No. 7/6 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Falters to No. 4/3 Denver

Friday, February 4

Denver, Colo.

8:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

14-8-1, 6-6-1

Denver

19-5-1, 12-3-0

St. Cloud State

Denver

No. 7/6 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Falters to No. 4/3 Denver

2/5/2022 2:03:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Denver completes comeback after St. Cloud State led 3-0

DENVER, Colo. – No. 7/6 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (14-8-1, 6-6-1 NCHC) fell to No. 4/3 Denver (19-5-1, 12-3-0 NCHC), 8-5, to open a road series at Magness Arena on Friday night. The Huskies held a 3-0 lead after the first period, but then gave up four goals in each of the second and third periods to drop the game.

Graduate forward Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale, Ill.) and junior forward Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland) each scored two goals in the game, but the Pioneers outscored the Huskies 6-1 after the 14:52 mark of the second period and outshot the Huskies, 50-24.

TURNING POINT

The Huskies opened the second period with a 3-0 lead and had all the momentum, but senior forward Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Ala.) was called for a five-minute major boarding penalty just 21 seconds into the period that swung the momentum towards Denver's favor. The Pioneers scored two goals during the five-minute major, and later added on two goals in the end of the period to tie the score at 4-4 heading into the third period.

Then, Denver outscored the Huskies, 4-1, in the third period to claim the 8-5 victory.

TOP HUSKIES

Fitzgerald continued his stellar fifth-year campaign, scoring two goals, including a first-period power play goal, his sixth of the season.
Krannila scored twice and added an assist to match a season-high with three points.
Junior forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) matched a season-best with three points, one goal and two assists, while senior forward Micah Miller (Grand Rapids, Minn.) added three assists.

NOTES

The Huskies scored on the power play on the seventh consecutive game and for the 35^th time this season. St. Cloud State is now 37.2 percent (35-of-95) on the power play this season and lead the nation in both power play percentage and power play goals.
St. Cloud State outscored the Pioneers 3-0 in the first period, improving to 36-9 on the season in the game's first 20 minutes.
Fitzgerald scored multiple goals for the third time this season and the seventh time in his career. He has recorded career-highs in goals (13), assists (15) and points (28) this season, and is now five points away from joining St. Cloud State's 100-point club.
Krannila's pair of goals now gives him 12 on the season, a new career best. His three points matched a season-best, the third time this season he has hit that mark.
Okabe scored three points – one goal and two assists – to match season-highs in assists and points. His nine goals on the season are a career-best for a single season, while his 21 points is one away from his career-high (22 in 2020-21).
Miller had a season-best three assists in the game, one off his career-high of four on Jan. 23, 2021 against Miami.
Graduate goalie David Hrenak (Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia) matched a career-high with 42 saves in the game, a mark he also hit against Denver on Jan. 10, 2020.

UP NEXT

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

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.