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St. Cloud State
14-9-0, 14-9-0NCHC
University of Minnesota Duluth
13-8-2, 13-8-2NCHC
Bulldogs blitz Huskies for 5-1 win
2/27/2021 9:48:00 PM | Men's Hockey
DULUTH, MINN. - Sometimes, in the world of college hockey, the puck just doesn't bounce a team's way. The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team learned that lesson Saturday evening. The No. 6 Huskies battled in their penultimate game against the No. 10 ranked University of Minnesota-Duluth, as St. Cloud State fell in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) by a final score of 5-1. Â
The Bulldogs blitzed the Huskies in the opening period, as they took an early 3-0 lead by scoring three goals in the initial period. Minnesota-Duluth struck first at 11:43 as Nick Swaney seemingly kicked a puck past David Hrenak (Povaska Bystrica, Slovakia / Green Bay) to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The home team would then tack on two more first period goals at 14:27 and 16:05, as Minnesota-Duluth walked to the locker room between periods with a 3-0 advantage.Â
St. Cloud State managed to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the second, as Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta / Grande Prairie) blasted one past the Bulldog netminder for the Huskies first goal of the game. Sadly, it was St. Cloud State's only goal of the game, as Minnesota-Duluth scored another goal in the second and one in the third to cement its 5-1 victory.Â
Hrenak took the loss in Saturday's game as he made 21 saves on 25 shots faced. Jaxon Castor (Phoenix, Arizona / Shreveport) also appeared in goal Saturday evening and made eight total saves.
With the loss, the Huskies overall record now stands at 14-9-0 and the team has an identical record in NCHC play. St. Cloud State will close the regular season on Saturday, March 1 when the team hosts the same Minnesota-Duluth team at 1:07 p.m. in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
