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Friday, February 23
St. Cloud, Minn.
7:00 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
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Western Michigan
Top-15 Teams St. Cloud State and Western Michigan Set to Clash at Brooks Center
2/22/2024 4:09:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Huskies and Broncos ready for crucial NCHC series late in the season
No. 15 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 13/12 WESTERN MICHIGAN |
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OPPONENT |
LOCATION |
DAY |
TIME (CT) |
TV / STREAM |
RADIO |
STATS |
GAME NOTES |
| Western Michigan | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center | Friday, Feb. 23 | 7:00 p.m. | CBS Sports Network | KNSI | Stats | SCSU Notes |
| Western Michigan | Herb Brooks National Hockey Center | Saturday, Feb. 24 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox 9 + /Â NCHC.tv | KNSI | Stats | WMU Notes |
WEEKEND PREVIEW
RINKSIDE
THE MATCHUP
- No. 15 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey returns home for its second-to-last series at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center this weekend as the Huskies host No. 13/12 Western Michigan on Feb. 23-24. The series begins Friday with a 7:00 p.m. CT puck drop on CBS Sports Network with Alex Heinert and Dave Starman on the call, then concludes with a 6:00 p.m. CT puck drop on Saturday on Fox 9 + with Jim Rich, Geno Parrish and Anna Behning on the call. Over the radio, the voice of the Huskies Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will have the call over the airwaves on KNSI. The six NCHC points on the line will be crucial in the final month of the regular season as both team and jostling for home ice advantage in the NCHC Quarterfinals and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies enter the weekend in second place in the NCHC with 36 points and No. 11 in the pairwise, while Western Michigan is fifth in the NCHC with 29 points and No. 10 in the pairwise. In the national polls, St. Cloud State is ranked No. 15 in both the USCHO poll and the USA Today / The Rink Live Top-20 polls, while the Broncos are ranked No. 13 in the USCHO poll and No. 12 in the USA Today / The Rink Live poll.Â
SERIES HISTORY
- The Huskies and Broncos will meet for the 41st and 42nd times this weekend, with the Huskies holding a 22-13-5 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. SCSU holds a slight advantage in the last 10 games at 5-4-1 since Feb. 2021. SCSU snapped a six-game slide in Kalamazoo earlier this season in a big way, as the Huskies swept Western Michigan 3-2 and 3-0 on Nov. 10-11. It marked the first win for the Huskies in Kalamazoo since March 2, 2019 and the first sweep for the Huskies at Lawson Arena since March 1-2, 2019. Last season, the two teams only played in St. Cloud, splitting a Nov. 11-12, 2022 series with a 4-2 Western Michigan on Friday before a 4-1 win from SCSU on Saturday. In games played in St. Cloud, SCSU is 12-6-2 all-time against the Broncos.
A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST SERIES
- St. Cloud State is coming off its bye week last week, but the week prior, the Huskies took care of business in a series sweep over Miami, winning 5-2 and 3-1 in Oxford, Ohio on Feb. 9-10. Five different Huskies scored in the first game, led by junior defenseman Jack Peart's three point night with a goal and two assists. Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn scored the game-winning goal in both contests, while fifth-year forward Zach Okabe scored for the seventh time in 11 games to reach 20 points for the fourth time in his career. Husky goaltenders split time in net, with senior goaltender Dominic Basse earning the win on Friday with 18 saves while freshman goaltender Isak Posch had 21 saves in Saturday's win.Â
ANHORN HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME
- Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn is starting to heat up at the right time of the season, and took home the NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors in the Huskies' last time out. Anhorn scored both game-winning goals (2-0-2) while producing a +1 mark on the ice in SCSU's sweep over Miami. Anhorn's second-period one-timer gave the Huskies a 3-1 lead and ended up being the game-winner in Friday's 5-2 victory. On Saturday, he found the back of the net at the 10:16 mark of the third period to lift SCSU to a 3-1 win. The Hobey Baker candidate has picked up right where he left off a season ago, as his 26 points rank second among NCHC blue-liners and 11th in the NCAA while his 20 assists rank third in the NCHC and 15th in the NCAA. Anhorn leads the Huskies in points (26), assists (20) and plus/minus (+16).
GAME NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:Â
- GAME 1 - 5-2 win at Miami (2-9-24 in Oxford, Ohio)
- SCSU was 1-of-3 on the power play to improve to 21.6 percent (21-of-97) on the man advantage this season. The Huskies are now 9-5-1 on the season when scoring on the power play.
- Junior defenseman Jack Peart set a season-high and matched a career-best with three points, the third time in his career he has reached three points in a game. Peart scored his third goal of the season and eight goal of his career, while also registering his sixth and seventh assists of the season and 42nd and 43rd career assists. The Husky junior now has 51 career points. His 43 career assists ranks 18th among SCSU blue liners all-time.
- Sophomore defenseman Cooper Wylie had a goal and assist for two points, his second two-point game of the season and career. The Husky sophomore now has four career goals and eight career assists for 12 career points.
- Fifth-year forward Zach Okabe continued his hot stretch of hockey, scoring his sixth goal in the last 10 games and seventh goal overall this season. He also notched his 12th assist for 19 points this season.
- Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn netted his fifth goal of the season and matched a career-high with 25 points, equaling his total from last season.
- Freshman forward Barrett Hall scored his sixth goal and 11th point of the season.
- Senior goaltender Dominic Basse made 18 saves to improve to 12-9-2 on the season, setting a new career-best for wins in a season.
- Freshman forward Verner Miettinen recorded two assists, the second time this season he has tallied two or more assists.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen had two assists in the game, logging the second time this season and 12th time in his career he has recorded two or more assists.
- Freshman defenseman Tynan Ewart notched his fifth assist of the season while junior forward Nick Portz recorded his second.
- Junior forward Mason Salquist went 14-5 (.737) in the faceoff dot, his best mark since a .808 (21-5) against Miami on Nov. 3.
- GAME 2 - 3-1 win at Miami (2-10-24 in Oxford, Ohio)
- With the win, St. Cloud State improves to 34-17-6 all-time against Miami and now sits at 11-10-3 against the RedHawks in Oxford.
- SCSU was 1-of-2 on the power play to improve to 22.2 percent (22-of-99) on the man advantage this season. The Huskies are now 10-5-1 on the season when scoring on the power play.
- SCSU improved to 10-2-1 when its opponent fails to score on the power play and 12-5-3 when scoring first.
- Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn logged his second goal of the series, recording the game-winner in both games. It marks Anhorn's first time scoring goals in consecutive games as a member of the Huskies.
- The Husky captain now has six goals this season and set a new career-best with 26 points (six goals / 20 assists). He now has 87 career points with 24 goals and 63 assists.
- Fifth-year forward Zach Okabe netted his eighth goal of the season and 50th career goal with his third period score. He becomes the 24th skater in program history to reach the 50-goal mark.
- Okabe goal marked his 20th point this season as becomes the 14th Husky – and second this season after Miettinen – to record 20 or more points in four consecutive seasons (2020-21 – 2023-24: 22, 28, 36, 20).
- Sophomore forward Adam Ingram's power play score in the first period was his fourth power play tally and eighth goal of the season. His score set a new career-high for power play goals while his eighth goal and 23rd point matched his career-highs from last season.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen had two assists in the game and totaled four helpers in the series. It marks the third time this season and 13th time in his career he has logged two or more assists.
- Fifth-year forward Kyler Kupka had two assists in the game, marking the third time this season and eighth time in his career he has reached two or more assists. Kupka matched his career-best mark points in a season with 25 points (11 goals / 14 assists) and now has 78 career points.
- Freshman goaltender Isak Posch made 21 saves in the victory, the fourth time in four starts this season he has made 20 or more saves.
- Freshman forward Barrett Hall logged his sixth assist of the season and 12th point.
POTENTIAL KEYS TO VICTORY
- Nearing the end of the 2023-24 campaign, SCSU's keys to a victory are ever apparent. St. Cloud State's ability to put away teams and scoring early has been impressive so far, as the Huskies are 11-1-1 on the season when leading after two periods and 12-5-3 when scoring first.
- Additionally, the Huskies are 10-5-1 when scoring on the power play, 10-2-1 when its opponent fails to score on the power play and 9-5-3 when out-shooting its opponent.Â
- The Huskies have also been especially good in one goal games, recording a mark on 6-3-0 in one goal contests.
MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
- Following in your older brother's foot steps can be hard, but freshman forward Verner Miettinen has quickly made a name for himself in his first season with the Huskies. He currently leads all Husky freshmen and ranks sixth on the team in points with 16. Miettinen has scored four goals and 12 assists for 16 points with a +4 mark on the ice, two power play goals and two game-winning goals.Â
- Miettinen recorded three assists against Omaha on Jan. 26, marking the first three-assist game by a Huksy freshman since Adam Ingram hit the same mark at Omaha on Feb. 24, 2023.Â
- The Husky freshman has recorded two game-winning goals this season, finding the back of the net to give the Huskies victories over Miami on Nov. 3 and in overtime at Colorado College on Feb. 2.Â
- Miettinen's debut campaign is right up there with the best all-time in program history as his 12 assists rank 12th and his 16 points 16th among all Husky freshmen.
OKABE'S HOT STRETCH
- Fifth-year forward Zach Okabe has come on strong over the last two months, as he has found the back of the net in seven of the last 11 games. The goal-scoring stretch comes after not finding the back of the net for 16 straight games between Oct. 8 and Dec. 29. For the season, Okabe now has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points with two power play goals and one game-winning goal.
- Okabe became the 38th member of St. Cloud State's 100-point club with a pair of assists against Minnesota Duluth on Nov. 18. For his career, the fifth-year Husky has 48 goals and 64 assists for 112 points with 15 power play goals and 10 game-winning goals. His 112 points ranks 26th on the Division-I all-time scoring list.
- Okabe is one of 13 Huskies to record multiple hat tricks in their SCSU career, the only one to record two natural hat tricks, and currently ranks 11th in career game-winning goals with 10. The Husky senior is also closing in on the top-20 list for most career goals, as his 48 goals is just four away from a four-way tie in 17th place at 52 goals.
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