No. 7 Huskies rally for 4-2 win at Miami

Saturday, February 13

Oxford, OH

4:05 p.m. CT

St. Cloud State

13-8-0

Miami University (OH)

5-15-2

St. Cloud St.

Miami (OH)

Brendan Bushy scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the Huskies 4-2 win over Miami.

Photo by: Rachel MacNeill, Miami

2/13/2021 7:40:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

OXFORD, OHIO - It seemed like deja vu settled over the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio. There was a flurry of scoring activity in the first period between the St. Cloud State University men's hockey team and Miami (Ohio) University, followed by a dormant second period. Then another flurry and a three-goal third period by one of the two teams involved.

Unlike Friday, though, it was the Huskies who tallied the three-goal third period and mounted the furious comeback. Fueled by goals from Easton Brodzinski (Blaine, Minn. / Green Bay), Brendan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Lincoln) and Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale, Ill. / Aberdeen), St. Cloud State avenged its Friday evening loss with a 4-2 Saturday victory over Miami.

Saturday's game between the two teams started much like Friday's but opposite, as Miami took an early 1-0 lead at 11:12 thanks to a goal by Matthew Barbolini. The Huskies answered 27 seconds later, as Brodzinski blasted on past Grant Valentine to even the score at 1-1.

The score stayed tied for the ensuing eight minutes before the RedHawks scored a last second goal to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first. After a flurry of activity in the first, though, no one, neither the Huskies nor Miami, scored in the second quarter, as Valentine turned away 13 St. Cloud State shots to preserve the 2-1 lead for his team.

David Hrenak (Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia / Green Bay) did all he could to keep the game within striking distance, turning away six shots in the second and nine in the first. That allowed Bushy to play hero at 4:57 in the third period. Still down by a goal, the junior defenseman threw a shot in Valentine's direction and watched as it slid through to the back of the next, evening the score at 2-2. Eight seconds later, Fitzgerald gave the Huskies their first true lead of the afternoon, as he blasted on past Valentine at 5:05 for a 3-2 St. Cloud State lead.

The 3-2 lead would have been enough to ensure a Huskies victory, but Fitzgerald tacked on another goal at 18:38, cementing the win in almost the perfect way possible. After surrendering three third period goals Friday night, St. Cloud State flipped the script and scored three third period goals of its own Saturday, rallying to defeat the earnest RedHawks 4-2.

Eight different Huskies tallied points Saturday afternoon, including Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland / Sioux Falls), who extended his point streak to four consecutive games with an assist on Brodzinski's goal. Additionally Bushy scored his first career goal as a Husky in the third period and has tallied at least one point in three of St. Cloud State's last four games.

With the win St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 13-8-0 with an identical 13-8-0 mark in National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play. The Huskies will return to action in a single game against Colorado College on Saturday, February 20. Puck drop is scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.