No. 9 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Falters in Overtime Loss to No. 16/18 North Dakota

Saturday, December 14

Ralph Engelstad Arena | Grand Forks, N.D.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

10-7-0, 4-4-0

North Dakota

11-7-1, 6-2-0

OT 1

St. Cloud St.

North Dakota

Photo by: Russ Hons/UND Athletics

No. 9 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Falters in Overtime Loss to No. 16/18 North Dakota

12/15/2024 12:44:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies hold three leads but fall 4-3 in overtime

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 9 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (10-7-0, 4-4-0 NCHC) dropped an overtime thriller to No. 16/18 North Dakota (11-7-1, 6-2-0 NCHC), 4-3, on Saturday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. The Huskies held three separate leads but couldn't hold on to seal the victory in the end.

SCSU got the scoring started in the first period when junior forward Grant Ahcan (Savage, Minn.) finished a shorthanded breakaway at the 11:42 mark of the opening frame. The play was almost identical to a play that happened the night before, as Ahcan forced a turnover at the blue line and raced the other way on an alone breakaway. He used nearly the same move as the night prior, a forehand, backhand, forehand move executed to perfection for the score. SCSU held its lead at 1-0 heading into the first break.

North Dakota knotted up the score at 1-1 seven minutes into the second period when Jayden Perron snuck a breakaway shot nearside on Husky goaltender fifth-year senior Gavin Enright (Farmington, Minn.) It was the start of a three-goal second period as the two teams continued to trade goals. Both teams scored their only power play goals of the weekend next, with freshman forward Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn.) scoring at the 16:06 mark for the Huskies while Abram Wiebe scored for the Fighting Hawks at 18:06 to make the score 2-2 after 40 minutes.

SCSU seemed to grab momentum early in the third period when Burnevik and sophomore forward Barrett Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) teamed up again, finishing a 2-on-1 break just 98 seconds into the final period to take a 3-2 lead. The lead didn't last for long, however, as UND's Sacha Boisvert scored at the 7:56 mark of the period to tie the game, setting up for an overtime goal from Jake Schmaltz to finish the game 4-3 in favor of the Fighting Hawks.

TOP HUSKIES

Hall and Burnevik each had a goal and assist for two points to lead the team offensively.
Enright made his third consecutive start in net and made a season-high 34 saves.
Ahcan scored his second shorthanded goal of the season and fourth goal overall.

NOTES

With the loss, SCSU moves to 49-83-18 all-time against North Dakota and 19-43-9 in Grand Forks.
The Huskies converted 1-of-2 chances on the power play to move to 19.1 percent (9-of-47) on the season while turning away 3-of-4 power play chances for UND to move to 90 percent (45-of-50) on the season.
Burnevik scored a goal and assist for two points, his fifth game this season with multiple points while keeping the team lead with 16 points.
Hall also scored a goal and assist for two points, marking this ninth game this season with an assist and fifth multiple point game. He holds the team lead in assists with 12.
Ahcan's shorthanded goal was his second this season and third of his career.
Enright made a season-high 34 saves, marking the first time this season and seventh time in his career he has made 30 or more saves.
Freshman forward Colin Ralph (Maple Grove, Minn.) had a season-best three blocks in the game.

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State will have the next two weeks off before a one-off home game against St. Thomas on Dec. 29. Puck drop from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center is slated for 4:00 p.m. CT on Fox 9 + and 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.