No. 4/5 Huskies return to action against Western Michigan

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It seems like only yesterday it was December, and the St. Cloud State University men's hockey team was competing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Pod in Omaha, Nebraska. Now, it's February, meaning the No. 4/5 Huskies are entering the final month of the regular season. St. Cloud State's first test of February won't be easy, as the team is set to host Western Michigan University Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6.

This weekend will be the last time the Huskies square off against the Broncos, as they've already faced each other four times this season. Unfortunately, things only went St. Cloud State's way in the first of those four meetings, as the team enters Friday's contest riding a three-game losing streak to Western Michigan. After opening the season with a dramatic 4-3 win over the Broncos (i.e. Josh Passolt batting the puck into his own goal in the final seconds), the Huskies dropped the next three games by scores of 2-1 (Omaha, Nebraska), 6-2 (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and 3-1 (Kalamazoo, Michigan).

Puck drop Friday is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, while Saturday's game is slated to begin at 6:07 p.m. At this time, St. Cloud State is allowing family members of the home and visiting teams to attend sporting events, at a limit of 150 people. All communications and protocols will be sent from the University to attending family members at least 24 hours prior to competition.

Huskies hockey fans can follow along in a multitude of ways, as both games will stream on NCHC.tv and Fox9+ this weekend. Additionally, both games will be broadcasted on The River 96.7 FM and KVSC FM 88.1, and live stats will be available at www.scsuhuskies.com.

Here are the five things to know before this weekend's NCHC series against Western Michigan:

33 - Senior goalie David Hrenak (Povska Bystrica, Slovakia / Green Bay) was one of 33 goalies named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List Tuesday afternoon. The award is annually given out to the top goalie in NCAA Division I men's hockey, and Hrenak certainly fits the bill for that honor. In 13 games this season, Hrenak has posted an 8-5-0 record with 337 saves in 370 chances. He recently played in his 100th career game as a Husky and broke the program record for career shutouts (10) in a 1-0 overtime victory over Minnesota-Duluth in January. Hrenak currently ranks second all time in career wins (57), third in career saves (2340) and fourth in single-season wins (23).

2 - In addition to Hrenak, two other St. Cloud State student-athletes found themselves on national watch lists, as Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland / Kiekko-Espoo) and Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn. / Omaha) were nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Award. The Hobey Baker Award is annually given to the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey, not just on the stat sheet, but in the classroom and community as well. Fans can vote for Miettinen and Perbix once a day until March 8 at www.hobeybaker.com/vote.

10 - Why is Miettinen, a freshman for the Huskies, up for the Hobey Baker you ask? In large part because of his outstanding January. Miettinen was named the NCHC January Rookie of the Month after putting up some impressive numbers. The Finnish forward tied the NCHC and NCAA overall scoring lead in January with 10 points (5G, 5A) to help St. Cloud State finish the month with a 5-3-0 record. Miettinen additionally led all NCHC freshmen with five goals and five assists, and five of his league-leading 10 points were scored on the power play. The Maple Leafs draft pick currently leads all NCHC freshman in points (18) and is tied for the rookie lead in scoring with nine goals.

136 - St. Cloud State fans might see a vaguely familiar face on the Western Michigan roster this weekend in senior forward Josh Passolt. The Broncos leading scorer is the nephew of former Husky standout Jeff Passolt, who played for St. Cloud State from 1977-81. Jeff Passolt tallied 136 points in his illustrious Huskies career with an even 68 goals and 68 assists.

32 - Senior assistant captain Seamus Donohue (North Oaks, Minn. / Wichita Falls) currently leads St. Cloud State in blocked shots this season with 32 total, which equals an impressive 1.9 blocks per game this season. That is the highest blocks per game average for any Husky since Jimmy Schuldt led the team with 78 total blocked shots to average 2.0 per game his senior season. Should Donohue keep up this pace, he could surpass Schuldt's average from 2018-19 and cement his place in the St. Cloud State men's hockey record book.

Bonus number:

DIII - Both Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn. / Tri-City) and Perbix are sons of college hockey players, but did you know both their dad played at the Division III level? Mark Hentges, father of Sam, was a standout at the University of St. Thomas, as he was selected as a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as a senior in 1981. Jay Perbix, father of Nick, played collegiate hockey at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.