No. 14 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for Top-15 Road Series at No. 6 Denver

*No. 14 ST. CLOUD STATE at No. 6 DENVER*
*OPPONENT*	*LOCATION*	*DAY*	*TIME (CT)*	*TV / STREAM*	*RADIO*	*STATS*	*GAME NOTES*
#6 Denver	Magness Arena	Friday, Jan. 12	8:00 p.m.	CBS Sports Network	KNSI	Stats	SCSU Notes
#6 Denver	Magness Arena	Saturday, Jan. 13	7:00 p.m.	NCHC.tv	KNSI	Stats

THE MATCHUP

No. 14 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey returns to conference play with a top-15 road matchup at No. 6 Denver this weekend. The series will take place Jan. 12-13 at Magness Arena in Denver with CBS Sports Network carrying the Friday tilt at 8:00 p.m. CT and will close with a 7:00 p.m. CT puck drop Saturday on NCHC.tv. On the radio, Husky Hockey veteran Jim Erickson will have the call over the airwaves on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM).
St. Cloud State enters the weekend ranked No. 14 in both the USCHO Top-20 Poll and USA Today / The Rink Live top-20 polls while Denver checks in at No. 6 in both polls.

SERIES HISTORY

Ever since St. Cloud State moved to Division-I ahead of the 1987-88 season, the Huskies and Pioneers have had a long-standing rivalry, meeting 114 times since November 1988. The all-time series is a close one between the two programs, as Denver holds a slight advantage at 55-53-6.
Last season, the Huskies and Pioneers split a series in Denver, with the Huskies winning 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 4 before a 3-2 Denver win on Saturday. The win snapped an eight-game losing streak at Magness Arena for the Huskies, who had not beaten Denver on the road since the 2015-16 season. When the two teams met in St. Cloud, the Huskies swept the No. 3-ranked Pioneers, 7-3 and 2-0 on Jan. 20-21, leading to the Huskies elevation to No. 1 in the nation following the sweep.
In Denver alone, SCSU is 25-33-2.

A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST SERIES

SCSU returns after a break last week following a home-and-home sweep over Bemdji State, winning 6-1 and 6-1 both nights, first in Bemidji on Dec. 29 and then back in St. Cloud on Dec. 31. The Huskies' offensive outburst was well spread out, as six different Huskies scored in each game with sophomore forward Adam Ingram and redshirt sophomore forward Ryan Rosborough being the only ones to find of the back of the net twice on the weekend. On the scoresheet, 11 Huskies scored a point on Friday followed by 14 on Saturday night. The Huskies penalty kill was superb once again, killing off all five Beaver power play attempts while freshman goaltender Isak Posch recorded his first career victory in goal on Saturday.

GOLD MEDALIST COACHES SQUARE OFF

Head Coach Brett Larson returns to the bench for the Huskies after missing the Bemidji State series due to being with Team USA as an assistant coach at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden. Larson teamed up with Denver head coach David Carle, who served as the head coach for the Americans and led the team to a gold medal at the championship, its first World Juniors title since 2017.
It was the fourth time Larson represented Team USA after previously serving an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2022 Olympics and 2020 World Junior Championship. Larson also manned the bench as head coach for the U.S. Junior Select Team that won the 2012 World Junior A Challenge.

BEST CONFERENCE START IN PROGRAM HISTORY

St. Cloud State has jumped out to an early lead in the chase for the NCHC Spencer Penrose Cup, as the Huskies have remained unbeaten through eight conference games with a 7-0-1 mark. The Huskies start to conference play is its best start to conference season in program history, surpassing its mark of 7-1-0 in the 2001-02 WCHA season. SCSU's 22 points is four points ahead of second-place No. 4 North Dakota's 18 points (5-3-0), eight points clear of No. 10 Western Michigan's 14 points (4-4-0) and nine ahead of No. 6 Denver's 13 points (5-3-0).
In the 10-year history of the NCHC, the average point total of the regular season conference champion has been 55 points. To reach that mark, SCSU would need to average 2.06 points per game in its final 16 conference games. SCSU has captured the Penrose three times as a member of the NCHC, winning the title in 2013-14 (48 points), 2017-18 (53 points) and 2018-19 (62 points). SCSU's 62 points and 19 victories in 2018-19 still stands as a league-record point and victory total for a regular season conference champion.

GAME NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 6-1 win over Bemidji State (12-29-23 in Bemidji, Minn.)
- SCSU scored three first period goals, matching its season-best for goals in the opening period from its 4-1 win over Alaska Fairbanks on Oct. 20. The Huskies also scored three goals in each of the second and third periods in a 6-0 over Miami on Nov. 4, and in the third period of a 6-5 win over Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 18.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen scored his 11th goal of the season and 44th of his career with his score in the first minute of the game and later added his fifth assist of the season and 55th of his career. Miettinen's two-point game was his fifth of the season and the 25th of his career.
- Sophomore forward Adam Ingram scored his fourth goal of the season with his first power play goal of the season while adding an assist to reach 10 assists this season. Ingram's two points matched a season-best and is his ninth career two-point game.
- Freshman defenseman Cooper Wylie scored his first goal of the season and third of his career with his first period score while adding an assist for his first career two-point game.
- Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn scored his third goal of the season and recorded his 12th assist for his fourth two-point game of the season and 18th of his career.
- Senior goaltender Dominic Basse made 21 saves to earn his 10th victory of the season as he has now record 10+ wins in back-to-back seasons. The Husky senior will match a career-best with his next victory.
- Redshirt sophomore forward Ryan Rosborough scored his second goal of the season when he scored the third goal of the first period for the Huskies.
- Junior defenseman Jack Peart's score was his second goal of the season and his seventh career goal.
GAME 2 - 6-1 win over Bemidji State (12-31-23 in St. Cloud, Minn.)
- SCSU improved to 9-3-1 when scoring first, 9-0-0 when leading after two periods, 8-3-1 when outshooting its opponent and 9-2-1 when its opponent fails to score on the power play.
- The Huskies scored six goals for the second straight game and for the fourth-time this season, matching a season-high. St. Cloud State registered a season-best 44 shots on goal in the game.
- The Huskies killed off three penalties in the game to improve to 87.3 percent (55-of-63) on the penalty kill this season. SCSU has killed of 19 of its last 20 penalties in its last four games dating back to Nov. 24 against Michigan.
- SCSU had 14 skaters record a point in the game with only three – AuCoin, Ingram and Kupka – recording two points.
- Sophomore forward Ethan AuCoin scored his first goal of the season and second of his career while adding his first career assist for his first career two-point game.
- Sophomore forward Adam Ingram scored his fifth goal of the season with his second power play goal of the season while adding his 11th assist. Ingram's two points matched a season-best for the fourth time this season and is his 10th career two-point game.
- Fifth-year forward Kyler Kupka recorded his eighth goal of the season and eighth assist for his third game this season and 14th game of his career with two points.
- Freshman goaltender Isak Posch earned the first win of his collegiate career in his second career start, recording 27 saves and allowing only one goal.
- Freshman forward Barrett Hall recorded his fourth goal of the season and second power play goal with a third period score.

WYLIE NAMED NCHC D-MAN OF THE WEEK

Sophomore defenseman Cooper Wylie was named NCHC Defenseman of the Week after scoring his first three points of the season with a +5 mark on the ice and game-winning goal in a series sweep over Bemidji State (Dec. 29 & 31).
The Husky sophomore led the charge in the 6-1 road win in the series opener, scoring a goal and assist with a career-best +4 mark on the ice. Wylie scored an unassisted goal at the 5:26 mark of the first period, which turned out to be the game-winner, the first of his career. Wylie then added the secondary assist on the game-winning goal of Sunday's 6-1 win and had three shots on goal and a +1 mark on the ice.
The three points were the first three points of the season for Wylie, who has a +6 plus/minus and 11 blocks on the season.

PENALTY KILLERS

The Huskies have been especially strong on the penalty kill this season, killing off 55-of-63 penalties for a mark of 87.3 percent, which leads the NCHC and ranks fifth in the NCAA. A huge key to the Huskies quick start in conference play has been its ability to kill off penalties, as the Huskies are an impressive 92 percent (23-of-25) on kills in conference play.
SCSU is 9-2-1 and 5-0-1 in NCHC play when their opponent fails to score on the man advantage.
The Huskies killed off 13 consecutive penalties between Oct. 21 against Alaska and Nov. 17 against Minnesota Duluth and have currently killed off 19 of its last 20 penalties dating back to Nov. 24 against Michigan.
Senior forward Veeti Miettinen scored the Huskies first shorthanded goal of the season against Michigan (Nov. 25), helping spark a three-goal comeback to earn a tie and shootout win against the No. 14-ranked Wolverines.

MIETTINEN TAKES NEXT STEP, NEARS 100-POINT MILESTONE

Senior forward Veeti Miettinen has taken the next step in his game, recording 11 goals and 16 points with a +3 mark on the ice this season. Miettinen leads the Huskies in both goals (11) and points (16) while ranking seventh and 21st in the NCHC in those categories, respectively.
The Husky forward scored in six consecutive games between Oct. 20 and Nov. 11, the longest scoring streak by a Husky since Ryan Lasch produced the same mark in the 2007-08 season (Oct. 27 - Nov. 23, 2007).
Miettinen scored his 10th goal against Michigan on Nov. 25 to become just the ninth Husky to record four consecutive seasons with 10 or more goals. He joins Chris Scheid (1987-91), Tim Hanus (1988-92), Jeff Saterdalen (1988-92), Dave Paradise (1993-97), Jason Goulet (1995-99), Ryan Lasch (2006-10), Garrett Roe (2007-11) and Easton Brodzinski (five seasons, 2017-22) as the only Huskies to score 10+ goals in four seasons.
Miettinen has powered the Huskies power play unit through the first half of the season, scoring five of the team's 15 goals on the man advantage. The Husky senior's five power play goals ranks fourth in the NCHC and 15th nationally, while the SCSU's team mark of 20.5 percent (15-of-73) ranks fifth in the NCHC and 25th in the NCAA.
For his career, Miettinen is nearing the 100-point club as he currently has 44 goals and 56 assists for 99 points. When he reaches the 100-point mark, he would be the 39th member of SCSU's 100-point club and the second this season after fifth-year forward Zach Okabe joined the club on Nov. 18. His 11 career game-winning goals rank seventh all-time in program history, as he sits a four-way tie with Tim Hanus (1988-92), Garrett Roe (2007-11) and Joey Benik (2012-16).

BASSE STRONG IN NET

Senior goaltender Dominic Basse has solidified his spot as the mainstay in net for the Huskies through the first half of the season, as he has started 16 of 18 games this season. He has produced an 10-5-1 mark with a 2.14 goals-against average and .915 save percentage with three shutouts.
Basse is one of six to produce three or more shutouts this season, as he joins Ryan Bischel (Notre Dame), Freddie Halyk (Denver), Kyle McClellan (Wisconsin), Ludvig Persson (North Dakota) and TJ Semptimphelter (Arizona State).
The senior netminder has improved his career numbers drastically since transferring into St. Cloud. In two seasons with Colorado College, he produced a 3.21 GAA and .891 S%, but after 35 games with the Huskies, his career marks now stand at 2.75 GAA and .900 S%.
In SCSU games alone, Basse has produced a mark of 21-10-3 with 2.23 GAA and .913 S%. Among career records, his 2.23 GAA ranks second in program history while his .913 S% ranks seventh.

No. 14 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for Top-15 Road Series at No. 6 Denver

No. 14 ST. CLOUD STATE at No. 6 DENVER

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Ethan AuCoin

Dominic Basse

Barrett Hall

Adam Ingram

Kyler Kupka

Veeti Miettinen

Zach Okabe

Jack Peart

Isak Posch

Ryan Rosborough

Cooper Wylie

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

No. 14 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for Top-15 Road Series at No. 6 Denver

No. 14 ST. CLOUD STATE at No. 6 DENVER

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Ethan AuCoin

Dominic Basse

Barrett Hall

Adam Ingram

Kyler Kupka

Veeti Miettinen

Zach Okabe

Jack Peart

Isak Posch

Ryan Rosborough

Cooper Wylie

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