Freshmen Shine in No. 16/15 Huskies Win over Bemidji State

Friday, October 11

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

2-0-0

Bemidji State

1-1-0

Bemidji St.

St. Cloud St.

Photo by: Jason Soria

10/12/2024 2:07:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

Burnevik scores twice, Byfuglien nets game-winner, Posch makes 30 saves in 4-3 win

ST. CLOUD Minn. – No. 16/15 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (2-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) had three goals scored by two freshmen and a 30-save performance from sophomore goaltender Isak Posch (Umea, Sweden) to lead the Huskies to a 4-3 win over Bemidji State (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) on Friday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Freshman forward Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn.) scored the Huskies first two goals while freshman defenseman Thor Byfuglien (Roseau, Minn.) scored the game-winning goal in the third period.

Despite being outshot 12-5 in the opening period, the Huskies went into the locker room for the first intermission up 1-0 after Burnevik netted his first career collegiate goal with just 0:00.6 remaining on the clock. Sophomore forward Barrett Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Burnevik were leading a 2-on-2 rush with the clock quickly running out when Hall gave the puck back to Burnevik right above the right circle. Burnevik let a wrist shot fly and beat the goaltender glove side to light the lamp.

Bemidji State evened the score at 1-1 two minutes into the second period, but their lead wouldn't last for long. Burnevik's second goal of the game came from being in the right place at the right time, as Bemidji State turned the puck over in the defensive zone, passing the puck right to Burnevik's stick in the high slot, where he was all alone. The Husky freshman didn't waste any time firing a wrist shot past the Beaver goalie for a goal to make the score 2-1. Junior forward Ethan AuCoin (Calgary, Alberta) then doubled the SCSU lead just a couple minutes later with his first goal of the season. Sophomore forward Jack Reimann (Ham Lake, Minn.) started the play by winning a puck battle at center ice. He then fed sophomore forward Verner Miettinen (Espoo, Finland), who started a rush, drawing a defender near him before feeding AuCoin for a backdoor score. The Beavers wouldn't go away, however, scoring twice in a 34-second span to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the third period.

SCSU then grabbed the lead for good on Byfuglien's game-winning score 6:11 into the third period. Hall started the play by making a sauce pass over a defender's stick and right to Byfuglien, who was able to walk right towards the goalie with no resistance. He went front-hand, back-handed and roofed a shot past the goalie for the score that proved to be the game-winner. Posch was able to keep the Beavers from equalizing the score, making 13 saves in the final period to secure the victory.

TOP HUSKIES

Burnevik scored the first two goals of his career and earned the first star of the game.
Byfuglien's game-winning goal earned him the third star of the game.
Posch made 30 saves in net, his second consectutive game with 30 or more saves.

NOTES

With the win, the Huskies improve to 55-46-7 all-time against Bemidji State and 16-2-2 against the Beavers in St. Cloud since moving to Division-I (1986-87).
Burnevik scored the first and second collegiate goals of his career, recording his first career multi-goal of his career as well.
Burnevik became the first Husky to record his first two career goals in the same game since Zach Okabe scored his first four collegiate goals against Minnesota State on Dec. 28, 2019.
Byfuglien's score was his first career goal.
Posch's 30 saves marked the eighth time in his career he has recorded 30 or more saves.
Hall matched his career high with two assists, equaling his mark at Omaha on Dec. 8, 2023.
Miettinen had two assists in the game, the fifth time in his career he has had multiple assists.
The Huskies were dominate in the faceoff dot, winning 35 faceoffs while only losing 23 (60.3 percent). Miettinen won 13 faceoffs while senior forward Mason Salquist (Grand Forks, N.D.) won 12.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

PHOTOS

Gallery: (10-11-2024) MHK vs. Bemidji State (10-11-24)

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State and Bemidji State will finish its home-and-home series on Saturday in Bemidji. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT on MidCo Sports Plus and 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 2024-25 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.