Multiple Comebacks Push No. 4 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Past No. 2 Denver

Friday, November 4

Denver, Colo.

8:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

8-1-0, 1-0-0

Denver

6-3-0, 2-1-0

OT 1

St. Cloud St.

Denver

Multiple Comebacks Push No. 4 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Past No. 2 Denver

11/5/2022 1:06:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies erase Denver’s lead twice, snap eight-game losing streak at Magness Arena with 4-3 OT win

DENVER, Colo. – No. 4 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (8-1-0, 1-0-0 NCHC) came back from being down a goal twice to snap an eight-game winning streak at Magness Arena, winning 4-3 in overtime over No. 2 Denver (6-3-0, 2-1-0 NCHC) on Friday night. Senior forward Grant Cruikshank (Delafield, Wis.) and senior forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) scored equalizer goals in the third period to keep St. Cloud State alive, setting the stage for junior forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) who scored in overtime to seal the victory for the Huskies.

TURNING POINT

After Cruikshank's goal at the 9:43 mark of the third period made the score 2-2, Denver responded with a goal eight minutes later as Massimo Rizzo scored with 2:11 left in the game to take the lead for the second time in the game. St. Cloud State pulled its goalie soon after, and with the extra attacker, Okabe scored on a wrist shot off a rebound to knot the score at 3-3.

To start overtime, the Huskies were forced to start the period on the penalty kill after a failed challenge for a five-minute major. Once St. Cloud State killed off the penalty, Miettinen was able to beat the Denver netminder on a breakaway after a drop pass from Cruikshank to seal the victory.

TOP HUSKIES

Miettinen's game-winning goal was his third goal of the season and his sixth career game-winning goal.
Cruikshank recorded two points in the game with his seventh goal and fifth assist of the season.
Okabe had two points in the game with his fifth goal and fourth assist of the season.
Krannila scored for the second straight game and for the third time this season.
Sophomore defenseman Jack Peart (Grand Rapids, Minn.) had two assists in the game, assisting on the game-tying and game-winning scores.

NOTES

St. Cloud State's win over Denver snapped an eight-game losing streak at Magness Arena dating back to a 6-2 victory on Dec. 12, 2015. The Huskies are now 25-32-2 all-time at Magness Arena.
The win was St. Cloud State's third win over a ranked opponent this season, all coming against the No. 2 team in the nation, after the Huskies swept then-No. 2 Minnesota State, 3-2 and 4-3 on Oct. 21-22.
The Huskies killed off both penalties it committed in the game, including an all-important one at the start of the overtime period to improve to 87.9 percent (29-of-33) on the penalty kill.
With the win, St. Cloud State improved to 4-0-0 in one-goal games and 7-1-0 when scoring first in the game on the season.
Miettinen's score was his sixth career game-winning goal and 24^th career goal overall.
Cruikshank recorded the fifth multi-point game of his season, a career-best, with his 44^th career goal and 28^th career assist.
Okabe recorded two or more points for the third time this season and the 16^th time in his career with his 29^th career goal and 39^th career assist.
Krannila's second goal in as many games was his 30^th career goal.
Peart recorded multiple assists for the first time this season and the fourth time in his career.
Senior goalie Jaxon Castor (Phoneix, Ariz.) set a new career-high with his fourth win of the season, stopping 24 saves in the contest. His 24 stops is the fourth time this season and 13^th time in his career he has made 20 or more saves.

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State and Denver will close its series on Saturday, Nov. 5. Puck drop from Magness Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT / 6:00 p.m. MT on NCHC.tv and KNSI.

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 2022-23 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.