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Friday, January 27
Duluth, Minn.
7:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
at
Minnesota Duluth
Photo by: Luke Schmidt
Road Trip up North to Familiar Foe Minnesota Duluth Up Next for No. 1 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey
1/26/2023 12:09:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies and Bulldogs to play Friday and Saturday at Amsoil Arena
NO. 1Â ST. CLOUD STATE at MINNESOTA DULUTH |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OPPONENT |
LOCATION |
DAY |
TIME (CT) |
TV / STREAM |
RADIO |
STATS |
GAME NOTES |
| Minnesota Duluth | Duluth, Minn. | Friday, Jan. 27 | 7:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | SCSU Notes |
| Minnesota Duluth | Duluth, Minn. | Saturday, Jan. 28 | 7:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | UMD Notes |
THE MATCHUP
- Following its ascension to the No. 1 spot in both national polls, St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will head to Minnesota Duluth this weekend for an NCHC series Friday and Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. The road series will begin a stretch of six of 10 away from St. Cloud to finish the regular season for the Huskies.
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT on both Friday and Saturday, with both games televised on My 9 Sports in Duluth and Fox 9 + in the St. Cloud and Twin Cities areas. On the radio, Husky Hockey veteran Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will have the call on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM). The Huskies rank at the top of the DCU / USCHO Poll and USA Hockey / USA Today Coaches Polls, while the Bulldogs have fallen completely out of both polls after starting the season ranked No. 5.
SERIES HISTORY
- In addition to being one of the longest withstanding rivalries of the Division-I era for St. Cloud State, the Huskies and Bulldogs have gotten to known each other quite well over the last two seasons. Over two seasons between Jan. 2, 2021 and March 12, 2022, the two teams met 13 times in a span of 434 days with St. Cloud State holding the slight edge at 6-5-2. After St. Cloud State clinched home ice in the NCHC First Round with a win at Amsoil Arena on the final night of the regular season (2-0, March 5), Minnesota Duluth got the last laugh with a sweep in the first round series at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, winning 5-2 and 4-3 (OT) on March 11-12.
- The Huskies lead the current series between the two programs at 78-59-11, but UMD holds a small advantage in Duluth, leading 31-30-3. All but eight of the teams' 148 matchups have come since January 1989 when St. Cloud State became a Division-I program, with those other eight contests coming between the 1946-47 and 1952-53 seasons.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES
- In its last time out, St. Cloud State made a statement series sweep over then-No. 3 Denver, winning 7-3 and 2-0 on Jan. 20-21 at the Brooks Center to gain six points in the NCHC standings and pull even with Pioneers at the top with 29 points overall. The sweep was SCSU's first sweep against the Pioneers since Nov. 9-10, 2018, when it won 4-3 and 4-3 in St. Cloud, and was the first time a team scored seven goals against the Pioneers since Nov. 4, 2017 when Western Michigan won 7-4 in Kalamazoo. St. Cloud State's series sweep over Denver was its fifth and sixth victories of the season against a top-three opponent and its seventh against a ranked opponent overall this season. Before this series, the Huskies' ranked wins have come over No. 2 Minnesota State (3-2 & 4-3, Oct. 21-22), at No. 2 Denver (4-1, Nov. 4), No. 17 Western Michigan (4-1, Nov. 12) and No. 3/1 Minnesota (3-0, Jan. 7).
COACH LARSON NEARS CENTURY MARK
- Head Coach Brett Larson enters the weekend series one win away from career win No. 100, as he currently sits at 99-53-13. Just 165 games into his tenure with the Huskies, Larson is tracking to be the fastest to 100 wins in program history. In Division-I history, Bob Motzko (276-192-49, 2005-18) reach win 100 in his 191st game, while Craig Dahl (338-309-52, 1987-2005) reached the milestone in game 241. Only one Husky coach reached 100 wins prior to becoming a D-I program, as Charlie Basch (181-193-7) reach his 100th win in his 215th game. Larson has continued to elevate the SCSU program while at the helm, as he has guided the Huskies to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 2021 and an NCHC Penrose championship in 2019.
- He is the only SCSU coach to lead the program to NCAA Tournaments in the first three seasons a tournament has been played (no tournament in 2020 due to pandemic). It would be fitting for Larson to reach the career milestone this weekend, as the Duluth native and Denfeld High School graduate was a four-year letterwinner and 1994-95 captain for the Bulldogs (1991-95), as well as two stints as an assistant coach (2008-10, 15-18).
BACK ON TOP
- Following a weekend sweep of then-No. 3 Denver, St. Cloud State Men's Hockey ascended to No. 1 in both the DCU / USCHO and USA Today / USA Hockey Division-I Men's Hockey Polls. It marks the first time the Huskies have reached the top of the USCHO poll since a three-week run at the No. 1 spot near the beginning of last season (Oct. 25-Nov. 8, 2021).
- St. Cloud State has appeared in 58 consecutive USCHO media polls (top-20), dating back to Dec. 7, 2020, including 48 weeks ranked in the top-10. Since the 2006-07 season, the Huskies have been ranked No. 1 in the USCHO poll 27 times, including a 10-week stretch during the 2018-19 season, head coach Brett Larson's first season on the bench.
- The Huskies began the season ranked No. 13 in the country and have vaulted all the way to the top of the poll after seven wins against ranked opponents, including six ranked in the top-three. St. Cloud State is currently 18-6-0 on the season and sits atop the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings with 29 points (tied with Denver).
- The Huskies rank in the NCAA's top-10 in numerous statistical categories, including scoring defense (second, 1.92 goals per game), scoring margin (second, 1.62 goals per game), team shorthanded goals (second, six SHG), scoring offense (seventh, 3.54 goals per game) and power play percentage (ninth, 25.0 percent).
RACE FOR THE PENROSE
- The Huskies control their own destiny for the Spencer Penrose Cup, awarded to the team atop the NCHC regular season standings at season's end. Right now, St. Cloud State and Denver sit in first place with 29 points.
- Points are becoming more and more important every weekend, as the top-four teams are only separated by four points. Following the Huskies and Pioneers, Omaha is in third place with 27 points and Western Michigan is in fourth at 25 points.
- St. Cloud State will not see another opponent currently ranked in the top-15 of the Pairwise throughout the regular season, as its highest ranked remaining opponent will be Omaha (Feb. 24-25 on the road), who is currently ranked No. 20 in the Pairwise.
TOUGH TO SCORE ON
- Through 24 games, St. Cloud State has made its mark as one of the toughest defensive teams in the country, ranking among the nation's top-15 in numerous defensive categories. Nationally, the Huskies lead the NCAA in save percentage (.926) while ranking second in shorthanded goals (six), scoring defense (1.92) and scoring margin (1.62).
- A big piece to the puzzle defensively for the Huskies has been the play between the pipes, as senior goalie Jaxon Castor and junior goalie Dominic Basse have played outstanding. Both have goals-against average and save percentages that rank in the top-20 nationally.
- In 14 games where St. Cloud State has allowed two or fewer games, the Huskies are 13-1-0, with its only loss coming on the road to then-No. 3/1 Minnesota in overtime (2-1, Jan. 8).
- In 24 games this season, St. Cloud State opponents have failed to score on the power play in 13 games, and the Huskies are 12-1-0 in those contests.
POWER PLAY THREAT
- With a man advantage, the Huskies have converted on 25.0 percent (23-of-92) of its chances, which ranks fourth in the NCHC and ninth nationally, while its 23 power play goals ranks 11th nationally.
- Individually, senior forward Zach Okabe leads the way with five power play goals, while senior forward Grant Cruikshank, senior forward and Kyler Kupka and junior forward Veeti Miettinen have scored four goals with the man advantage. Senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn has 11 power play assists and one power play goal to lead the team with 12 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 28-9-2 when scoring on the power play, including a 12-2-0 mark this season.
Players Mentioned
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