No. 17/16 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Erases Three-Goal Deficit to Tie No. 14 Michigan

Saturday, November 25

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

8-5-1

Michigan

7-6-3

OT 1

OT 2

Michigan

St. Cloud St.

No. 17/16 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Erases Three-Goal Deficit to Tie No. 14 Michigan

11/26/2023 2:01:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies crawl back to manage tie with Wolverines, win shootout

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 17/16 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (8-5-1, 6-0-0 NCHC) erased a three-goal deficit to earn a tie and shootout win, 3-3, against No. 14 Michigan (6-7-3, 2-4-2 B1G) on Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Fifth-year forward Kyler Kupka (Camrose, Alberta) scored both of SCSU's goals in the third period to help mount the comeback, as his extra attacker goal tied the score with nine seconds remaining in the third period. Following a scoreless five-minute overtime, the Huskies outlasted the Wolverines in a shootout following goals from Kupka and senior forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) and two stops from senior goaltender Dominic Basse (Alexandria, Va.).

Michigan jumped out to a 2-0 lead with first period goals from Tyler Duke and Jacob Truscott at the 1:35 and 19:28 marks of the period, respectively. Duke moved from the top of the right circle towards the middle of the ice and fired a quick wrister to the top left of the cage that beat Basse after he was screened from a Michigan forward and Husky defender. Truscott's goal was a case of bad luck, as the Huskies attempted to clear the puck in front of its own net, but the clearing attempt deflected off Truscott's stick and 15 feet in the air towards the Husky goal. Before Basse could get his blocker on the puck, it found its way between him and the cross bar for a 2-0 Wolverine lead heading into the first intermission. Michigan's nation-leading power play unit went to work in the second period, scoring 23 seconds into a Husky penalty when Dylan Duke cleaned up his own rebound for a goal at the 13:12 mark of the period, making the score 3-0.

SCSU started its comeback in the unlikeliest of ways, as the Miettinen brothers teamed up to get the Huskies on the scoreboard while on the penalty kill later on in the second period. After Michigan misplayed the puck on the wall, freshman forward Verner Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) was able to control the puck in the neutral zone and start a two-on-two break. As he drew one defender towards him, he dropped the puck behind him for his brother Veeti Miettinen to grab it and work right to left to the slot to fire a wrist shot rocket that went right past the Michigan goaltender for a score.

The Huskies cut Michigan's lead to one early in the third period, scoring a power play goal just 65 seconds into the period. Freshman forward Tyson Gross (Calgary, Alberta) unloaded a one-timer from the left dot that caught the chest pad of Michigan's Jake Barczewski and up into the air, where Kupka was waiting. Kupka baseball-swung and hit the puck right out of the air and into the back of the net for the score.

SCSU then waited nearly the entire period to get its equalizing score, as it killed off a five-minute major and pulled its goalie with around 90 seconds left in the game to bring on an extra attacker. Then, with 15 seconds left on the clock, fifth-year captain Dylan Anhorn (Calgary, Alberta) made an incredible play to keep the puck in the offensive zone. After a deflection, Gross once again hammered a shot towards the net where fifth-year forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) and Kupka both had rebound chances. Kupka's attempt was able to deflect off two Wolverines and into the back of the net for the tying score with nine seconds left in regulation.

Following the scoreless overtime session, Miettinen and Kupka scored shootout goals, while Basse stopped two Wolverine attempts to clinch the shootout win.

TOP HUSKIES

Kupka scored twice, recording his fourth and fifth goals of the season to earn the first star of the game.
Miettinen scored his first career shorthanded goal and earned the second star of the game.
Gross recorded a pair of assists in the game, his first career game with multiple assists.

NOTES

With the tie, SCSU moves to 0-3-1 all-time against Michigan.
SCSU erased a three-goal deficit for the first time since a 4-3 OT win against Minnesota Duluth on March 4, 2023.
SCSU outshot its opponent for the 10^th time in 14 games this season, leading the shots on goal tally 39-30.
Kupka matched a career-best with his second career multi-goal game, matching his two-goal performance against Minnesota Duluth on March 3, 2023.
Miettinen's goal marked the first shorthanded goal of the season for the Huskies and his first career score down a man.
The Husky senior recorded his 10^th goal of the season, marking his fourth consecutive season with 10 or more goals in a season.
Miettinen becomes just the ninth Husky to record four consecutive seasons with 10 or more goals, joining Chris Scheid (1987-91), Tim Hanus (1988-92), Jeff Saterdalen (1988-92), Dave Paradise (1993-97), Jason Goulet (1995-99), Ryan Lasch (2006-10), Garrett Roe (2007-11) and Easton Brodzinski (five seasons, 2017-22).
Basse was solid in net, making 27 saves, the fifth time this season and 31^st time in his career he has made 25 or more saves.
Gross recorded two assists in the game to mark his first career game with multiple assists and his second game with multiple points.
The Miettinen brothers tallied points on the same goal for the second time this season, with Veeti Miettinen tallying the goal both times. The second period score marked the first time Verner Miettinen recorded the primary assist on his brother's score.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State will have next week off before traveling to (RV) Omaha for an NCHC series at Baxter Arena on Dec. 8-9. Both puck drops are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT on NCHC.tv.

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 2023-24 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.