No. 4/5 Huskies buck Broncos in 5-1 win

Friday, February 5

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:37 p.m.

St. Cloud State

12-6-0

Western Michigan University

5-11-3

Western Michigan

St. Cloud State

The Huskies celebrate Ondrej Trejbal's goal in the dwindling seconds of the third period.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

2/6/2021 12:18:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - According to many an old school Western, there's no way to stop a bucking bronco.

The No. 4/5 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team may have just solved the impossible question.

After dropping three consecutive games to Western Michigan University, the Huskies found a way to buck the Broncos Friday evening, and they did so in impressive fashion. St. Cloud State put five goals on the scoreboard en route to its 5-1 win over Western Michigan, snapping the three game losing streak and improving to 12-6-0 overall with a 12-6-0 mark in National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play.

It didn't take the Huskies long to find their way on the scoreboard, but it wasn't one of the usual subjects who lit the lamp first for St. Cloud State. It was, in fact, none other than St. Cloud native Will Hammer (St. Cloud, Minn. / Cathedral) who scored the first goal for the Huskies at 2:51 in the first period with an assist to transfer senior Jared Cockrell (Kents Hill, Main / Brooks).

With Hammer scoring the first goal of the game, it was clear it was going to be a good night for St. Cloud State, as the team continued to pack on the goals throughout the first and second periods. Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland / Sioux Falls) extended the Huskies lead to 2-0 at 10:48 in the first with a shorthanded goal, St. Cloud State's first of the 2020-21 season. He additionally extended the International Exchange Line's scoring streak to three consecutive games, breaking the line of Miettinen-Krannila-Okabe's scoreless streak against Western Michigan.

When the first period came to an end, the Huskies found themselves with a 2-0 advantage. It only took 28 seconds in the second period for St. Cloud State to extend its lead to 3-0, as Easton Brodzinski (Blaine, Minn. / Green Bay) broke his scoreless streak with his first goal since January 2.

Neither the Huskies nor Broncos scored in the remaining 19:32 in the second period, but goals (and penalties) were abundant in the third. Krannila scored his second goal of the game, a beauty of a snipe off passes from Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland / Kiekko-Espoo U20) and Luke Jaycox (Warroad, Minn. / Lincoln), to extend St. Cloud State's lead to 4-0 at 3:10 in the period.

Western Michigan eventually cut the lead to 4-1, as Ty Glover beat David Hrenak (Povazksa Bystriva, Slovakia / Green Bay) glove side with 11:31 remaining in regulation. The Huskies didn't wait long, though, to regain a four goal lead. Ondrej Trejbal (Hamry nad Sazavou, Czech Republic / Minnesota) scored the first goal of his St. Cloud State career with 21 seconds remaining in the period, clinching the 5-1 victory for the Huskies.

Krannila and Brendan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn. / Dubuque) were the lone multi-point scorers for St. Cloud State Friday evening, as they both tallied two points for the Huskies. Maybe more impressive were the amount of seniors who scored Friday. Hammer, Cockrell, Brodzinski, Jaycox and Kevin Fitzgerald (Oak Brook, Ill. / Aberdeen) all tallied at least one point in Friday night's contest, meaning six of the Huskies eight seniors scored during the night. Hrenak, another senior, picked up his ninth win of the season thanks to his 22 saves on 23 shot attempts in roughly 58 minutes of play.

With the win, St. Cloud State's overall record improves to 12-6-0, and the team is 12-6-0 in NCHC play. The Huskies will return to action Saturday night, when they host the same Broncos team at 6:07 p.m. in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.