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St. Cloud State
Minnesota State University - Mankato
Men's hockey to face Minnesota State at Frozen Four
4/7/2021 3:41:00 PM | Men's Hockey
PITTSBURGH, PA. - The stage and match up are set. The ice is made. The St. Cloud State University men's hockey team is prepped and ready to appear in its first NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four since 2012-13. After beating Boston College in the Northeast Regional Final, the Huskies advanced to the Frozen Four for the first time in eight years and will face No. 6 Minnesota State at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 8.
St. Cloud State and Minnesota State are two of three Minnesota based teams to advance to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Like the Huskies, the Mavericks won the West Regional in Loveland, Colorado to advance to the penultimate game, defeating top seeded Minnesota 4-0 in the Regional Championship. Unlike St. Cloud State, this will be Minnesota State's first ever appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four, as the Mavericks had not won a single NCAA tournament game entering the 2020-21 tournament despite having the best record of any Division I men's hockey team in the last five years.
The seeding at the NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four is based off national seeding, so the Huskies will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament after posting a 17-10-0 record entering the Northeast Regional. Minnesota State will serve as the No. 2 seed in the tournament after being ranked No. 6 in the nation, despite losing in the quarterfinal round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Tournament. As the No. 5 team in the nation, UMASS will serve as the No. 1 team in the tournament while Minnesota-Duluth rounds out the four teams as the No. 4 seed.
The NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four will take place April 8-10 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. First round games will air on ESPN2, and the national championship game will air on ESPN.
For fans who cannot make the trek to Pittsburgh, several engagement opportunities will be available throughout the St. Cloud area. St. Cloud mayor Dave Kleis has proclaimed April 8 Husky Hockey Day, and all fans are encouraged to wear red to cheer on St. Cloud State from afar. Fans are encouraged to send in photos wearing cardinal and black, St. Cloud State colors, to be potentially posted on the University and team's social media accounts leading up to Thursday's game. Send in photos by clicking on this link. Huskies fans are also encouraged to use the following hashtags on social media to prepare for the Frozen Four: #unleashSCSU #FrozenFour #HuskyHockey.
The Huskies will also be handing out Frozen Four official shirts outside both the Blue Line South and North locations to the first 100 fans Thursday afternoon. Fans can also purchase these shirts for the low price of $19.99 by clicking on this link. Additionally, the Husky Faceoff powered by the SCSU Alumni Association will air 30 minutes prior to puck drop on the Huskies Youtube Channel and Charter Channel 180. The show will include guest appearances from Brett Larson, Jim Rich and Pat Micheletti, and there will be giveaways throughout the show.
Here are the five things to know before Thursday's NCAA Frozen Four faceoff with Minnesota State:
1969-70 - According to available records (and former Assistant Athletic Director of Strategic Communications Tom Nelson), the series between St. Cloud State and Minnesota State started all the way back in 1969-70, when both the Huskies and Mavericks were Division III affiliated members. The two teams squared off three times that season, with St. Cloud State holding a 3-1-0 record against Minnesota State. Charlie Basch was head coach of the Huskies team that year, and the team played their games outside on Lake George.
3.96 - On Wednesday, it was announced that forward Chase Brand (Nevis, Minn. / Madison) is the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 award, which is annually given out to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average (GPA) competing in the NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four. Brand, a sophomore finance major, has maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.96 and has competed in 24 games for St. Cloud State this season. Additionally, he is the second Husky to receive the honor, as Brooks Bertsch was the NCAA Elite 90 recipient back in 2012-13.
1992 - Mavericks head coach Mike Hastings has some history with St. Cloud State. Specifically, the Crookston native played hockey for the Huskies in 1986-87 and 1987-88 before a back injury ended his playing career. Hastings then served as a student coach for the next two seasons before graduating in 1992 and returned as an assistant coach in 1993-94. Since then, he's gone on to coach with the Omaha Lancers before taking over at Minnesota State in April of 2012.
1 - Only one St. Cloud State men's hockey player has scored in the Frozen Four: former standout Joey Benik. The former Husky scored the team's lone goal in a 4-1 loss to Quinnipiac back in the 2012-13 tournament, which also took place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a freshman, Benik was named the MVP of the 2013 NCAA Division I Midwest Regional the week prior after scoring the game winners in victories over Notre Dame and Miami at NCAA regional that season.
5 - Five different Huskies have tallied 20+ points this season, showing the team's offensive depth entering the Frozen Four. Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland / Kiekko-Espoo U20) continues to serve as the team's leading scorer with 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points. Not far behind are Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn. / Omaha) and fellow Fin Jami Krannila (Nokkia, Finland / Sioux Falls), who both have 23 points to their name this season. Also joining the 20 points club in Albany: Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Alaska / Sioux Falls) with 22 points and Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta / Grande Prairie) with 21.
