No. 10 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Erases Two-Goal Deficit, Earns 2-2 Against No. 6 Minnesota Duluth

Tuesday, February 8

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

14-9-2, 6-7-2

Minnesota Duluth

14-10-3, 7-5-3

OT 1

OT 2

Minn. Duluth

St. Cloud St.

No. 10 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Erases Two-Goal Deficit, Earns 2-2 Against No. 6 Minnesota Duluth

2/9/2022 1:02:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Donohue and Meier score goals, Hrenak makes 28 saves

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 10 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (14-9-2, 6-7-2 NCHC) erased a two-goal deficit to come back and earn a tie and shootout win over No. 6 Minnesota Duluth (14-10-3, 7-5-3 NCHC), 2-2, on Tuesday evening at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Both of the Huskies' goals were scored in the third period by senior captains, first from graduate defenseman Seamus Donohue (North Oaks, Minn.) at 2:51 in the final period, then from senior defenseman Spencer Meier (Sartell, Minn.) with an extra attacker at 19:01.

After a scoreless overtime, the Huskies outlasted the Bulldogs in the shootout, 3-2, in four rounds as graduate forward Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale, Ill.), junior forward Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland) and sophomore forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) found the back of the net.

Graduate goalie David Hrenak (Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia) made 28 saves on 30 shot attempts in the game to earn the tie.

TURNING POINT

After a 15-save performance from Hrenak in the second period, St. Cloud State came out buzzing to start the third, earning several odd man rushes to test Bulldog goalie Ryan Fanti. After two minutes of hard-nosed play, the Huskies finally found the back of the net, as Donohue scored his first goal of the season to cut the Bulldogs lead to 2-1. It took nearly the entire third period, though, before St. Cloud State scored the equalizer. After the Huskies pulled Hrenak for an extra skater, Fitzgerald wristed a shot at Fanti, who made the initial pad save. The rebound, though, bounce to the waiting Meier, who buried the puck in the back of the net, evening the score at 2-2 with 59 seconds left in the game.

Neither St. Cloud State nor Minnesota-Duluth scored in the overtime period, with both Hrenak and Fanti making several key saves throughout the extra five minutes. That meant the game would be determined in a shootout, which delivered all the drama one could handle. After both Fitzgerald and Quinn Olson converted their shootout chances, senior forward Easton Brodzinski (Blaine, Minn.) missed the net wide, allowing the Bulldogs to take a 2-1 lead, as Kobe Roth beat Hrenak stick side. In a must score situation, Krannila delivered, beating Fanti under the right skate to even the score 2-2.

The pipe saved the Huskies from heartbreak, stopping Blake Biondi's shot to send a fourth skater to the ice. That fourth skater was none other than Miettinen who did not miss his chance at another one-on-one with Fanti. The sophomore and reigning NCHC Rookie of the Year capitalized on the moment, blasting the puck past Fanti to secure a 3-2 shootout lead for St. Cloud State before Hrenak's save on the other end secured the victory for the Huskies.

TOP HUSKIES

Miettinen was named the First Star of the night after his clutch shootout performance. The Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick closed the game with four shots on goal.
Meier was named the Second Star of the game after scoring the game-tying goal at 19:01 in the third period. The senior captain additionally led the Huskies with five shots on goal and closed the game with a plus/minus of +1.
Hrenak was nothing short of a brick wall for St. Cloud State. The fifth-year senior saw 30 shots and made 28 saves, including 15 in the crucial second period.
Donohue gave the Huskies the spark it needed early in the third period, scoring his first goal of the season to get the Huskies rolling.

NOTES

The Huskies shootout win was its first of the season and its first since Feb. 21, 2020, when St. Cloud State earned a 1-0 shootout win over No. 1 North Dakota in St. Cloud.
St. Cloud State's comeback marked the first time this season the Huskies have not lost after trailing after two periods. Entering the game, the Huskies were 0-7-0 when trailing after 40 minutes.
Donohue's third period goal was his first of the season and the ninth of his career, as well as his 77^th career point.
Meier scored his third goal of the season and 12^th of his career, as well as his 14^th point of the season and 49^th of his career.
Huskies' recording assists in the game was Krannila, senior forward Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Ala.), freshman defenseman Josh Luedtke (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Fitzgerald.
Hrenak's 28 saves marks the 10^th time this season and the 60^th time in his career he has made at least 25 saves.

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State will return to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Friday, Feb. 11 when the Huskies host Western Michigan. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on Fox 9 + and 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.