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Friday, March 10
St. Cloud, Minn.
7:30 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
vs
Minnesota Duluth
No. 8 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey and Minnesota Duluth Meet Again for NCHC Quarterfinals
3/9/2023 5:48:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies and Bulldogs will play best-of-three series March 10-12 at Brooks Center
No. 8 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. MINNESOTA DULUTH |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OPPONENT |
LOCATION |
DAY |
TIME (CT) |
TV / STREAM |
RADIO |
STATS |
GAME NOTES |
| Minnesota Duluth | St. Cloud, Minn. | Friday, March 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Fox 9 + /Â NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | SCSU Notes |
| Minnesota Duluth | St. Cloud, Minn. | Saturday, March 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + /Â NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | UMDÂ Notes |
| Minnesota Duluth | St. Cloud, Minn. | Sunday, March 12 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + /Â NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | |
THE MATCHUP
- For the second time in as many seasons in the NCHC Quarterfinals and the second time in as many weekends, No. 8 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will host Minnesota Duluth at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The NCHC Quarterfinals, a best two-of-three series, is scheduled to take place March 10-12, with a start time of 7:30 p.m. CT on Friday, and 6:00 p.m. CT on Saturday and Sunday (if necessary). All three games of the series will be televised on Fox 9 + and streamed on NCHC.tv with Jim Rich and Geno Parrish on the call, while Husky Hockey veteran Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will have the radio call on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM). Following a split last weekend against the Bulldogs, the Huskies check in at No. 8 in the DCU / USCHO Poll and No. 7 in the USA Hockey / USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs, who began the season ranked No. 5 in both polls, have fallen completely out of the top-20.
SERIES HISTORY
- In addition to being one of the longest withstanding rivalries of the Division-I era for St. Cloud State, the Huskies and Bulldogs have gotten to known each other quite well over the last two seasons. In just over one calendar year (Feb. 8, 2022), the two programs have squared up 10 times already, and that number could rise to potentially 13 times in the span of 377 days if this weekend's series goes three games. UMD has seem to have SCSU's number as of late, with a 6-2-2 record over the past two seasons. Last season, St. Cloud State clinched home ice in the NCHC Tournament with a win at Amsoil Arena on the final night of the regular season (2-0, March 5), before Minnesota Duluth rebounded with a sweep in the NCHC Quarterfinals series at the Brooks Center, winning 5-2 and 4-3 (OT) on March 11-12. Overall, the Huskies lead the current series between the two programs at 79-62-11, including a decisive 42-28-7 mark in St. Cloud. All but eight of the teams' 150 matchups have come since January 1989 when St. Cloud State became a Division-I program, with those other eight contests coming between the 1946-47 and 1952-53 seasons.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES
- Last weekend, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth traded 4-3 results at the Brooks Center. The Bulldogs were able to grab the victory on night one before the Huskies erased a three-goal deficit on Saturday to complete a comeback and win 4-3 on senior night. Senior forward Kyler Kupka led the Huskies offense on the weekend, scoring four points following a two-goal performance and assists on the game-tying and game-winning goals on Saturday. In the game two victory, junior forward Veeti Miettinen scored twice, while senior forward Zach Okabe scored the game-winning goal in overtime to seal the victory.
FASTEST TO 100
- Head Coach Brett Larson earned his 100th career victory in St. Cloud State's 6-2 win over Omaha on Feb. 24, becoming the fastest to 100 wins in program history. Larson reach the mark in 172 games, surpassing Bob Motzko (276-192-49, 2005-18), who reached win 100 in his 191st game and Craig Dahl (338-309-52, 1987-2005), who reached the milestone in game 241. Only one Husky coach reached 100 wins prior to becoming a D-I program, as Charlie Basch (181-193-7, 1968-84) reached his 100th win in his 215th game.
- Larson has continued to elevate the SCSU program while at the helm, as he has guided the Huskies to three NCAA Tournament appearances, a NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 2021 and an NCHC Penrose championship in 2019. He is the only SCSU coach to lead the program to NCAA Tournaments in the first three seasons a tournament has been played (no tournament in 2020 due to pandemic).
ALL-NCHC HUSKIES
- St. Cloud State was well represented in the postseason award announcements from the NCHC, which were announced following the conclusion of the regular season. Senior forward Jami Krannila led the way for the Huskies, being named to the All-NCHC First Team while being named a finalist for the Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and the Defensive Forward of the Year awards. Sophomore defenseman Jack Peart found his way to conference recognition for the first time, earning Second Team honors while also being named a finalist for the Offensive Defenseman of the Year. Senior forward Zach Okabe and senior defenseman Dylan Anhorn earned All-NCHC Honorable Mention honors, while senior forward Micah Miller was named a finalist for the Defensive Forward of the Year and senior defenseman Spencer Meier was named a finalist for the Sportsmanship Award.
- Since the conference's inception in 2013-14, St. Cloud State have now earned 56 all-conference honors, while its four honorees are the most since having eight in 2018-19. All four Huskies earned All-NCHC honors for the first time, while Anhorn earned all-conference honors for the second time after being named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team in 2019-20. Krannila is the 11th Husky to be named to the First Team, while Peart's Second Team nod is the 12th in program history.
- Krannila has made the most of his senior campaign, leading the Huskies offense in points while being named a Hobey Baker nominee, the NCHC January Player of the Month and reaching the 100-point club. Through 34 games this season, Krannila has already produced career-best marks of 19 goals, 18 assists and 37 points with an outstanding +20 mark on the ice. Among national leaders, Krannila ranks 12th in goals (19), 14th in power play goals (seven), 17th in points (37) and 20th in plus/minus (+20). In the NCHC, Krannila ranks fourth in goals (19) and fifth in points (37) while leading the league in goals (17) and ranking second in points (29) in conference only games. For his career, Krannila has produced 104 points (50 goals / 54 assists) with a +28 mark on the ice, 14 power play goals and six game-winning goals in 136 games played.
- Peart earned all-conference honors for the first time in his career with his second team recognition. He has continued to elevate his game in his second season on the ice for the Huskies, producing 23 points (two goals / 21 assists) with a +13 mark in the ice and 34 blocks. Peart has played especially well in conference play, leading all NCHC blue liners in assists (18) while ranking second in points (20). The Minnesota Wild draft pick has been crucial on the power play this season, leading the team with 11 assists on the man advantage.
- In his first season in with the Huskies, Anhorn was nothing short of spectacular before suffering a season-ending injury on Jan. 21. The Calgary, Alberta native led all NCAA blue liners with 25 points (five goals / 20 assists) at the time of his injury and produced a +15 mark on the ice. He played a key role on special teams for SCSU, quarterbacking the top power play unit and adding key minutes on the penalty kill unit. His 12 points on the power play (one goal / 11 assists) still rank third on the team. Despite missing the final 11 games of the regular season, Anhorn still ranks among the team's leaders in numerous statistical categories, including second in assists (20), third in plus/minus (+15) and fifth in points (25). For his career, Anhorn has played in 86 games, registering 61 points (18 goals / 43 assists) with four power play goals and a +18 mark on the ice. His 20 assists, 25 points and +15 mark this season are all career highs.
- Okabe has had a banner season in his fourth campaign donning the black and red, setting career highs in points (32), goals (16), plus/minus (+15) and game-winning goals (four). His play in conference play contributed to the Huskies clinching home ice for the fourth time in the last five seasons, as he ranks second in game-winning goals (three), fifth in points (25) and eighth in goals (12) in conference games only. Among team leaders, Okabe's 32 points rank second while his 16 goals rank third.
NCHC INDIVIDUAL AWARD FINALISTS
- St. Cloud State had four student-athletes named finalists for five NCHC year-end awards. After being named to the All-NCHC First Team, senior forward Jami Krannila was named a finalist for a team-high three awards, as he is up for the Player of the Year, Forward of the Year and the Defensive Forward of the Year. Sophomore defenseman Jack Peart was named a finalist for the Offensive Defenseman of the Year, while senior forward Micah Miller is a finalist for the Defensive Forward of the Year and senior defenseman Spencer Meier is a finalist for the Sportsmanship Award.
- The winners of the year-end awards will be announced at the NCHC Awards Celebration, which will take place on the eve of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, Thursday, March 16 in St. Paul, Minn.
- SCSU has had prior winners in each category it was named a finalist in for 2022-23. Earning Player of the Year honors was Ethan Prow in 2015-16 and Jimmy Schuldt in 2018-19, while Patrick Newell was named Forward of the Year in 2018-19. In addition to player of the year, Prow was named the Offensive Defenseman of the Year in 2015-16, while Nic Dowd took home Defensive Forward of the Year honors in 2013-14. Three Huskies have received the Sportsmanship Award, as Nick Oliver (2014-15), Patrick Newell (2018-19) and Kevin Fitzgerald (2020-21) all took home the honor.
- For the second straight season, Miller has been a vital member of the SCSU defensive game plan, as he is known as a game-stopper for the opposing team's top forwards and routinely plays a high amount of penalty kill minutes. The Huskies have ranked in the nation's top-10 in scoring defense for the large majority of the season and its eight shorthanded goals rank second in the NCAA. Miller's shorthanded goal on Nov. 11 against Western Michigan was the fifth of this career, a mark which ranks seventh all-time in program history. Last season, Miller led all skaters in the NCAA with four shorthanded goals. In 164 career games, a mark which ranks fourth all-time in program history, Miller has recorded 66 points (26 goals / 40 assists) with a +32 mark on the ice and five shorthanded goals.
- The second-ever three-time captain in program history, Meier has made quite the mark on the Husky program in his time in St. Cloud. His impact extends much farther than his play on the ice, as he an established figure in his hometown community of central Minnesota (St. Cloud / Sartell). Meier volunteers his time to skate with youth hockey programs whenever his schedule allows, and routinely skates with the Minnesota Wild special hockey program on Sundays. Meier continuously shows his support for other Husky teams at their sporting events and is always the first one willing to interact with fans. This past summer, Meier had near 100 young hockey players attend his own hockey camp in his hometown of Sartell.
- On the ice, Meier has played in 164 career games, registering 62 points (17 goals / 45 assists) with a +11 mark on the ice, 12 power play goals and 157 blocks. In the classroom, Meier graduated with a degree in Business Finance in May 2022 and is currently taking classes towards an Elementary Education degree while maintaining a 3.4 GPA. He has earned five Academic All-NCHC honors, earning the distinction every year of his tenure with the Huskies (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23).
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