No. 6/5 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Routs Miami, 11-1 to Open Series

Friday, January 21

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

13-6-0, 5-4-0

Miami (OH)

4-17-2, 1-11-1

Miami (OH)

St. Cloud St.

No. 6/5 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Routs Miami, 11-1 to Open Series

1/22/2022 2:39:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies have 10 score goals, Perbix records school-record six points and five assists

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 6/5 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (13-6-0, 5-4-0 NCHC) had 10 skaters score 11 goals in an 11-1 rout of Miami Ohio (4-17-2, 1-11-1 NCHC) on Friday evening at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. In the victory, the Huskies matched NCHC records for most goals in a conference game (11) and largest margin of victory (10, 11-1), a mark which was also set by St. Cloud State in a 11-1 win over Western Michigan on Nov. 14, 2015.

Newly announced Olympian senior defenseman Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn.) set numerous school records in the game, including assists (five), points (six) and points by a defenseman (six). Junior forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) started the scoring for the Huskies 1:52 into the game and added a second goal later in the first period, the lone St. Cloud State skater to find the back of the net multiple times in the game.

The Huskies were remarkable on special teams once again, converting 2-of-2 power play chances while killing off all five penalties in the game. St. Cloud State also scored two short-handed goals in the game, including one from junior forward Kyler Kupka (Camrose, Alberta) in a 5-on-3 situation, the first time since at least the 2001-02 season the Huskies have scored when down two men.

TURNING POINT

The Huskies did not look the least bit rusty in the opening period, as they peppered Ludvig Persson with 16 shots and scored four goals in the process. Okabe opened the scoring at 1:52 in the first period, scoring his first even strength goal of the season to put St. Cloud State ahead 1-0. Olympian senior forward Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn.) put the Huskies up 2-0 roughly four minutes later, tallying his fifth goal and 10^th point of the season to give St. Cloud State a two-goal advantage.

Miami managed to score one goal in the first on an odd man rush, but it was no harm, no foul, as Okabe and Perbix extended the Huskies lead to 4-1 by the end of the first. St. Cloud State then tacked on five more goals in the second, as five different Huskies scored to put their team up 9-1 at the end of the period.

TOP HUSKIES

Perbix was named the first star of the game and led all skaters in points, tallying a school record six points with one goal and a school record five assists.
Okabe closed the game as the second star, nabbing two goals and one assist for three points. Junior forward Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland) and senior forward Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Alaska) also scored three points with one goal and two assists apiece.
Graduate goalie David Hrenak (Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia) earned his 11^th win of the season, making 13 saves while only allowing one goal.

NOTES

St. Cloud State's 11 goals scored and 10-point margin of victory matched NCHC records for a conference game, matching its own mark of an 11-1 win over Western Michigan on Nov. 14, 2015.
The Huskies 11 goals is the just the 12^th time in the D-I era (1987-88) St. Cloud State has scored 10+ goals, and just the second time they have scored 10+ goals multiple times in a season, after scoring a program-best 12 goals in its season-opening 12-2 win over St. Thomas. The last time St. Cloud State had multiple occurrences of 10+ goals in the 1988-89 season, beating Brown 11-3 on Dec. 23, 1988 and Michigan-Dearborn 11-2 on Jan. 15, 1989.
The Huskies scored twice on the power play, converting both of its power play chances to raise its nation-leading success rate with a man-advantage to 37.5 percent (30-of-80).
Perbix set numerous school records with his six-point game, matching the mark for points scored (six), assists (five), points by a defenseman (six) and assists by a defenseman (five). Perbix is the first Husky to hit those marks since:
- 6 points – numerous times, last by Tony Gruba vs. Minnesota State Mankato, Feb. 13, 1993
- 5 assists – numerous times, last by Brandon Sampair vs. Minnesota, March 18, 2000
- 6 points by a defenseman – Bret Hedican vs. Guelph, Jan. 5, 1991
- 5 assists by a defenseman – Bret Hedican vs. Guelph, Jan. 5, 1991
The Huskies scored two short-handed goals in the game, including a second period goal from Kupka while down two men. Dating back to at least the 2001-02 season (first season of readily available game-by-game box scores), St. Cloud State has never scored a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal.
It marks the second time this season St. Cloud State has scored two short-handed goals, after also doing so against St. Thomas in its season-opening 12-2 victory on Oct. 2.
Senior forward Micah Miller (Grand Rapids, Minn.) scored his third short-handed goal of the season, the most of anyone in the NCAA this season and the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
As a team, the Huskies have scored seven short-handed goals on the season, its most since the 2017-18 season when it also scored seven.
Okabe's pair of goals is just the second time he has score multiple goals in a game, the other being his four-goal performance against Minnesota State on Dec. 28, 2019. His seventh and eighth goals of the season were his first two in 5-on-5 hockey on the year.
Walker had a season-high three points in the game with one goal and two assists, the fourth time in his career he has recorded 3+ points.
Krannila matched a season-high with three points (one goal / two assists), the fourth time in his career he has scored 3+ points.

POST-GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State will host Miami in the second game of the series on Saturday in the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT on Fox 9 +.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tickets for the 2021-22 season are available for purchase at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.