No. 19/17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for In-State Showdown with (RV) Minnesota Duluth

THE MATCHUP

Fresh off a road sweep over a top-15 ranked opponent, St. Cloud State Men's Hockey returns home for back-to-back series at the Herb Brooks National Hockey center, beginning with in-state rival (RV) Minnesota Duluth on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18. The series begins on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. CT puck drop, followed by a Saturday series finale beginning 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, while on the radio, Husky Hockey veteran Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will have the call over the airwaves on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM). Saturday's contest will be shown on a tape delay on Fox 9 + following a previously commitment from the station.
St. Cloud State enters the weekend back in the top-20 polls at No. 19 in the USCHO Top-20 Poll and No. 17 in the USA Today / The Rink Live poll, while the Bulldogs are receiving votes in both polls.

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. Since Feb. 2022, the two programs have squared up 13 times, with six occurring over the 2022-23 season and seven games last season with UMD holding the advantage at 7-4-2. Last season, the Huskies avenged its NCHC Quarterfinals loss from the previous season with a series win in the NCHC Quarterfinals win at the Brooks Center, taking games one and three, both by 3-1 scores. The series win vaulted the Huskies to an NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship the following weekend at the Xcel Energy Center.
Overall, the Huskies lead the current series between the two programs at 81-63-11, including a decisive 44-29-7 mark in St. Cloud. All but eight of the teams' 150 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 THE LAST SERIES

The Huskies kept their hot start to conference play going last weekend, sweeping the No. 12-ranked Western Michigan Broncos 3-2 and 3-0 in Kalamazoo, marking its first win and sweep at Lawson Arena in five seasons (March 1-2, 2019). On night one, the Huskies came from behind twice when sophomore forward Jack Rogers and senior forward Veeti Miettinen scored twice in the span of 35 seconds in 35 seconds in the third period to record a 3-2 win. Veeti Miettinen led the charge on night two, scoring in his sixth consecutive game, while senior goalie Dominic Basse recording 23 saves in a 3-0 shutout victory. It marked the first shutout victory for the Huskies inside Lawson Arena since Dec. 2, 2016, a 3-0 win.

MIETTINEN'S MAGNIFICENT STREAK

Senior forward Veeti Miettinen has come on strong in the last three series, scoring in each of his last six games to lead the way offensively for the Huskies. Miettinen's six-game scoring streak is a stretch that hasn't been seen in more than 15 years, as he is the first Husky to score in six consecutive games since Ryan Lasch in the 2007-08 season (Oct. 27 – Nov. 23, 2007). He recorded the game-winning goals in each of SCSU's wins over the Broncos, which are his 10th and 11th career game-winning goals, moving him to seventh all-time in program history in game-winning goals. He currently sits a four-way tie with Tim Hanus (1988-92), Garrett Roe (2007-11) and Joey Benik (2012-16).
This season, Miettinen leads the Huskies in goals (seven), power play goals (four), game-winning goals (two) and points (11). For his career, he is nearing the 100-point club as he currently has 40 goals and 54 assists for 94 points.

GAME NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 3-2 win at Western Michigan (11-10-23 in Kalamazoo)
- The win snapped a six-game losing streak at Lawson Arena for the Huskies, who last won in Kalamazoo on March 2, 2019, an 8-2 win.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen continued his scoring streak, finding the back of the net for the fifth consecutive game and the sixth time overall this season. He now leads the Huskies and ranks third in the NCHC with six goals.
- The Husky senior's score was his 10th career game-winning goal, as he moves to 10th all-time in program history in that category.
- Sophmoore forwad Jack Rogers scored for the first time this season and added an assist to record his first career multi-point game. He also skated to a career-best +2 mark on the ice in the game.
- Fershman forward Barrett Hall scored for the third time this season and had a +2 plus/minus, his best mark to-date in his freshman campaign.
- Sophomore defenseman Mason Reiners registered his first collegiate point in his 37th career game with an assist on Miettinen's game-winning goal.
- Senior goalie Dominic Basse made 22 saves, marking the sixth time this season and 48th time in his career he has made 20 or more saves in the game. With the win in net, he improved to 5-4-0 on the season.
GAME 2 - 3-0 win at Western Michigan (11-11-23 in Kalamazoo)
- With the win, St. Cloud State improves to 22-13-5 all-time against Western Michigan and 9-6-3 in Kalamazoo, Mich.
- The series sweep marked SCSU's first in Kalamazoo since March 1-2, 2019 when the Huskies win 5-4 and 8-2 near the end of the 2018-19 season.
- Just two series into the NCHC season, the Huskies take an early lead in the chase for the Penrose Cup, registering all 12 points possible through four games.
- SCSU was 1-of-5 on the power play, improving to 4-2-0 on the season when scoring on the man advantage.
- The Huskies outshout the Broncos 23-16 to improve to 5-2-0 when outshooting its opponents.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen extended his scoring streak to sixth consecutive games, as he became the first Husky to score in six consecutive games since Ryan Lasch in the 2007-08 season (Oct. 27 – Nov. 23, 2007).
- Miettinen's score was his 11th career game-winning goal, as he moves to seventh all-time in program history in game-winning goals, moving into a four-way tie with Tim Hanus (1988-92), Garrett Roe (2007-11) and Joey Benik (2012-16).
- Senior goalie Dominic Basse made 23 saves and matched his career-best mark of three shutouts in a season, equaling the same mark from 2022-23. The senior netminder now has seven career shutouts.
- Just 10 games into the season, senior forward Joe Molenaar set a new career-best for goals in a season with six, surpassing his previous high of five in 2021-22. It marked his 14th career goal and 26th career point.
- Sophomore forward Grant Ahcan recorded his first goal of the season and the third of his career with his second period score.
- Freshman defenseman Tynan Ewart recorded his first collegiate point by recording the secondary assist on Ahcan's goal.
- Fifth-year forward Zach Okabe had the primary assist on Molenaar's goal and his now one point away from reaching the 100-point club.
- Anhorn, sophomore forward Adam Ingram, freshman defenseman Warren Clark and freshman forward Verner Miettinen all recorded single assists in the game.

MOLENAAR'S HAT TRICK LEADS TO NCHC FORWARD OF THE WEEK

Senior forward Joe Molenaar was named NCHC Forward of the Week after scoring his first career hat trick and recording four points in the Huskies sweep over Miami to open NCHC play. Molenaar scored or assisted on four of nine goals scored on the weekend for SCSU, totaling three goals and an assist for four points and a +3 mark on the ice. Molenaar recorded a hat trick on Saturday, which was the 66th hat trick in program history and the first since teammate fifth-year forward Zach Okabe had a hat trick against North Dakota on Dec. 3, 2022. In addition to his first career hat trick, it was also his first career multi-goal game. Just 10 games into the season, the Husky senior hasset a career-best for goals in a season with six.

OKABE NEARS 100

Fifth-year senior forward Zach Okabe is only two points away from joining an exclusive club in St. Cloud State Men's Hockey history. Okabe currently has 99 points (43 goals / 56 assists) and is one point 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 14th in career game-winning goals with nine. The Husky senior is also closing in on the top-20 list for most career goals, as his 43 goals is just nine away from a four-way tie in 17th place at 52 goals from Joe Motzko (1999-03), Nic Dowd (2010-14), Robby Jackson (2015-19) and Jami Krannila (2019-23).

No. 19/17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for In-State Showdown with (RV) Minnesota Duluth

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Grant Ahcan

Dominic Basse

Warren Clark

Tynan Ewart

Barrett Hall

Adam Ingram

Jami Krannila

Veeti Miettinen

Verner Miettinen

Joe Molenaar

Zach Okabe

Mason Reiners

Jack Rogers

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

No. 19/17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for In-State Showdown with (RV) Minnesota Duluth

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Grant Ahcan

Dominic Basse

Warren Clark

Tynan Ewart

Barrett Hall

Adam Ingram

Jami Krannila

Veeti Miettinen

Verner Miettinen

Joe Molenaar

Zach Okabe

Mason Reiners

Jack Rogers

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