Miller Nets Two in No. 8 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey’s Win over UMD

Friday, March 10

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

21-11-3

Minnesota Duluth

15-19-1

Minn. Duluth

St. Cloud St.

Miller Nets Two in No. 8 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey’s Win over UMD

3/11/2023 1:34:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

The win gives SCSU the advantage in best-of-three series

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 8/7 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (21-11-3, 12-9-3 NCHC) utilized staunch defense and timely goal scoring to beat Minnesota Duluth (15-19-1, 10-14-0 NCHC), 3-1, on Friday evening at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The win gave the Huskies a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three NCHC quarterfinals series against the Bulldogs. Senior forward Micah Miller (Grand Rapids, Minn.) scored the go-ahead and game-clinching goals for SCSU to record his first career multi-goal game, while junior goalie Dominic Basse (Alexandria, Va.) stopped 24 of 25 shots in the victory.

TURNING POINT

Unlike the previous four games against the Bulldogs, the Huskies found the back of the net first in this contest, as sophomore defenseman Josh Luedtke (Minnetonka, Minn.) intercepted an errant UMD pass, skated around a couple defenders, and finished a backhand shot just 3:22 in to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. All season, the Huskies have proven to be really hard to beat when they score first, as they improve to 17-2-1 when scoring first.

After UMD evened the score with a power play goal in the second period, the Huskies responded with a goal of their own near the end of the period to take the lead for the second time in the game. Senior defenseman Ondrej Trejbal (Hamry nad Sazavou, Czech Republic) sent a pass to the front of the net where he found a streaking Miller, who got his stick on the puck and deflected it into the net for a 2-1 lead. Miller would add an empty net goal with 1:27 left in the game to seal the victory at 3-1.

TOP HUSKIES

Miller scored two goals and was named the first star of the game.
Luedtke had the game's first goal to earn the second star of the game.
Basse made 24 saves between the pipes for SCSU and was named the third star of the game.

NOTES

With the win, St. Cloud State fell to 80-62-11 against Minnesota Duluth and 43-28-7 against the Bulldogs in St. Cloud.
The Huskies improve to 13-3-2 at home, 17-2-1 when scoring first and 17-1-2 when leading after two periods.
Miller scored his third and fourth goals of the season while recording his first career multi-goal game. He now has 28 career goals and 68 career points to his name.
It marked the first time Miller has found the back of the net since Nov. 11 against Western Michigan.
Luedtke scored his second goal of the season and his fifth career goal with his first period score. His goal was his first since scoring at Colorado College on Nov. 19.
Trejbal had the primary assist on Miller's first goal, increasing his career high mark to 11 assists this season.
Graduate forward Aidan Spellacy (Lakewood, Ohio) and graduate defenseman Brendan Bushy (Thief River Falls, Minn.) added single assists in the game. Bushy's assist was his eight, marking a new career high for a season.
Basse made 24 saves in the game, marking the 13^th time this season and 42^nd time in his career he has made at least 20 saves in a game.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

The two teams will return for the second game of the quarterfinal series on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT at the Brooks Center on Fox 9 + and 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.