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Saturday, October 7
St. Cloud, Minn.
6:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
vs
St. Thomas
No. 8/7 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Opens 2023-24 Season Against St. Thomas
10/6/2023 12:05:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies host Tommies on Saturday, head to St. Paul on Sunday
No. 8/7Â ST. CLOUD STATE vs. (RV) ST. THOMAS |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OPPONENT |
LOCATION |
DAY |
TIME (CT) |
TV / STREAM |
RADIO |
STATS |
GAME NOTES |
| St. Thomas | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center | Saturday, Oct. 7 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | SCSU Notes |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas Ice Arena | Sunday, Oct. 8 | 4:00 p.m. | FloHockey | KNSI | Stats | UST Notes |
THE MATCHUP
- No. 8/7 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will open the 2023-24 season this weekend with a home-and-home series with in-state foe St. Thomas, marking the third consecutive season the two teams have faced each other to start its campaign. The two will begin its two game series on Saturday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center for a Homecoming matchup at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Fox 9 + and NCHC.tv with Jim Rich, Geno Parrish and Anna Behning on the call. The series shifts to St. Thomas Ice Arena on Sunday for a 4:00 p.m. CT, with a stream available on FloHockey. On the radio, Husky Hockey veteran Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel return for another season over the airwaves on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM).
- St. Cloud State will begin the 2023-24 campaign ranked No. 8 in the USCHO Top-20 Poll and No. 7 in The Rink Live / USA Hockey Top-20 poll, while the Tommies are currently receiving votes in the USCHO poll.Â
SERIES HISTORY
- St. Thomas leads the all-time series between the two programs, 24-20-0, but St. Cloud State is a convincing 4-0 since the Tommies moved to Division-I ahead of the 2021-22 season. Prior to the last four games, all matchups between the two schools happened prior to 1980. Last season, the Huskies began the season with a sweep of the Tommies, winning 3-1 in St. Paul on Oct. 1 before a 4-0 victory back at the Brooks Center on Oct. 2. A mix of newcomers and a veteran led the Huskies to victory in St. Paul, as Dylan Anhorn and Adam Ingram scored in their Husky debuts, while Zach Okabe also found the back of the net. Moving back to St. Cloud, goalie Dominic Basse earned a shutout in his Husky debut while four different Huskies, including returner Veeti Miettinen found the back of the net.Â
NCHC PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
- St. Cloud State was selected to third in the NCHC Preseason Media Poll after coming off an NCAA-leading fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and an NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship in 2022-23. The Huskies received two first-place votes and 155 points overall in the media poll and were selected to finish behind Denver (199, 11 first-place votes) and North Dakota (175, 12 first-place votes). Rounding out the poll was Western Michigan (126, two first-place votes), Minnesota Duluth (123, one first-place vote), Omaha (113), Colorado College (89) and Miami (28). St. Cloud State has previously won three Penrose Cups, finishing atop the nation's top hockey conference in 2013-14, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The Huskies captured their second NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship in March, beating Colorado College 3-0 on March 18 at the Xcel Energy Center.
- The Huskies finished the 2022-23 season with a 25-13-3 record and advanced to its 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. In the Fargo regional, SCSU beat Minnesota State 4-0 to advance to the NCAA regional championship game for the sixth time in program history. This season, the Huskies return a talented core which includes Hobey Baker nominee and newly minted captain fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn and two of its top-four goal scorers from a year ago in Zach Okabe (18-18-36) and Veeti Miettinen (12-24-36).Â
OKABE NEARS 100
- Fifth-year senior forward Zach Okabe returns for one more campaign in the red and black, and is only five points away from joining an exclusive club in St. Cloud State Men's Hockey history. Okabe currently has 95 points (42 goals / 53 assists) and is five points away from becoming the 38th member of SCSU's 100-point club. Okabe had a career-year in 2022-23, as he set career-bests in goals (18), assists (18), points (36), game-winning goals (fie) and plus/minus (+16) while leading the Huskies to an NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Okabe's overtime winner against North Dakota provided one of the most memorable moments of last season for the Huskies.
- Okabe is one of 13 Huskies to record multiple hat tricks in their SCSU career, the only one to record two natural hat tricks, and currently ranks 13th in career game-winning goals with nine.
PEART NAMED PRESEASON ALL-NCHC
- Junior defenseman Jack Peart was named to the NCHC Preseason All-Conference team after solidifying his spot as one of the best blue liners in the conference in 2022-23, as he earned All-NCHC Second Team recognition and was named an NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year finalist.
- Peart earned second team All-NCHC honors after producing three goals and 21 assists for 24 points and a +4 mark in the ice with 42 blocks in his 2022-23 sophomore campaign. His 21 assists led all Husky defenseman and ranked second among NCHC blue liners, leading to his selection as an Offensive Defenseman of the Year finalist. He was named the NCHC Defenseman of the Week after a five-point performance (two goals, three assists) in a series sweep over North Dakota (Dec. 2-3) and earned NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament honors after helping the Huskies capture their second NCHC tournament title.
- In 71 career games, Peart has posted five goals and 36 assists for 41 points with a +19 mark on the ice and 64 blocks. He was a second-round selection (54th overall) by the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Â
ANHORN GETS THE "C"
- Dylan Anhorn will be the 35th Husky to wear the "C" as captain in the Division-I era, while Josh Luedtke, Joe Molenaar and Zach Okabe will be alternate captains.
- Anhorn follows Spencer Meier as team captain, who became just the second three-time captain in program history in 2022-23. An All-NCHC Honorable Mention honoree and Hobey Baker candidate last season, Anhorn was nothing short of spectacular before suffering a season-ending injury on Jan. 21. The Calgary, Alberta native led all NCAA blue liners with 25 points (five goals / 20 assists) at the time of his injury and produced a +15 mark on the ice. He played a key role on special teams for SCSU, quarterbacking the top power play unit and adding key minutes on the penalty kill unit. Despite playing in only 23 games, Anhorn still finished the campaign ranked among the team's leaders in numerous statistical categories, including third in assists (23), fourth in power play scoring (12), fifth in points (25) and fifth in plus/minus (+15).
- Prior to SCSU, Anhorn spent three seasons at Union, where he scored 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 66 games over the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons (Union did not play in 2020-21 due to the pandemic). In 2021-22, Anhorn recorded 20 points with seven goals, 13 assists and 28 blocks in 29 games. He was one of two Union rookies to skate in all 37 games in 2019-20, as he earned ECAC All-Rookie Team honors after scoring six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. In the classroom, Anhorn was named an AHCA All-American Scholar in 2019-20 and an ECAC All-Academic Team honoree in 2019-20 and 2020-21. For his career, Anhorn has played in 86 games, registering 61 points (18 goals / 43 assists) with four power play goals and a +18 mark on the ice. His 20 assists, 25 points and +15 mark in 2022-23 were all career highs.
- Luedtke recorded two goals and eight points with a +19 plus/minus mark on the ice and 42 blocks in 32 games in 2022-23. He skated to a +2 mark or better in seven games last season, including a goal and +3 mark in a 5-0 win over Colorado College on Nov. 19 and an assist and +4 mark in a 6-3 win over North Dakota on Dec. 3. His +19 mark on the ice and 42 blocks both ranked second on the team for the season. Luedtke is a two-time NCHC Academic All-Conference and AHCA Academic All-American. In 65 career games, he has recorded five goals and 14 assists for 19 points with a +36 plus/minus.
- In his junior campaign, Molenaar skated to two goals and five assists for seven points and a +5 plus/minus in 30 games in 2022-23. He found the back of the net against Colorado College (Jan. 13) and a power play goal at North Dakota (Feb. 17). He earned NCHC Academic All-Conference honors for the first time last season. For his career, he has recorded eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points with three power play goals in 76 games.
- Okabe skated to All-NCHC Honorable Mention honors in 2022-23 for the Huskies, producing 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points with a +16 mark on the ice, five power play goals and five game-winning goals. He was named to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament team after netting three points, including the game-winning overtime goal against North Dakota in the semifinal game. He was also named the NCHC Forward of the Week following SCSU's sweep of North Dakota (Dec. 3-4), where he netted his second career hat trick in a 6-3 win on Dec. 3. Okabe set career highs in nearly every statistical category this season, including points (36), goals (18), assists (18), plus/minus (+18) and game-winning goals (five).
- For his career, Okabe has logged 95 points (42 goals / 53 assists) with 14 power play goals and nine game-winning goals in 138 games. He is one of 13 Huskies to record multiple hat tricks in their collegiate career and currently ranks 13th in career game-winning goals with nine.
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