Top-Two NCHC Teams Clash with No. 4 St. Cloud State Hosting No. 3 Denver

*NO. 4 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. NO. 3 DENVER*
*OPPONENT*	*LOCATION*	*DAY*	*TIME (CT)*	*TV / STREAM*	*RADIO*	*STATS*	*GAME NOTES*
No. 3 Denver	St. Cloud, Minn.	Friday, Jan. 20	7:30 p.m.	Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv	KNSI	Stats	SCSU Notes
No. 3 Denver	St. Cloud, Minn.	Saturday, Jan. 21	6:00 p.m.	Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv	KNSI	Stats	DU Notes

THE MATCHUP

No. 4 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will play host to the biggest matchup of the conference slate and potentially NCAA schedule this weekend when the Huskies host No. 3 Denver at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The top-two teams in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings will drop the puck at 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday and 6:00 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Both games will be televised on Fox 9 + and streamed on NCHC.tv with Jim Rich and Geno Parrish on the call, while Husky Hockey veteran Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will have the radio call on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM). This will be the second top-five matchup between the two programs this season, as the Huskies check in at No. 4 in both of the DCU / USCHO Poll and USA Hockey / USA Today Coaches Poll, while the Pioneers are ranked No. 3 in both polls.

SERIES HISTORY

Ever since St. Cloud State moved to Division-I, the Huskies and Pioneers have had a long-standing rivalry, meeting 112 times since November 1988. The all-time series is a close one between the two programs, as Denver holds a slight advantage at 55-51-6. Earlier this season, the Huskies and Pioneers split a series in Denver, with the Huskies winning 4-3 in overtime on Friday before a 3-2 Denver win on Saturday. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak at Magness Arena for the Huskies, who had not beaten Denver on the road since the 2015-16 season. In St. Cloud alone, the Huskies are 23-21-4 against Denver at the Brooks Center, including a 9-3-2 mark since the 2012-13 season.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES

In its last time out, St. Cloud State split a series against (RV) Colorado College at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, with the Tigers winning 4-2 on night one before the Huskies came back to win 4-0 in the second game of the series. In game one, St. Cloud State had a 1-0 lead in the second period before the Tigers scored back-to-back power play goals to shift momentum and steal the first game of the series. In the second game, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead into the third period and scored three third period goals to seal the 4-0 win. The shutout was the fourth shutout of the season for the Huskies, and the third for junior goalie Dominic Basse.

RACE FOR THE PENROSE

This weekend's series will loom large in the chase for the Spencer Penrose Cup, awarded to the team atop the NCHC regular season standings at season's end. Right now, Denver sits in first place with 29 points, while St. Cloud State is within striking distance in second place with 23 points. After this weekend, St. Cloud State will not see another opponent currently ranked in the top-20 of the Pairwise throughout the regular season, while Denver still has a trip to No. 10 Western Michigan on Feb. 24-25.

HOBEY BAKER NOMINEES

It's Hobey Baker Award season, and the Huskies had three student athletes added to the watch list for the prize that's annually awarded to the top collegiate hockey player in NCAA Division-I men's hockey. The Huskies nominees were senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn, senior forward Grant Cruikshank and senior forward Jami Krannila. Anhorn leads all NCAA blue liners in points with 23 points, while Cruikshank ranks third in the NCAA with 15 goals and Krannila ranks 15^th nationally with 25 points.

LED BY DEFENSE

All season, St. Cloud State has been led by its staunch defense, as the Huskies enter this weekend's series leading the NCHC and rank second in the NCAA in scoring defense at 1.95 goals per game. In 13 games where St. Cloud State has allowed two or fewer games, the Huskies are 12-1-0, with its only loss coming on the road to then-No. 3/1 Minnesota in overtime (2-1, Jan. 8). In its last five contests, the Huskies have yielded just one 5-on-5 goal, a third period score from Colorado College on Jan. 13 (4-2 loss).

HOBEY HUSKIES

Three St. Cloud State Huskies - senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn, senior forward Grant Cruikshank and senior forward Jami Krannila - have been nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which is annually awarded to the best player in collegiate hockey.
Awarded annually to college hockey's top player, the Hobey Baker's tremendously popular fan-voting will run from now until Sunday, March 5 at midnight. Phase two of fan balloting will come from the list of Top Ten Hobey Baker finalists (announced March 10) beginning March 17 and closing March 26. The fans' vote accounts for a full one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year's award recipient.
In his first season in St. Cloud, Anhorn has been nothing short of spectacular for the Huskies, leading all Husky defenseman and ranking fourth on the team with 23 points (five goals / 18 assists). His 23 points lead all NCAA blue liners, while his 18 assists are the second-most among NCAA defenseman. The Calgary, Alberta native has produced a +16 mark on the ice and leads the team in power play scoring with 10 points (one goal / nine assists). He earned NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors following the opening weekend of the season where he produced five points (one goal / four assists) in a sweep of St. Thomas (Oct. 1-2).
Cruikshank has emerged as an offensive juggernaut in his first season with St. Cloud State, setting career highs in goals (15), assists (nine), points (24) and plus/minus (+11). Cruikshank's 15 goals are the third-most in the NCAA this season, while the Huskies are 11-3-0 when the Husky senior finds the back of the net. Among team leaders, Cruikshank leads the team in goals (15), shorthanded goals (two) and faceoff percentage (.571) while ranking second in points (24) and power play goals (three), and third in game-winning goals (two). He was named NCHC Forward of the Week on Oct. 24 following a sweep over then-No. 2 Minnesota State, where he produced three goals and five points, including a shorthanded game-winning goal in the 4-3 victory on Saturday.
Through 22 games the season, Krannila leads the Huskies with 25 points (11 goals / 14 assists) and plus/minus at +17. A consistent point scorer throughout his career with St. Cloud State, Krannila has already produced his third straight 20-point season and second consecutive season with 25+ points after scoring 23 points in 2020-21 (11 goals / 12 assists) and 30 points (15 goals / 15 assists) in 2021-22. Nationally, Krannila's 25 points ranks 15th while his +17 mark on the ice ranks 12th. The Husky senior has produced multi-point games in a team-leading nine games this season, including a four-point, two-goal, two assist performance in a 7-3 victory over Miami on Dec. 10. In addition to leading the team in points and plus/minus, Krannila also ranks second in assists (14) and third in goals (11).

HISTORIC FIRST HALF

St. Cloud State's 14 victories in the first half of the season marked just the fourth time in D-I program history (since 1987-88) the Huskies have recorded 14 or more wins in the first 18 games of the season. The 14 wins are the second-most through 18 games, trailing only its 15-2-1 mark in 2001-02 while matching its win totals from 2015-16 (14-4-0) and 2018-19 (14-2-2). St. Cloud State's .778 win percentage is its fourth best mark through 18 games, trailing its .861 (15-2-1) mark in 2001-02, .833 (14-2-2) mark in 2018-19 and .806 (13-2-3) mark in 2017-18. After beginning the season ranked No. 13 in both of the top-20 polls, the Huskies jumped to near the top of both bolls, ranking as high as No. 2 and checking in at No. 4 in both polls ahead of this weekend's series.

GOALIE TANDEM NOMINATED FOR MIKE RICHTER AWARD

Easily the most asked question heading into the season for St. Cloud State was who would start between the pipes. Through 22 games, senior goalie Jaxon Castor and junior goalie Dominic Basse have both played excellent in net for the Huskies and were both named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List on Jan. 12, an award annually given to the top goaltender in NCAA D-I.
Castor was the first one to get back-to-back starts, starting both games of the Minnesota series, and is 8-4-0 with a 2.01 goals against average and .923 save percentage, marks which ranks ninth and 14th, respectively, nationally. Castor was named the NCHC Goalie of the Week following the Gophers series where he recorded his first career shutout after making 51 saves with a 0.96 GAA and .962 S%. He's logged 1569:92 of ice time between the pipes in his career, and holds a 2.53 GAA and .904 S%.
Basse, the October NCHC and HCA Goaltender of the Month and a 2019 sixth-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, joined the Huskies after two seasons with Colorado College. He is 8-2-0 on the season with a 1.61 GAA and .937 S%, including three shutouts. His 1.61 GAA and .937 S% both rank second nationally. With the Tigers, Basse produced a 10-26-3 mark with a 3.21 GAA and .891 S% in 41 games and 39 starts.
If Castor and Basse continue their strong play during the second half of the season, their numbers will rank among the best in single season records in program history. On the goals-against-average list, Basse currently ranks first all-time at 1.71 while Castor's 2.01 mark ranks second. On the save percentage list, Basse's .937 ranks first, while Castor's .923 mark ranks eighth.
The pair are replacing five-year starter David Hrenak, who set numerous program marks in 146 games played from 2017-22, including wins (82) and shutouts (14) while ranking second in saves (3,370).

POWER PLAY THREAT

With a man advantage, the Huskies have converted on 22.4 percent (19-of-85) of its chances, which ranks seventh in the NCHC and 21th nationally, while its 19 power play goals ranks 18^th nationally.
Individually, senior forward Kyler Kupka leads the way with four power play goals, while senior forward Grant Cruikshank, senior forward Veeti Miettinen and senior forward Zach Okabe have scored three goals with the man advantage. Senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn has nine power play assists and one power play goal to lead the team with 10 power play points.
Last season, the Huskies led the nation in power play percentage, a mark they lead by a wide margin. The Huskies PP unit finished at 31.3 percent (45-of-144), with the next closest team sitting at 27.4 percent (Minnesota State, 45-of-164). The team set a program record with its mark, besting its previous mark of 31.1 percent (73-of-235) in 2001-02, and set an NCHC record, besting Western Michigan's 2020-21 mark of 30.3 percent (23-of-76).
Since the start of 2021-22, St. Cloud State is 26-9-2 when scoring on the power play, including a 10-2-0 mark this season.

MEIER NAMED HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN AWARD NOMINEE

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey defenseman Spencer Meier and Women's Hockey forward Addi Scribner have each been named 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award nominees, announced by the foundation on Wednesday. The Husky pair are a part of a 15-player class, with SCSU as the lone school to feature a nominee from each of its men's and women's programs.
The Hockey Humanitarian Award, which is celebrating its 28th season, is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen — a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
Meier, only the second-ever three-time captain in program history, has been an undisputed leader during his time at St. Cloud, leading the Huskies to three NCAA Tournament appearances (2019, 2021, 2022), a Penrose Cup championship (2019) and an NCAA Frozen Four and National Championship Game appearance (2021). Meier's impact extends much farther than his play on the ice, as he is an established figure in the central Minnesota community he grew up in. He volunteers his time to skate with youth hockey programs whenever his schedule allows, and routinely skates with the Minnesota Wild special hockey program on Sundays. Over this past summer, Meier hosted the first-ever Spencer Meier Hockey Camp, where approximately 70 kids from the Central Minnesota area came to St. Cloud to learn from Meier and his teammates.
In the classroom, Meier graduated with a degree in Business Finance in May 2022 and is currently taking classes towards an Elementary Education degree while maintaining a 3.4 GPA. He has earned four Academic All-NCHC honors, earning the distinction every year of his tenure with the Huskies (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22).

Top-Two NCHC Teams Clash with No. 4 St. Cloud State Hosting No. 3 Denver

NO. 4 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. NO. 3 DENVER

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Dominic Basse

Jaxon Castor

Grant Cruikshank

David Hrenak

Jami Krannila

Kyler Kupka

Spencer Meier

Veeti Miettinen

Zach Okabe

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

Top-Two NCHC Teams Clash with No. 4 St. Cloud State Hosting No. 3 Denver

NO. 4 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. NO. 3 DENVER

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Dominic Basse

Jaxon Castor

Grant Cruikshank

David Hrenak

Jami Krannila

Kyler Kupka

Spencer Meier

Veeti Miettinen

Zach Okabe

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