Late Lead Slips Away in OT for No. 6 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey

Friday, February 17

Grand Forks, N.D.

7:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

18-9-2, 10-7-2

North Dakota

13-13-4, 7-10-2

OT 1

St. Cloud St.

North Dakota

Late Lead Slips Away in OT for No. 6 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey

2/17/2023 11:45:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Krannila scores two power play goals in OT loss to North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey let a two-goal lead in the third period slip away, falling in overtime to (RV) North Dakota, 4-3, on Friday night in Grand Forks, N.D. The Huskies scored three power play goals, including two from senior forward Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland) to take a 3-1 lead early in the third period, but allowed a pair of goals over the final 15 minutes of the regulation and one 86 seconds into overtime to lose the game.

TURNING POINT

The Huskies seemed to have all momentum, as they took a 3-1 lead 4:06 into the third period following a power play goal from junior forward Joe Molenaar (Minnetonka, Minn.). The two-goal lead wasn't enough, as Jake Schmaltz scored a power play goal just 1:30 after the Husky goal, and Riese Gaber scored an extra attacker goal with 1:27 remaining in regulation.

In the 3-on-3 extra period, Gaber struck again, scoring 1:26 into the overtime period to snag the 4-3 win for the Fighting Hawks.

TOP HUSKIES

Krannila remained hot for the Huskies, scoring a pair of goals, both on the power play, to bring his season total to 18.
Molenaar netted his second goal of the season with his third period power play tally.
Senior forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) had two assists in the game, lending helpers on both of Krannila's scores.

NOTES

Following the loss, St. Cloud State is now 48-80-16 all-time against UND and 19-41-8 in Grand Forks.
The Huskies went 3-of-7 on the power play against UND and raised their season average to 25.0 percent (30-of-120).
Krannila scored a pair of power play goals to lead the Husky offensive attack, raising his season totals to 18 goals, seven power play goals and 35 points, leading SCSU in each category.
The pair of goals marks the sixth time this season and 10^th time in his career he has found the back of the net twice.
Krannila's 16 goals and 27 points in conference play both lead the NCHC.
Molenaar netted his first power play goal of the season and second overall tally this season. It also marked his eighth career goal.
Okabe recorded a pair of assists in the game to move his season total to 29 points, a new career high.
A quartet of blue liners – graduate Brendan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn.), sophomore Josh Luedtke Minnetonka, Minn.), senior Spencer Meier (Sartell, Minn.) and sophomore Jack Peart (Grand Rapids, Minn.) – recorded single assists in the game.
Bushy's assist matched his career high mark of seven from 2020-21 while setting a new career high with nine points, surpassing his mark of eight in 2020-21.
Luedtke's helper gave him a career-high seven on the season, surpassing his mark of six from his freshman campaign (2021-22).

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State and North Dakota will finish the series on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. The game will be televised on Midco Sports, streamed on NCHC.tv and on the radio on KNSI.

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 2022-23 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.