Larson named finalist for Spencer Penrose Award
3/30/2021 11:48:00 AM | Men's Hockey
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - The season is not yet over for the St. Cloud State University men's hockey team. Thanks to their win over Boston College last weekend, the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in history. On Tuesday, St. Cloud State continued to make headlines, as head coach Brett Larson was named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award.
Larson was one of 10 coaches across Division I men's hockey to receive the prestigious nomination. The Spencer Penrose Award is given annually to the CCM/AHCA Men's Hockey Division I Coach of the Year, which is selected by the 61 men's hockey coaches in Division I. In order to be eligible, coaches must have either won or shared their conference's Coach of the Year honor or led their team to the 202021 NCAA Frozen Four.
In his three years leading the Huskies, Larson is a two-time Spencer Penrose Award nominee, as he was also a nominee back in 2018-19. Larson earned his second nomination after guiding St. Cloud State to an overall record of 19-10-0 and a 15-9-0 mark in National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play. In 2020-21, the Huskies finished second in the conference standings and advanced to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship game for the third consecutive season before earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. From there, St. Cloud State defeated both Boston University and Boston College to advance to the Frozen Four, which take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania April 8.
Larson was one of three coaches from the NCHC on the finalists list, which also included North Dakota's Brad Barry and Minnesota-Duluth's Scott Sandelin. The list also included three programs from the state of Minnesota: Sandelin (UMD), Larson (SCSU) and Minnesota State's Mike Hastings.
The Spencer Penrose Award will be announced on Tuesday, April 6 two days before the Huskies showdown with the Mavericks.
