No. 10/11 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Shuts out UMD to Clinch Home Ice

Saturday, March 5

Duluth, Minn.

7:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

18-12-4, 10-10-4

Minnesota Duluth

17-15-4, 10-10-4

St. Cloud St.

Minn. Duluth

No. 10/11 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Shuts out UMD to Clinch Home Ice

3/5/2022 11:31:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Hrenak leads Huskies to 2-0 shutout to clinch home ice in NCHC quarterfinals

DULUTH, Minn. – No. 10/11 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (18-12-4, 10-10-4 NCHC) defeated No. 11/10 Minnesota Duluth (17-15-4, 10-10-4 NCHC), 2-0, at Amsoil Arena on Saturday night behind the strong play in goal by graduate goalie David Hrenak (Povazska Bystrica, Slovakia). Hrenak stopped all 34 of the Bulldogs shot on net on his way to his third shutout of the 2021-22 campaign, while senior forward Sam Hentges (New Brighton, Minn.) and sophomore forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) added goals for the Huskies.

TURNING POINT

With the Huskies holding a 2-0 lead late in the second period, the Bulldogs put a flurry of shots on net with time running out, but Hrenak and his defense were able to stem the tide and keep the lead at two goals just before second intermission. That key series of stops ended up helping decide the game's final margin.

Hrenak was solid all night, but especially in the final two periods, stopping 12 shots in each of the second and third periods.

TOP HUSKIES

Hrenak made 34 saves in the contest to record his third shutout of the season and 14^th career shutout.
Hentges continued his hot streak when he tallied his fifth goal in six games since returning from China to represent the United States in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Hentges' 11^th goal on the season was the game's first of the evening at 18:39 in the first period and the eventual game winner.
Miettinen connected on his 10^th goal of the season at 4:46 of the second period when he got just enough on the puck to slide it underneath UMD goalie Ryan Fanti.

NOTES

St. Cloud State clinched home ice in the NCHC quarterfinals with the regulation win over the Bulldogs on Saturday night. They will host UMD as SCSU gained the tiebreaker by winning tonight's contest.
With a first period goal, the Huskies have now outscored their opponents 42-14 in the first period.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 16-5-1 when scoring first and 15-3-1 when leading after the first period.
Hrenak completed his 14^th career shutout, increasing his team record shutout lead now to five over Scott Meyer who tended the SCSU net from 1996-2001.
Hrenak's 34 saves is tied for the second-most he has stopped this season, trailing on the 42 he made against Denver (Feb. 4) and matching the 34 he stopped against Denver (Feb. 5). It marks the fifth time this season and 34^th time in his career he has made 30 or more saves.
Hentges scored his 11^th goal of the season in just his 17^th game of the season, and his fifth in six games since returning from the Olympics. In the Huskies last two series, Hentges has totaled four goals and two assists.
The senior forward now has 20 points this season, his third season of 20+ points after scoring 20 points as a freshman in 2018-19 and 24 points as a sophomore in 2019-20.
Miettinen scored his 10^th goal of the season and 21^st of his career in the second period. He now has 47 career points.
Junior forward Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland) got his 15^th assist on the season on Miettinen's aforementioned goal and remains second on the team in points this season. Krannila now has 29 points on the season, second most on the team.
Graduate forward Kevin Fitzgerald (Hinsdale, Ill.) had a solid night in the faceoff circle winning 11 of 19 draws and assisted on Hentges' goal. It was Fitzgerald's team-leading 34^th point on the season.

UP NEXT

Next up for St. Cloud State is the NCHC quarterfinals, as the Huskies will host Minnesota Duluth back at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center March 11-13. Game times and television information will be announced at a later date.

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.