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Friday, October 28
Bemidji, Minn.
7:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
at
Bemidji State
St. Cloud State Set for In-State Rival with Bemidji State
10/27/2022 2:26:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies and Beavers will play in Bemidji on Friday, St. Cloud on Saturday
NO. 2Â ST. CLOUD STATE VS. (RV) BEMIDJI STATE |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OPPONENT |
LOCATION |
DAY |
TIME (CT) |
TV |
RADIO |
STATS |
GAME NOTES |
| (RV) Bemidji State | Bemidji, Minn. | Friday, Oct. 28 | 7:00 p.m. | FloHockey | KNSI | Stats | SCSU Notes |
| (RV) Bemidji State | St. Cloud, Minn. | Saturday, Oct. 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | BSU Notes |
THE MATCHUP
- After a very impressive homecoming showing, No. 2 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey is set to face off against another in-state rival, as the Huskies and Bemidji State Beavers will play a home-and-home series on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. The Huskies will first travel to the Sanford Center for a 7:00 p.m. CT start on Friday, while Saturday's game at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center is slated to start at 6:00 p.m. CT. Friday's contest will be streamed on FloHockey, while the rivalry returns to Fox 9 + (and streamed on NCHC.tv) on Saturday with Jim Rich and former Husky Geno Parrish on the call. Like always, Jim Erickson and Dave Reichel will have the radio call on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM) for both games. The Huskies swept No. 2 Minnesota State last weekend on homecoming weekend, and moved up six spots to No. 2 in both the DCU/USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Coaches Polls. Bemidji State is coming off a win and a tie on the road against Michigan Tech last weekend, and is receiving votes in both polls.
SERIES HISTORY
- After a two-year hiatus, the Huskies and Beavers are set to play for the second straight season and will meet for the 104th and 105th times overall. St. Cloud State holds a 51-45-7 lead in the series, including a 7-1-2 mark in the last 10 matchups and a 24-4-4 record since 2008, the first time both teams met as D-I opponents.
- Last season, the two teams played on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, as the Huskies swept the Beavers, winning 4-1 in Bemidji and 5-2 in St. Cloud. Former SCSU assistant coach Mike Gibbons, who spent 14 seasons behind the bench in St. Cloud, is in his second season on the bench of the Beavers, his alma mater.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES
- Last weekend, the Huskies made a statement, sweeping No. 2 Minnesota State on homecoming weekend in St. Cloud. The Huskies trailed late in the second period in the first game, but a late second period goal from senior forward Grant Cruikshank and an early third period power play goal from Kyler Kupka gave St. Cloud the edge on Friday night. The Mavericks erased a two-goal Husky lead in Saturday's game, but Cruikshank and Kupka teamed up on a goal with less than four minutes remaining to give the Huskies a 4-3 win.
6-0 TO START
- With the sweep over No. 2 Minnesota State last weekend, the Huskies improve to 6-0-0 for just the third time in its Division-I history (since 1987-88). The only better starts in its history as a D-I program happened in 2001-02 (9-0-0) and 2017-18 (7-0-0). A sweep over Bemidji State would give the Huskies its second best start in 36 seasons of D-I hockey and its best start in 21 seasons. Only two teams in the nation this season are still undefeated with no ties, as No. 16/15 Penn State is also 6-0-0.
CRUIKSHANK'S OFFENSIVE EMERGENCE
- St. Cloud State senior forward Grant Cruikshank has been an offensive juggernaut for the Huskies through the first six games of the season, as he leads the team in goals (six) and points (10), while ranking fourth in assists. Among national leaders, the fifth-year senior transfer ranks second in goals (six) and fourth in points (10). He earned NCHC Forward of the Week honors this past week for recording five points (three goals / two assists) in SCSU's sweep over No. 2 Minnesota State. He scored or assisted on both game-winning goals, assisting senior forward Kyler Kupka on Friday before scoring the game-winner with less than four minutes to play on Saturday.
- Cruikshank's red-hot start has him ranked among the nation's leaders in many categories, including second in goals (six) and fourth in points (10). The fifth-year senior has scored six goals in his last five games, a scoring stretch not seen by an SCSU skater since Judd Peterson did so from Oct. 15-29, 2016. He is the first Husky to score six goals in the first six games of a season since Matt Hendricks and Nate DiCasmirro both did so to open the 2001-02 season.
- Since 2001-02, Cruikshank is one of 10 Huskies to record a 5-game or more goal streak, and the first since Veeti Miettinen did so in the 2020-21 season.
- 6-GAME GOAL STREAKS SINCE 2001-02
- Ryan Lasch, Oct. 27, 2007 - Nov. 23, 2007 (9 Goals)
- Andrew Gordon, Dec. 9, 2006 - Jan. 12, 2007 (7 Goals)
- Ryan Malone, Dec. 15, 2001 -Â Dec. 12, 2002 (10 Goals)
- 5-GAME GOAL STREAKS SINCE 2001-02
- Grant Cruikshank, Oct. 2, 2022 - Oct. 22, 2022 (6 Goals)
- Veeti Miettinen, Dec. 16, 2020 - Jan. 3, 2021 (6 Goals)
- Ryan Lasch, Dec. 13, 2008 - Jan. 10, 2009 (5 Goals)
- Jon Cullen, Nov. 23, 2002 - Dec. 14, 2002 (7 Goals)
- Patrick Russell, Jan. 23, 2016 - Feb. 6, 2016 (5 Goals)
- David Morley, Nov. 14, 2015 - Nov. 29, 2015 (5 Goals)
- Nic Dowd, Oct. 19, 2012 - No. 2, 2012 (6 Goals)
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADS THE WAY
- St. Cloud State's special teams has led the charge in the early stages of the 2022-23 season, as both the power play and penalty kill teams rank top-six nationally.
- On the penalty kill, the Huskies ranked first in the NCHC and second in the nation at 95.2 percent (20-of-21) while its two short-handed goals are the second-most in the nation. St. Cloud State killed off its first 14 penalties to start the season, its longest streak to start a season since 2018-19 when it stopped the first 16 power play chances of the season.
- With a man advantage, the Huskies have converted on 29.2 percent (7-of-24) of its chances, ranking fourth in the NCHC and sixth nationally, while its seven power play goals ranks eighth nationally. Individually, senior forward Kyler Kupka and senior defenseman Spencer Meier each have two power play goals to lead the way for the Huskies.
- Last season, the Huskies led the nation in power play percentage, a mark they lead by a wide margin. The Huskies PP unit finished at 31.3 percent (45-of-144), with the next closest team sitting at 27.4 percent (Minnesota State, 45-of-164). The team set a program record with its mark, besting its previous mark of 31.1 percent (73-of-235) in 2001-02, and set an NCHC record, besting Western Michigan's 2020-21 mark of 30.3 percent (23-of-76). Since the start of last season, St. Cloud State is 20-7-2 when scoring on the power play, including a 4-0-0 mark this season.
Players Mentioned
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