Huskies drop OT heartbreaker to WMU 5-4

Saturday, February 6

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:07 p.m.

St. Cloud State

12-7-0

Western Michigan University

6-11-3

OT 1

Western Michigan

St. Cloud State

Easton Brodzinski skates along the boards in the Huskies 5-4 loss to Western Michigan.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

2/6/2021 10:51:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It was a hockey game that had everything. Goals. Penalties. Power plays. Tension. You name it, Saturday evening's contest between No. 4 / 5 St. Cloud State University men's hockey and Western Michigan University had it all.

Except a St. Cloud State win.

A second period burst and a last second shot ended up being the nationally ranked Huskies doom, as they fell to the Broncos in overtime by a final score of 5-4.

Everything was rolling St. Cloud State's way in the opening period despite the large amount of penalties called in the opening 10 minutes. In fact, the Huskies and Broncos were called for a combined four penalties in the first eight minutes of the game, three of which were called on St. Cloud State. The Huskies, though, continued to show their dominance on the penalty kill, giving their offense plenty of time to take an early lead.

And an early lead St. Cloud State did, as Easton Brodzinski (Blaine, Minn. / Green Bay) scored a back door power play goal against Alex Alanidis to give the Huskies an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, Brodzinski's goal also seemed to spark something in Western Michigan, as the visitors skated right down the ice and scored on an odd man rush to even things up at 1-1.

It looked like the Broncos goal was no harm, no foul, as Spencer Meier (Sartell, Minn. / Fargo) blasted a puck past Aslanidis, allowing St. Cloud State to end the first period with a 2-1 lead.

That's when things got weird. The second period featured more penalties, three goals, an overturned goal, which meant the score was tied 3-3 at the end of 20 minutes. Jason Polin and Michael Joyaux scored two goals for Western Michigan in the first eight minutes of the period to give the Broncos their first lead of the night at 3-2. The Huskies seemingly responded less than a minute later, as Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn. / Tri-City) slipped one past Aslanidis, forcing Western Michigan head coach Andy Murray to make an abrupt change in net.

Hentges goal was called off, though, flinging the momentum in the Broncos direction midway through the second period. Still, Jared Cockrell (Kents Hill, Maine / Brooks) reignited St. Cloud State's spark as he scored the game-tying goal with 6:01 remaining in the period.

The Huskies momentum carried over to the third period, as they continued to pepper Western Michigan with shots with aggressive offensive play. It eventually paid off when Hentges legitimately found the back of the net at 10:30, giving St. Cloud State a 4-3 lead with 9:30 remaining in the game.

The Broncos then went on the offensive, gutting out gritty plays around the boards and putting tough shots on the net throughout the final minutes. David Hrenak (Povazksa Bystrica, Slovakia / Green Bay) made several SportsCenter worthy saves in that time, preserving St. Cloud State's lead and seemingly leading his team to victory.

Then, heartbreak struck. With 18 seconds left in regulation, Joyaux tied the equalizer, forcing the game into overtime. Forty-three seconds into the extra period, heartbreak struck again, as Drew Worrad beat Hrenak to win the game for Western Michigan 5-4.

Brodzinski and freshman phenom Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland / Kiekko-Espoo U20) were the lone multi-point scorers for the Huskies Saturday evening, as they both tallied two points in the loss. Hrenak made 24 saves on 29 shots, including 10 in the second period.

With the loss, St. Cloud State's overall record stands at 12-7-0 and the team is 12-7-0 in National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play. The Huskies will return to action on Friday, February 12 when they face Miami (OH) University at 6:05 p.m. CT in Oxford, Ohio.