No. 6 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Finishes Comeback over Minnesota Duluth on Senior Night

Saturday, March 4

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

20-11-3, 12-9-3

Minnesota Duluth

15-18-1, 10-14-0

OT 1

Minn. Duluth

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Bill Prout

No. 6 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Finishes Comeback over Minnesota Duluth on Senior Night

3/5/2023 2:17:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Okabe scores game-winner in overtime to complete three-goal comeback victory

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – No. 6 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (20-11-3, 12-9-3 NCHC) scored four unanswered goals to defeat Minnesota Duluth (15-18-1, 10-14-0 NCHC), 4-3, in overtime on Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Senior forward Zach Okabe (Okotoks, Alberta) scored the overtime winner with 16 seconds remaining in the extra frame to complete the three-goal comeback for the Huskies.

The win came on Senior night for the Huskies, as the program honored senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn (Calgary, Alberta), senior forward Chase Brand (Park Rapids, Minn.), senior goalie Jaxon Castor (Phoenix, Ariz.), senior forward Grant Cruikshank (Delafield, Wis.), senior forward Jami Krannila (Nokia, Finland), senior forward Kyler Kupka (Camrose, Alberta), Okabe and senior defenseman Ondrej Trejbal (Hamry nad Sazavou, Czech Republic) following the game.

TURNING POINT

Even though St. Cloud State outshot Minnesota Duluth 6-2 in the game's first five minutes, the Bulldogs were able to find the net three times in the first period to jump out to a 3-0 lead. The Huskies came out of the locker room determined to get back in the game in the second period, as junior forward Veeti Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) seemingly willed SCSU back to life, scoring back-to-back goals in the first five minutes of the period to make the score 3-2.

Early in the third period, the Husky power kill came up clutch, as senior forward Aidan Spellacy (Lakewood, Ohio) and Kupka created a shorthanded opportunity that netted a goal to tie the game at 3-3. Spellacy's pass from the back of the net tipped off Kupka's stick, then went straight to senior defenseman Brendan Bushy's (Thief River Falls, Minn.) near the blue line, who sent a wrist shot past the Bulldog goalie for the game-tying score.

In the overtime frame, Kupka and Okabe played hero for the Huskies. With under 30 seconds remaining, Kupka skated the puck from the center line all the way behind the goalie before floating a pass back to the crease to Okabe, who one-timed a shot top shelf for the game-winning goal with 14 seconds left, completing the SCSU comeback with its fourth consecutive goal.

TOP HUSKIES

Okabe's game-winning goal was his 16^th of the season and earned him the first star for the game.
Miettinen scored his ninth and 10^th goals of the game to earn the second star.
Bushy was all over the ice in the victory, scoring the game-tying goal and adding an assist on the game-winning goal for a two-point night.

NOTES

Following the win, St. Cloud State improved to 79-62-11 against Minnesota Duluth and 42-28-7 against the Bulldogs in St. Cloud.
The win was the Huskies' 20^th of the season, marking the 17^th time in 36 Division-I season St. Cloud State has reached 20 wins.
Miettinen scored multiple goals in a game for the first time this season and the fifth time in his career. The Husky junior's pair of goals gives him 10 on the season, marking the third consecutive season he has scored 10 or more goals. He now has a career-high 30 points on the season.
Okabe netted his 16^th goal of the season and 40^th goal of his career, as well as his 32^nd point of the season and 91^st of his career.
His game-winning goal moved him into a tie with Miettinen for the team-lead with four game-winning goals.
Bushy had a goal and assist for two points to match a career-high with two points, hitting the mark for the fourth time in his career.
Kupka continued his impressive weekend, following up a two-goal performance on Friday with a two-assist performance in Saturday's comeback victory. Kupka matched a career-best with his 13 assists, while recording his 50^th career point.
Adding one assist each in the game was Spellacy, senior forward Grant Cruikshank (Delafield, Wis.) and freshman defenseman Cooper Wylie (Stillwater, Minn.).
Junior goalie Dominic Basse (Alexandria, Va.) made 20 assists in the game, marking the 12^th time this season and 41^st time in his career he has made 20+ saves.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State closed the regular season and will now be the No. 4 seed in the NCHC Quarterfinals, as the Huskies will host Minnesota Duluth March 10-12 at the Brooks Center.

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.