Power Play Onslaught Lifts No. 9 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey over Omaha 5-2

Saturday, December 7

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

10-5-0, 4-2-0

Omaha

6-8-0, 4-4-0

Omaha

St. Cloud St.

Power Play Onslaught Lifts No. 9 St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey over Omaha 5-2

12/8/2024 1:10:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Gross scores two goals for second consecutive night, Enright makes 27 saves in SCSU debut

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – One night after dropping the series opener in overtime, No. 9 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (10-5-0, 4-2-0 NCHC) bounced back in a big way, defeating Omaha (6-8-0, 4-4-0 NCHC), 5-2, on Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. SCSU utilized a four-goal second period and a perfect 3-for-3 night on the power play to secure the victory. Sophomore forward Tyson Gross (Calgary, Alberta) scored two goals for the second consecutive game to lead the charge offensively while fifth-year senior goaltender Gavin Enright (Farmington, Minn.) made 27 saves and earned the save in net in his SCSU debut.

Omaha opened up the scoring just 41 seconds into the game when Cam Mitchell forced a turnover in the Husky defensive zone, leaving him all alone to score the first shot on goal in the game. The Huskies then settled down after that point, with Enright making nine saves in the rest of the period.

SCSU first found the scoreboard early in the second period when freshman forward Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn.) continued his hot stretch with his team-leading eighth goal of the season at the 1:03 mark. The Husky freshman shot was a catch-and-release from above the right dot and went far side top shelf for the score. The goal was the first of three power play goals in the period for the Huskies and tied the score at 1-1. The game remaining tied for the next 12 minutes, but then a Huskies onslaught ensued over the next seven minutes with the Huskies scoring three times, including two more power play goals. The Huskies first took the lead with Gross' first goal of the night, as he was fed a pass from junior forward Adam Ingram (West St. Paul, Manitoba) in the front of the net. He spun and faced the net, and made a silky forehand, backhand move to beat the Maverick goaltender for the 2-1 lead.

Next up was senior forward Mason Salquist (Grand Forks, N.D.), who tipped in a shot from the point from freshman defenseman Colin Ralph (Maple Grove, Minn.) to double the Huskies lead to 3-1 at the 16:16 mark of the period. Finally, with just 21 seconds remaining in the second period, senior defenseman captain Josh Luedtke (Minnetonka, Minn.) joined in on the fun, scoring his second goal of the season with a laser from far away to pad SCSU's lead to 4-1.

Gross then added on to the lead in the third period, scoring his fourth goal of the weekend at the 4:10 mark. Omaha added a goal a little more than halfway through the period to make the score 5-2.

TOP HUSKIES

Gross scored twice for the second consecutive game, bringing his season total to six goals.
Burnevik and Luedtke each had two points with a goal and assist each.
Enright made 27 saves in his Husky debut.

NOTES

With the win, SCSU moves to 30-18-4 all-time against Omaha and 18-8-2 against the Mavericks in St. Cloud.
SCSU's five goals, three power play goals and 43 shots on goal were all season-highs.
SCSU's 3-for-3 night on the man advantage raised its power play percentage from 13.2 percent to 19.5 percent (8-of-41).
SCSU turned away both Maverick power play chances, raising its penalty kill percentage to 90.7 percent (39-of-43).
Gross scored two goals for the second consecutive night, giving him four goals on the weekend and six on the season.
His four-goal series is the most by a Husky in a series since Nolan Walker had four goals in one game against Miami on Jan. 23, 2021, and is the first back-to-back two-goal game by a Husky since Kale Kossila on Dec. 11-12, 2015, at Denver (two goals, three goals).
Burnevik continues to rank among the best freshmen in the nation, moving to third in goals with eight and eighth in points with 14. His two-point game was his fourth multi-point game of the season.
Luedtke had his first two-point game of the season and sixth of his career with a goal and assist.
Ingram recorded the first two points of the season with a pair of assists. It also marked his 12^th career multi-point game.
Enright made 27 saves in his Husky debut, marking the 16^th time in his career he has made 25 or more saves.

HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

St. Cloud State will next travel to No. 16/17 North Dakota for a top-20 conference series on Dec. 13-14 at Raplh Engelstad Arena.

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.