St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Can’t Complete Comeback in NCAA Tournament Loss to Quinnipiac

Friday, March 25

Allentown, Pa.

7:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

18-15-4

Quinnipiac

32-6-3

St. Cloud St.

Quinnipiac

St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Can’t Complete Comeback in NCAA Tournament Loss to Quinnipiac

3/26/2022 2:24:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies erased a two-goal deficit in the second period, nearly do so again in the third

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 11 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (18-15-4, 10-10-4 NCHC) came back from a two-goal deficit once and nearly twice, but ultimately fell to No. 8 Quinnipiac, 5-4, in the first round of the Midwest Regional at NCAA Tournament on Friday evening in Allentown, Pa. The loss closes the 2021-22 season for the Huskies, who reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons and the 16^th time in program history.

TURNING POINT

St. Cloud State had to work from behind for the majority of the game, erasing a two-goal deficit in the second and almost doing the same in the third. The Bobcats held a 2-0 lead heading into the second period before senior forward Nolan Walker (Anchorage, Ala.) and senior forward Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn.) scored back-to-back goals in the first 7:21 of the second period. After Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State traded goals later in the third period, the Bobcats jumped ahead by two once again in the third period, scoring at the 0:27 and 8:37 marks of the period.

The Huskies pulled their goalie around the four-minute mark of the period and got an extra attacker goal from Walker at the 18:44 mark of the period, but was unable to score the equalizer to tie the game.

TOP HUSKIES

Walker scored a pair of goals in the game and added an assist for a three-point game.
Henteges scored a goal and added an assist in the game.
Junior forward Kyler Kupka (Camrose, Alberta) scored his fifth goal of the season in the second period.

NOTES

St. Cloud erased a two-goal deficit for the first-time in an NCAA Tournament game, scoring the first two goals of the second period to tie the game at 2-2.
The Huskies failed to score on the power play tonight but set a new program record for single-season power play percentage at 31.3 percent (45-of-144), surpassing the previous best mark of 31.1 percent (73-of-235) in 2001-02. The mark also sets an NCHC record, surpassing Western Michigan's 2020-21 mark of 2020-21 (23-of-76).
Walker produced the first multi-goal game of his season and the fourth of his career with his 10^th and 11^th goals of the season, setting a new career-best for goals in a season in the process. He finishes with 24 points – 11 goals and 13 assists – on the season.
Hentges recorded his 12^th goal and 10^th assist of the season for his ninth multi-point game of the season and 20^th of his career.
Graduate forward Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale, Ill.) recorded his 19^th assist on the season and finished his career with 103 points, 46 goals and 57 assists.
Senior forward Easton Brodzinski (Blaine, Minn.) finishes his historic Husky career with 125 points (67 goals and 58 assists) to rank 14^th in program history. The fifth-year senior also ranks first in game-winning goals (13), sixth in power play goals (25) and first in games played with 176.

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.