OT heroics lead to 4-3 win over No. 9 Bulldogs

Saturday, March 6

St. Cloud, Minn.

1:07 p.m.

St. Cloud State

15-9-0, 15-9-0

University of Minnesota Duluth

13-9-2, 13-9-2

OT 1

Minn. Duluth

St. Cloud State

Easton Brodzinski celebrates his game-winning, overtime goal Saturday afternoon.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

3/6/2021 5:07:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. - It was a tale of three periods, one fit for the grandest of story books. The No. 8 St. Cloud State University men's hockey team versus its rival No. 9 University of Minnesota-Duluth. The No. 2 seed in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff on the line. Drama. Intrigue. Perhaps a shockingly low amount of penalties. A combined seven goals. Overtime.

But most importantly: a St. Cloud State win at the end of it all.

Thanks to a brilliant first period and a heroic performance in overtime, the Huskies closed the crazy 2020-21 regular season with an impressive 4-3 overtime win over the Bulldogs. The win helps St. Cloud State finish second in the NCHC regular season standings and clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament set to take place March 12-16 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The Huskies could not have asked for a better start in the first period. After a flurry of activity in its own defensive zone, St. Cloud State controlled every facet of the game, forcing a myriad of Bulldog turnovers that eventually resulted in a Huskies goal. After five minutes of scoreless play, St. Cloud State broke through first on the scoreboard, as Chase Brand (Nevis, Minn. / Madison), beat Zach Stejskal for the early 1-0 lead.

Naturally, the Huskies weren't satisfied with one measly goal, as they went on to score three total in the first period alone. No surprise, the International Line scored two of the three first period goals, as Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland / Sioux Falls) scored a power play goal midway through the period to boost St. Cloud State's lead to 2-0. Then, with the minutes dwindling down, freshman phenom Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland / Kiekko-Espoo U20) casually wristed the puck past Stejskal, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead late in the first period.

Play was, literally, reversed in the second, as Minnesota-Duluth scored two goals of its own to cut St. Cloud State's to 3-2. The Bulldogs first broke through David Hrenak's (Povazksa Bystrica, Slovakia / Green Bay) stealy nerve at 8:22 in the period, as Jackson Cates slipped the puck past the diving netminder to cut the Huskies lead to 3-2. Then, with roughly five minutes remaining in the period, Minnesota-Duluth struck again, this time beating Hrenak on a tip to make it 3-2 St. Cloud State.

The Huskies tried to respond in the closing minutes, peppering Stejskal with shot after shot, but the Bulldogs continued to maintain control of the puck. Still, St. Cloud State and Hrenak held strong in the waning seconds and preserved the 3-2 lead after two.

The two teams were on their best behavior to start the third period, but there was still a palpable feistiness in the air as the two rivals battled for the No. 2 seed in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Despite a faster paced start by the Huskies, Minnesota-Duluth still managed to even the score at 12:38 in the third period, as Connor Kelley beat Hrenak high to tie the score 3-3. Both Hrenak and Stejskal were gold in the remaining seven-ish minutes, preserving the tie and sending the game into overtime.

All St. Cloud State needed was an extra 17 seconds to clinch victory, and the team won in the most storybook play possible. In what was perhaps his last game in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, Easton Brodzinski (Blaine, Minn. / Green Bay) blasted the puck past Stejskal, winning the game 4-3 with his team-leading 11th goal of the 2020-21 season.

Four different forwards scored for the Huskies Saturday afternoon, while six different players tallied at least one assist. Luke Jaycox (Warroad, Minn. / Lincoln) was the lone student-athlete to record a multi-point game, as he recorded assists on the goals by Brand and Miettinen. Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn. / Tri-City), Seamus Donohue (North Oaks, Minn. / Michigan Tech), Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta / Grande Prairie), Ondrej Trejbal (Hamry nad Sazavou, Czech Republic / Minnesota), Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Alaska / Sioux Falls) and Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn. / Omaha) joined Jaycox on the stat list with an assist one one of St. Cloud State's four goals.

With the win, the Huskies close the regular season with a 15-9-0 record and an identical mark in NCHC play. Additionally, St. Cloud State finishes second in the conference standings and clinches the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, where the team will take on Colorado College in the opening round. More information regarding the Huskies opening round game, including time and date, will be available in the upcoming days.