No. 9 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts Omaha in NCHC Tilt

THE MATCHUP

No. 9 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey returns home for its lone home conference series in the month of December when the Huskies host Omaha on Dec. 6-7 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Friday's start time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT, while Saturday's start is slated for 6:00 p.m. CT. Both game's will be televised on Fox 9 + and streamed on NCHC.tv with Jim Erickson, Geno Parrish and Olivia Stephes on the call. On the radio, Nick Maxson and Dave Reichel will have the call on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM).
The Huskies are coming off a split with then-No. 7/8 Colorado College two weekends ago, winning 3-2 on Friday before a 1-0 overtime setback on Saturday. SCSU's win over the Tigers was its second top-10 road win of the season. Omaha is coming off a home sweep of Miami, outscoring the RedHawks 11-1 in the series to secure six points.

GOING POLLING

After beginning the season at No. 16, St. Cloud State returned to the top-10 for the second time this season, reaching its highest rank of the season at No. 9 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey / The Rink Live top-20 polls. Omaha has spent some time in the top-20 this season but enters the series on the outside looking in.

SERIES HISTORY

The Huskies and Mavericks will take the ice for the 49^th and 50^th times this weekend, with the Huskies holding a 29-17-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. SCSU will be looking to turn its luck around against Omaha, as the Mavericks are 5-3-2 against the Huskies in the last 10 meetings. Last season, the Huskies went 1-1-2 against Omaha as both teams captured six conference points. In a series in Omaha on Dec. 8-9, 2023, the Huskies won 4-1 on Friday before a 2-2 tie and shootout win for the Mavericks on Saturday. Redshirt senior forward Ryan Rosborough recorded his first career goal with the game-winner on Friday, while sophomore forward Barrett Hall had two assists. Back home on Jan. 26-27, Omaha won a barn-burner 7-6 in overtime on Friday before a 1-1 tie and shootout win for Omaha on Saturday.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES

In its last time out, the Huskies earned a road split with No. 7/8 Colorado College on Nov. 22-23. The Huskies opened the series with a 3-2 win on Friday as its power play unit broke out of a slump and scored twice on the man advantage to lead the way. Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen got the scoring started on the power play while freshman forward Austin Burnevik's second-period tally proved to be the game-winner in the second period. Sophomore goaltender Isak Posch was outstanding in net for the Huskies, making 25 saves while his two goals allowed did not come in even-strength situations (ppg, ea). On Saturday, Posch and CC goalie Kaidan Mbereko provided a goaltenders duel, as the game went to overtime scoreless before the Tigers netted an overtime score to take the rematch.

LED BY POSCH

Sophomore goaltender Isak Posch has quickly taken over the starting spot and made a name for himself this season, earning a league-best three NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors and the October NCHC Goaltender of the Month nod. Posch has started all 13 games this season, posting a 9-4-0 mark with a 1.68 goals-against-average, .938 save percentage and two shutouts. His shutouts rank fifth in the NCAA, while his GAA and S% are both top-15. In CollegeHockeyNews' Hobey Baker tracking system College Hockey Individual Point (CHIP) Rating, Posch currently ranks eighth. The Husky netminder earned his third NCHC weekly honor in the Huskies last time out, made 59 saves on the weekend, posting a 1.45 GAA and .952 S% in a split at No. 7/8 Colorado College. Of the three goals he allowed in the series, none came in 5-on-5 situations (PPG, EA, OT). The Husky netminder made 25 saves in a 3-2 win on Friday, only allowing a power play goal and extra attacker goal in the victory.

NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 3-2 win at Colorado College (11-22-24)
- With the win, SCSU improves to 67-52-9 all-time against Colorado College and 39-25-3 against the Tigers in Colorado Springs. The Huskies are also now 6-1-0 in Ed Robson Arena.
- SCSU improved to 8-1-0 on the season when scoring first, 7-1 in one-goal games and 3-0-0 when scoring on the power play.
- The Huskies went 2-of-3 on the man advantage to improve to 14.3 percent (5-of-35) on the season.
- Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen's first period power play goal ended a streak of 16 consecutive power plays without score.
- Sophomore goaltender Isak Posch made 25 saves in the game, marking the seventh time this season he has made 25 or more saves. He has also allowed two or fewer goals in nine of 12 games this season.
- Freshman forward Austin Burnevik's hot start to his freshman campaign continues with his seventh goal of the season, moving back up to third in the NCAA in freshmen goals. His second period tally was his second power play goal and first career game-winning goal.
- Miettinen recorded his second goal and first power play tally of the season.
- Sophomore forward Tyson Gross found the back of the net for the second time this season and ninth time in his career.
- Sophomore forward Barrett Hall recorded his team-leading 10th assist of the season. He is one of six NCHC skaters to record 10 or more assists this season.
- Senior defenseman Josh Luedtke's assist on Miettinen's goal was his first of the season and 28th of his career.
GAME 2 - 1-0 OT loss at Colorado College (11-23-24)
- With the loss, SCSU moves to 67-53-9 all-time against Colorado College and 39-26-3 against the Tigers in Colorado Springs.
- SCSU moved to 7-2 in one-goal games and 1-1-0 in overtime games.
- The Huskies recorded a season-high 27 blocks in the game, surpassing its previous best of 19 blocks at Michigan (Oct. 19).
- Sophomore goaltender Isak Posch made 34 saves, matching his season-best from his season-opening performance against St. Thomas (Oct. 6) and marking the ninth time in his career he has made 30 or more saves in a game.
- Posch allowed one or fewer goals for the fourth time this season and 11th time in his career.
- Senior defenseman Karl Falk, sophomore forward Tyson Gross and senior defenseman Josh Luedtke all set career-highs in blocks at five, four and four, respectively.

FRESHMAN PHENOM

Freshman forward Austin Burnevik is off to a scorching hot start to his collegiate season, recording a team-best seven goals and five assists for a team-high 12 points through 13 games. The Ham Lake native has scored two goals twice already this season, and has twice been named the NCHC Rookie of the Week.
Among NCAA freshmen, Burnevik's seven goals rank fourth while his 12 points rank eighth. His seven goals through 13 games are the most by a SCSU freshman since 2020-21 NCHC Freshman of the Year Veeti Miettinen had seven.

FACEOFF KINGS

St. Cloud State's centers have fared well in the faceoff dot early on in the season, helping the Huskies gain possession of the puck and control play. As a team, SCSU has produced a 54.6 percent mark (ranked seventh in NCAA) in the dot (412-343), with each of its top-three faceoff specialist's marks above 55 percent.
Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen has been lights out in the faceoff dot through seven games this season, producing an incredible 61.3 percent mark in the circle (122-77), with his 122 wins ranking in the top-10 in the NCHC. Miettinen set a career-best with 20 wins in the circle against Bemidji State (20-6, Oct. 12), shattering his previous career high mark of 12 set twice, last on March 8, 2024, against Minnesota Duluth.
Sophomore forward Tyson Gross is 57.4 percent in the circle this season (109-81) and had a season-best 14 wins (14-6 against Boston College on Nov. 2.
Senior forward Mason Salquist has won 10 or more faceoffs in a team-leading six games this season and is currently 55.1 percent (119-97) in the circle. He had a season-best 15 faceoff wins vs. Augustana (Oct. 26).

PENALTY KILLERS

St. Cloud State has produced an impressive 89.5 percent mark on the penalty kill this season, stopping 34 of 38 power play chances for its opponents this season.
SCSU's mark ranks second in the NCHC and seventh in the NCAA. Bemidji State (Oct. 12), Boston College (Nov. 1), Miami (Nov. 8) and Colorado College (Nov. 22) are the only teams to score on the man advantage this season against the Huskies.
The Huskies are 5-3-0 on the season when holding its opponent scoreless on the power play.