No. 5/6 St. Cloud State Powers Past No. 7 North Dakota, 8-1, Behind Brodzinski’s Hat Trick

Friday, December 3

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

10-5-0, 4-3-0

North Dakota

10-6-0, 5-2-0

North Dakota

St. Cloud St.

No. 5/6 St. Cloud State Powers Past No. 7 North Dakota, 8-1, Behind Brodzinski’s Hat Trick

12/4/2021 1:43:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score Box Score PDF

Brodzinski’s Hat Trick Huskies record largest margin of victory over Fighting Hawks since joining D-I

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 5/6 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (10-5-0, 4-3-0 NCHC) crushed No. 7 North Dakota (10-6-0, 5-2-0 NCHC), 8-1, to open the weekend series on Friday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. The Huskies were led by senior forward Easton Brodzinski's (Blaine, Minn.) first career hat trick and senior defenseman Nick Perbix's (Elk River, Minn.) four assists.

The 8-1 win for St. Cloud State was the Huskies largest margin of victory over North Dakota since joining Division-I, surpassing is 9-2 win on Jan. 20, 1995, and the first time North Dakota has lost by seven goals since Feb. 1998.

TURNING POINT

The Huskies jumped out of the gates early, scoring just 18 second in the game when junior forward Kyler Kupka (Camrose, Alberta) scored following assists from senior forward Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Perbix. The Huskies would tack on goals later on in the period from Fitzgerald and Brodzinski

TOP HUSKIES

Brodzinski set a career-high with four points, recording three goals and an assist. He now leads the Huskies with nine goals this season.
Perbix posted a career-high four assists in the game, as he assisted on four of the Huskies first five goals.
Fitzgerald added a three-point game of his own, scoring in the first period while adding assists in the first and third periods.

NOTES

St. Cloud State went 3-of-6 on the power play to improve its nation-leading power play percentage to 35.4 percent (23-of-65).
The Huskies scored three first period goals while blanking the Fighting Hawks, improving to 19-1 against its opponents in the game's opening frame this season.
Brodzinski scored his 62^nd, 63^rd and 64^th career goals to move into a tie for eighth-place all-time in program history with his brother, Johny Brodzinski (2012-15). The Blaine, Minn., native also added an assist to total 111 career points, good for 27^th-best in program history.
It marked the third time this season and the eighth time in his career he recorded a two-goal game, as well as the first time he recorded four points.
It was the first hat trick for the Huskies since senior forward Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Ala.) scored four goals against Miami on Jan. 23, 2021.
Perbix recorded a career-high four assists in the game, the first time a Husky recorded four assists since senior forward Micah Miller (Grand Rapids, Minn.) did so against Miami on Jan. 23, 2021. His four points were also a career-high for Perbix.
Fitzgerald scored three points in the game to improve to a team-leading 19 points. It marked his third game this season and fourth of his career he has recorded three or more points. The senior forward's two assists was the fourth time this season and the ninth time in his career he has had two-assists in a game.
With his three points, Fitzgerald match a career-high for points in a season with 19, matching his mark from his true freshman season, 2017-18 (19 points, 5g/14a).
Freshman defenseman Jack Peart (Grand Rapids, Minn.) recorded a career-best three assists in the game, the first time in his career he has recorded three points.
Junior forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) scored his team-leading fifth power play goal of the season in the second period.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

The Huskies and Fighting Hawks return for the second game of the series on Saturday. Puck drop from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center is set for 6:00 p.m. CT on Fox 9 +.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tickets for the 2021-22 season are available for purchase at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.