No. 18 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts No. 14/12 Western Michigan for NCHC Quarterfinals

*No. 18 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 14/12 WESTERN MICHIGAN*
*OPPONENT*	*LOCATION*	*DAY*	*TIME (CT)*	*TV / STREAM*	*RADIO*	*STATS*	*GAME NOTES*
Western Michigan	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center	Friday, March 15	7:30 p.m.	Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv	KNSI	Stats	SCSU Notes
Western Michigan	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center	Saturday, March 16	6:00 p.m.	Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv	KNSI	Stats	WMU Notes
Western Michigan (if necessary)	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center	Sunday, March 17	6:00 p.m.	Fox 9 + / NCHC.tv	KNSI	Stats

WEEKEND PREVIEW

THE MATCHUP

No. 18 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will host No. 14/12 Western Michigan for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Quarterfinals at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in a best two-of-three series on March 15-17. It marks the eighth time in the 11-year history of the league the Huskies have secured a top-four spot in the NCHC standings and the seventh time SCSU has hosted the Quarterfinals series (all 2020 tournament games were played in Grand Forks). The postseason series begins on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. CT puck drop followed by 6:00 p.m. CT starts on Saturday and Sunday (game three if necessary).
Each game of the series will be broadcast on Fox 9 + and NCHC.tv 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. SCSU enters the weekend at No. 16 in the pairwise and will be looking to improve its position in the upcoming weeks ahead of the NCAA Tournament, while the Broncos check in at No. 13. In the national polls, St. Cloud State is ranked No. 18 in the both the USCHO poll and No. 16 in the USA Today / The Rink Live Top-20 polls, while Western Michigan is ranked No. 14 in the USCHO poll and No. 12 in the USA Today / The Rink Live Top-20 poll.

SERIES HISTORY

The Huskies and Broncos will meet for the 43^rd, 44^th and potentially 45^th times this weekend, with the Huskies holding a 23-14-5 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 Nov. 2021. Earlier this season, SCSU snapped a six-game slide in Kalamazoo 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. Just a few weeks back, these two teams faced off against each other at the Brooks Center, where Western Michigan earned a 4-3 win in overtime before SCSU came back with a 3-0 shutout win in a Feb. 23-24 series.

A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST SERIES

St. Cloud State was swept by Minnesota Duluth in its final regular season series, falling 6-5 in overtime on Friday before a 4-2 loss on Saturday in a series played March 8-9 at Amsoil Arena. Senior forward Veeti Miettinen scored twice in Friday's game and had four points on the weekend, while freshman forward Tyson Gross had three points (2-1-3) to be named NCHC Rookie of the Week. On Saturday, the Huskies outshot the Bulldogs 54-27 despite the two-goal loss.

CLUTCH VEETI

After logging his 12th career game-winning goal in a 3-0 win on Feb. 24, senior forward Veeti Miettinen is one game-winning score away from matching a program record for the Huskies. The clutch Husky is one GWG away from moving into a five-way tie for first place with 13 game-winning goals, a record he would share with Joe Jensen (2002-06), Ryan Lasch (2006-10), David Morley (2012-16) and Easton Brodzinski (2017-22).

ALL-NCHC HONORS

A pair of St. Cloud State Men's Hockey blue liners earned all-conference honors, a Husky netminder was named to the All-Rookie Team and three Huskies were named finalists for NCHC Awards.
Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn was named to the All-NCHC First Team and was named a finalist for the Offensive Defenseman of the Year while junior defenseman Jack Peart was named to the Second Team.
The pair are the 18th and 19th Husky blue liners to earn All-NCHC honors, while Anhorn is the fifth SCSU defenseman to be named to the All-NCHC First Team, following Ethan Prow (2015-16), Jimmy Schuldt (2017-18, 2018-19) and Nick Perbix (2021-22). Anhorn and Peart's honors are each their season career all-conference honors after Anhorn earned honorable mention honors and Peart earned second team honors last season.
Anhorn has picked up right where he left off in his 2022-23 campaign, as he has produced career-highs in assists (24) and points (30) while recording six goals and two game-winning goals. The Hobey Baker Award nominee leads the Huskies in assists (24) and plus/minus (+11) while his 24 assists and 30 points both rank second among NCHC blue liners and 10th nationally. Anhorn has twice been named the NCHC Defensemen of the Week this season, earning the nod following a two-point performance in SCSU's season-opening series over St. Thomas (Oct. 7-8) and after scoring both game-winning goals in the Huskies' sweep over Miami (Feb. 9-10). The Calgary, Alberta native has come on strong over the last 15 games for the Huskies, producing three goals and 11 assists for 14 points and a +3 mark on the ice. For his career, Anhorn has 24 goals and 67 assists for 91 points with five power play goals, three game-winning goals and a +28 mark on the ice.
Peart has produced three goals and nine assists for 12 points and a career-best 46 blocks. The Minnesota Wild draft pick's 46 blocks rank 10th in the NCHC as he has recorded multiple blocks in 13 games this season, including season-high four at Minnesota State (Oct. 14) and at Minnesota Duluth (March 8). Peart had a season-best three points (1-2-3) at Miami on Feb. 9 in a 5-2 victory. For his career, Peart has eight goals and 45 assists for 53 points with 110 blocks. Peart's 45 assists rank as the 16th-most of SCSU blue liners all-time.
Freshman goaltender Isak Posch was named to the All-Rookie team after producing a 2.82 goals-against-average and .897 save percentage in nine starts and 10 appearances. Posch is the third Husky goaltender to be named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team, following Charlie Lindgren (2013-14) and David Hrenak (2017-18). He is the 12th Husky overall to be named to the NCHC all-rookie team and the first since Veeti Miettinen in 2020-21. Posch has produced a mark of 3-4-2 in-between the pipes this season for the Huskies with a 2.82 GAA and .897 S%. In NCHC games, Posch is 2-4-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .881 S%. He earned NCHC Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 26 after making 49 saves and recording his first career shutout in a weekend series against then-No. 13/12 Western Michigan on Feb. 23-24. In the Feb. 24 shutout, Posch made 19 saves in a 3-0 victory as he was the first Husky netminder to record a shutout since David Hrenak blanked Miami on Feb. 10, 2018. Posch has made 20 or more saves in six of 10 appearances this season, including a season-best 33 saves in a tie with Denver on Jan. 13.
Senior forward Veeti Miettinen was named a finalist for both the Sportsmanship Award and the Three-Stars Award. Miettinen owns the impressive distinction of never committing a penalty in 142 collegiate games played, leading to his finalist distinction for the Sportsmanship Award. The Husky senior has put together another fantastic season on the ice, as he leads the Huskies in points (32) and goals scored (17). He became the 25th Husky in program history to reach 50 career goals on March 8 at Minnesota Duluth and joined the 100-point club against North Dakota on Jan. 20. He's produced 10 or more goals in each of his four collegiate seasons at St. Cloud, becoming just the ninth Husky to reach that mark. His 12 career game-winning goals are one off from the program record mark of 13. For his career, Miettinen has scored 50 goals and 65 assists for 115 career points with 24 power play goals and 12 game-winning goals.
Finally, senior goaltender Dominic Basse was named a finalist for the Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Basse recently was named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference team for the fourth time and earned the NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award for the second time in 2023-24. He was also named an AHCA All-American Scholar in 2022-23. On the ice, Basse is 12-10-2 between the pipes this season with a 2.76 goals-against-average, .896 save percentage and three shutouts.

GAME NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 6-5 OT loss to Minnesota Duluth (3-8-24 in Duluth, Minn.)
- SCSU had a great night on the power play going two-for-three to increase its conversion rate to 23.2 percent (26-of-112).
- Veeti Miettinen increased his team-lead in goals to 17 while adding his 14th assist for 31 points this season. It marks the second consecutive season Miettinen has reached 30 points after scoring 36 (12g/24a) last season.
- Miettinen's two goals give him 50 career goals, as he becomes the 25th Husky to reach 50 career goals. His two scores marks the second time this season and seventh time in his career he has scored multiple goals in a game.
- Miettinen's three points gives him 114 career points as he moves to 25th all-time on the SCSU Division-I scoring list.
- Tyson Gross recorded his fourth goal of the season and 10th assist for 14 points, marking his third two-point game of his freshman campaign and second in the last three games.
- Kyler Kupka scored his 14th goal of the season and 28th point, both career high marks.
- Mason Salquist scored for the second consecutive night and for a career-best sixth time this season.
- Dylan Anhorn recorded his 23rd assist of the season to improve his season-total to a career-best 29 points.
- Verner Miettinen had his 16th assist and 20th point to move to fifth and 12th on the all-time freshmen list at SCSU.
GAME 2 - 4-2 loss to Minnesota Duluth (3-9-24 in Duluth, Minn.)
- With the loss, SCSU falls to 83-65-11 all-time against UMD and 30-35-3 against the Bulldogs in Duluth.
- The Huskies recorded 54 shots on goal and had a season-best +27 advantage in shots-on-goal over the Bulldogs.
- SCSU scored on the power play for the seventh time in the last nine games and improved to 23.5 percent (27-of-115) on the man advantage this season.
- Zach Okabe scored his 10th goal of the season, marking his third consecutive season with double figure goals.
- Okabe's goal was his 52nd of his career, moving him to a five-way tie at 17th all-time in SCSU history with Joe Motzko (1999-03), Nic Dowd (2010-14), Robby Jackson (2015-19) and Jami Krannila (2019-23).
- Okabe played in his 172nd career game as a Husky, the third-most all-time in program history, trailing only Brendan Bushy (2018-23, 176) and Easton Brodzinski (2017-22, 176).
- Tyson Gross scored his fifth goal of the season and third in the last four games with his second period power play goal.
- Dylan Anhorn logged his 24th goal of the season, the 11th-most by a Husky blue liner all-time and the most since Nick Perbix had 25 assists in 2021-22.
- Vetti Miettinen logged his 15th assist of the season and 115th career assist.
- Adam Ingram recorded his 17th assist of the season and 32nd career assist.
- Junior defenseman Jack Peart recorded his ninth assist and 12th point of the season in the second period.

DISCIPLINED HUSKIES

St. Cloud State enters the weekend with 290 penalty minutes on the season, the second-fewest minutes in the NCHC and the sixth-fewest in the NCAA this season.
In its last eight games, the Huskies have a combined 16 penalties for 32 penalty minutes. SCSU has committed three or fewer penalties in 15 games this season, including no penalties against North Dakota on (Jan. 20) and Western Michigan (Feb. 23).
Prior to Jan. 20, it had been eight years since the last time SCSU did not commit a penalty in a game (Jan. 2, 2016 vs. Arizona State). The last time SCSU had two games in one season where they did not commit a penalty was 2012-13 when the Huskies didn't commit any penalties in back-to-back games on Feb. 1-2, 2013.

GROSS NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Freshman forward Tyson Gross was named NCHC Rookie of the Wee after scoring two goals and had three points in the Huskies' regular season finale series against Minnesota Duluth.
Gross scored two goals and one assist for three points in SCSU's series at Minnesota Duluth. The Husky freshman has now scored goals in three of his last four games and has five goals on the season, second-most on SCSU this season. On the season, Gross has scored five goals (two power play goals) and 10 assists for 15 points and is one of two Huskies with 15+ points this season.

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 following SCSU's series sweep against Miami.
In his last 15 games, Anhorn has produced three goals and 11 assists for 14 points and a +3 mark of the ice.
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.

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 nine of the last 16 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 nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points with three 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 51 goals and 66 assists for 117 points with 17 power play goals and 10 game-winning goals. His 116 points ranks 24th 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.
Okabe netted his 50th career goal against Miami on Feb. 10 to become the 24th skater in program history to reach the 50-goal mark. His 51 career goals ranks 21st all-time in program history.
Okabe's 20-point season makes him 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).

No. 18 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts No. 14/12 Western Michigan for NCHC Quarterfinals

No. 18 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 14/12 WESTERN MICHIGAN

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Dominic Basse

Brendan Bushy

Tyson Gross

Adam Ingram

Jami Krannila

Kyler Kupka

Veeti Miettinen

Verner Miettinen

Zach Okabe

Jack Peart

Isak Posch

Mason Salquist

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

No. 18 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts No. 14/12 Western Michigan for NCHC Quarterfinals

No. 18 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 14/12 WESTERN MICHIGAN

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Dominic Basse

Brendan Bushy

Tyson Gross

Adam Ingram

Jami Krannila

Kyler Kupka

Veeti Miettinen

Verner Miettinen

Zach Okabe

Jack Peart

Isak Posch

Mason Salquist

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