterans could reach career milestones in the opening weekend. Goalie David Hrenak will become the all-time winningest goal in D-I program history with one more win, as he is currently tied with Brian Leitza (1994-98) with 66 wins. Forward Easton Brodzinski needs just two points to become the 37^th member of St. Cloud State's 100-point club. More on both of these two later.

MR. HOCKEY HIGHLIGHTS NEWCOMERS

Five newcomers will skate for the Huskies in 2021-22, including 2021 Minnesota Mr. Hockey recpient Jack Peart. The defenseman split time between Grand Rapids High School and the Fargo Force of the USHL during the 2020-21 season, where he recorded one goal and 14 assists with the Force. With Grand Rapids, he led the team in assists (24), points (35) and game-winning goals (three). Joining Peart will be graduate transfer forward Aidan Spellacy (Lakewood, Ohio / Robert Morris), freshman forward Ryan Rosbourough (Mt. Brydges, Ontario / South Shore), freshman forward Mason Salquist (Grand Forks, N.D. / Fargo) and freshman defensman Josh Luedtke (Minnetonka, Minn. / Des Moines).

HUSKIES SELECTED TO WIN PENROSE CUP

The St. Cloud State Men's Hockey team was selected to hoist the Penrose Cup and win National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), as the Huskies finished atop the NCHC Preseason media poll. Despite winning three Penrose Cups (2013-14, 2017-18, 2018-19), this marks the first time in program history SCSU has been named the preseason favorite in the NCHC.
The Huskies received 20 of a possible 25 first-place votes, and totaled 195 points overall. Minnesota Duluth was narrowly picked to finish as the runner-up with 143 points, only one more than North Dakota, which came in third with 142 points. UMD collected three first-place votes, while UND garnered one. Denver claimed the final first-place vote and came in fourth in the poll with 123 points. Omaha was not far behind in fifth with 114 points, while Western Michigan landed sixth with 105 points. Miami was predicted to place seventh (45 points), while Colorado College rounded out the poll with 33 points.
A total of 25 ballots were submitted by local media members from each school, as well as select national media. Points were awarded on a descending scale with a first-place vote worth eight points, a second-place vote worth seven points and so on.

PRESEASON ALL-NCHC HUSKIES

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey sophomore forward Veeti Miettinen and senior defenseman Nick Perbix were each selected to the 2021-22 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Preseason All-Conference Team. The Huskies were the lone NCHC team with two representatives, while Miami (OH), Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Omaha and Western Michigan each placed one player on the team.
The seven-person team was voted on by 25 regional and national media members, with Miettinen and Western Michigan junior defenseman Ronnie Attard leading the way with 22 votes each. Perbix totaled 13 votes, the second-most of any defenseman in the conference.
Miettinen exploded onto the scene in his freshman campaign in 2020-21, as he became the first player in program history to be named NCHC Rookie of the Year while also garnering Second Team All-Conference honors. The Toronto Maple Leads draft pick tallied 24 points (11 goals / 13 assists) in 31 games last season, a number which ranked first among NCHC freshmen and fifth among all skaters in the NCHC.
Perbix was one of the top offensive blue liners in the nation in 2020-21, earning Second Team All-NCHC honors while leading the Huskies with 16 assists. The runner-up for NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year, Perbix finished tied for fourth nationally among defenseman, scoring with 23 points in 31 games, while scoring seven goals, which was fourth among NCAA blue liners. Perbix blocked 44 shots in 2020-21 and fired 84 on goal, tying for third among NCAA defensemen.

BRODZY NEARS 100

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey graduate forward Easton Brodzinski needs just two points to become the 37^th member of St. Cloud State's 100-point club (35^th with D-I stats only).
Brodzinski has led the Huskies in scoring in each of the last two seasons, including 13 goals in 2020-21 before his season was cut short due to a leg injury. As a senior, Brodzinski tallied 18 points thanks to his 13 goals and five assists, including game-winners against Colorado College, Minnesota-Duluth and Boston. The forward recorded five multi-point games, three against nationally ranked opponents, and ranked second on the team in power play goals (4).
He was named to the NCAA Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team in Albany after scoring two goals against Boston (March 27), including the game-winner.
Among program records, Brodzinski ranks fourth in game-winning goals (12) and 14^th in goals (55).

HRENAK ON TOP

With one more victory, St. Cloud State Men's Hockey graduate goalie David Hrenak will become the all-time winningest goaltender in program history. His next victory will be his 67^th and will surpass Brian Leitza (1994-98), who posted a record of 66-56-7.
In four seasons as the starter for the Huskies, Hrenak has posted a record of 66-33-9 with 11 shutouts and a 90.8 save percentage.
Among program ranks, Hrenak ranks first in shutouts (11), second in total saves (2,666) and fifth in goals against average (2.44).