No. 8/7 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Beats UMD, Advances to NCHC Frozen Faceoff

Sunday, March 12

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

22-12-3

Minnesota Duluth

16-20-1

Minn. Duluth

St. Cloud St.

No. 8/7 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Beats UMD, Advances to NCHC Frozen Faceoff

3/13/2023 1:08:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Castor’s 26 saves, Freshmen Wylie and Ingram score to clinch SCSU’s trip to St. Paul

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – In a winner take all third game of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Quarterfinals series, No. 8/7 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (22-12-3, 12-9-3 NCHC) beat Minnesota Duluth (16-20-1-10-14-0 NCHC), 3-1, on Sunday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn. A pair of freshmen led the offensive charge for the Huskies, as freshman defenseman Cooper Wylie (Stillwater, Minn.) and freshman forward Adam Ingram (West St. Paul, Manitoba) scored the first two goals of the night for the Huskies.

With the win, the Huskies advance to the 2023 NCHC Frozen Faceoff, its third trip to the NCHC semifinals in the last five seasons, but first trip back to the Xcel Energy Center for the event since 2019.

TURNING POINT

After a scoreless first period, the Huskies brought the energy in the game's second period, as the Huskies outshot the Bulldogs 21-11 while scoring all three goals in the game. The period didn't start on a great note, however, as Minnesota Duluth's Luke Loheit scored 38 seconds into the period to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.

After the brief setback, the Huskies responded soundly, as Wylie found the back of the net first, scoring on a wraparound goal at the 6:10 mark of the period to tie the score a 1-1. SCSU didn't wait long to grab the lead, as 14 Ingram grabbed control of the puck following a faceoff victory from sophomore forward Mason Salquist (Grand Forks, N.D.) and rifled a shot from the slot past the Bulldog goalie for a 2-1 lead.

The lead doubled just under six minutes later, as graduate forward Grant Cruikshank (Delafield, Wis.) followed a shot from freshman Grant Ahcan (Savage, Minn.) and hammered home a goal to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead at the 12:03 mark of the period.

TOP HUSKIES

Ingram's game-winning goal was his seventh goal of the season and earned him the first star of the game.
Salquist recorded two assists and was a spectacular 12-4 in the faceoff dot for the Huskies, earning the second star.
Senior goalie Jaxon Castor (Phoenix, Ariz.) made saves on 26 of 27 shot attempts and was named the third star.

NOTES

With the win, St. Cloud State improved to 81-63-11 against Minnesota Duluth and 44-29-7 against the Bulldogs in St. Cloud.
The Huskies improved to 18-1-2 when leading after two periods and finish the season 14-4-2 at the Brooks Center.
The Huskies controlled the game in nearly every facet, including shots on goal (32-27) and faceoffs (41-19)
Ingram netted his seventh goal and 21^st point of the season while recording his second game-winning goal.
Wylie scored his second goal of the season and recorded a season-best four blocks.
Cruikshank's score in the second period was his 21^st goal of the season, a mark which ranks sixth in the NCAA and is the most since Patrick Newell netted 21 in 2018-19.
Castor made 26 saves and only allowed one goal, marking the 10^th time this season and 14^th time in his career he has made 25 or more saves, as well as the sixth time this season and the 11^th time in his career he has allowed one or less goal in a game.
Salquist set a career-high with two assists in the game, assisting on Wylie and Ingram's goals. With seven points, he has now matched his career-best mark after scoring seven points last season (three goals / four assists).
Junior forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) recorded his 21^st assist and 31^st point of the season when he supplied the primary assist on Wylie's goal.
Senior forward Kyler Kupka (Camrose, Alberta) extended his career-best mark to 15 assists this season, while Ahcan registered his second assist of the season.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State will face North Dakota in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals on Friday, March 17 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Puck drop time will be announced on Monday, with the game being televised on CBS Sports Network and radio coverage 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.