No. 17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinal Game Against No. 3 Denver

*No. 17 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 3 DENVER*
*OPPONENT*	*LOCATION*	*DAY*	*TIME (CT)*	*TV / STREAM*	*RADIO*	*STATS*	*GAME NOTES*
Denver	Xcel Energy Center	Friday, March 2	7:30 p.m.	CBS Sports Network	KNSI	Stats	SCSU Notes / DU Notes

WEEKEND PREVIEW

THE MATCHUP

No. 17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will head to the Xcel Energy Center to defend its title at the 2024 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff on Friday, March 22. The Huskies will be making its seventh semifinal appearance in the 11-year history of the league and 10th Frozen Faceoff. The three-seeded Huskies will faceoff against the two-seeded and No. 3-ranked Denver Pioneers in the second semifinal game on 7:30 p.m. CT with a broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Alex Heinert Dave Starman and Shireen Starman on the call. Over the radio, the voice of the Huskies Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will have the call on KNSI.
SCSU enters the weekend at No. 16 in the pairwise and will be looking to improve its position ahead of next weekend's NCAA Tournament, while the Pioneers check in at No. 4. In the national polls, St. Cloud State is ranked No. 17 in the both the USCHO poll and USA Today / The Rink Live Top-20 polls, while Denver is ranked No. 3 in both polls.

SERIES HISTORY

Ever since St. Cloud State moved to Division-I ahead of the 1987-88 season, the Huskies and Pioneers have had a long-standing rivalry, meeting 118 times since November 1988. The all-time series is a close one between the two programs, as Denver holds a slight advantage at 58-53-7. The two teams have met four times this season with the Pioneers holding a decisive 3-0-1 advantage. In a Jan. 12-13 series in Denver, the Pios earned a 5-1 victory on Friday before a 4-4 tie and shootout win for the Huskies on Saturday. Just three weeks ago, the Pioneers swept SCSU, 6-2 and 7-2 on March 1-2 at the Brooks Center. The two teams have met twice before in the Frozen Faceoff, with each team claiming a victory. In the 2016 semifinal played on March 18 at the Target Center, SCSU earned a 4-2 win en route to its first Frozen Faceoff championship, while the Pioneers captured the 2018 title in the championship game on March 18 at the Xcel Energy Center.

A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST SERIES

St. Cloud State earned its trip to the X with a 2-1 quarterfinals victory over No. 14/12 Western Michigan, winning games one and three by scores of 5-2 and 5-1, respectively, while dropping game two, 6-1. In Friday's opener, special teams led the way as five different Huskies scored with senior forward Veeti Miettinen netting the game-winner with a shorthanded score while junior forward Mason Salquist and junior defenseman Josh Luedtke added third period power play goals to seal the victory. With their backs to the wall in game three, SCSU delivered one of its best game's of the season by jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the game's first 12 minutes before cruising to a 5-1 victory behind two goals from Veeti Miettinen and 32 saves from freshman goaltender Isak Posch.

UNMARKED SUCCESS IN THE FACEOFF

In the 11th season of NCHC hockey and 10th NCHC Tournament, St. Cloud State will make its seventh appearance in the NCHC semifinals with its matchup against Denver. In each season SCSU has made the Frozen Faceoff, the Huskies have advanced to the NCHC Championship with title game appearances in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023. The Huskies have captured the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship twice, first in 2016 with a 3-1 win over Minnesota Duluth 3-1, at the Target Center (March 19) and last season with a 3-0 win over Colorado College (March 18) at the X.

GAME NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 5-2 win over Western Michigan (3-15-24 in St. Cloud, Minn.)
- The Huskies converted 2-of-5 chances on the power play to increase its season success rate to 24.2 percent (29-of-120) on the man advantage.
- Freshman forward Tyson Gross continued his hot stretch of play, scoring a goal for the third consecutive game and the fourth time in the last five games. Over his last five games, Gross has scored four goals and three assists for seven points.
- Junior defenseman Josh Luedtke matched a career-best mark with two points, a mark he has now reached four times. He recorded his third goal and 12 assist of the season.
- Junior forward Mason Salquist reached two points for the fourth time in his career as he recorded his seventh goal and 11th assist of the season.
- Salquist was also an impressive 17-8 (68.0 percent) in the faceoff dot, marking the most faceoff victories he has had in a game since winning 21 against Miami on Nov. 3, 2023.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen scored his second shorthanded goal and 18th overall goal of the season with his third period score. Miettinen now has 51 career goals and 116 career points, ranking 21st and 25th, respectively, in those categories in program history.
- Sophomore forward Jack Rogers scored his third goal of the season as he found the back of the net for the first time since scoring on Nov. 18, 2023 against Minnesota Duluth.
- Junior defenseman Jack Peart matched a season-best with two assists in the game, the second time this season and eighth time in his career he has recorded at least two helpers in the game.
- Freshman forward Verner Miettinen recorded two assists in the game, the third time this season he has recorded at least two assists. He moves his season total to 18 assists, the 16th-best mark by freshman in program history.
- Fifth-year Dylan Anhorn logged the primary assist on Gross' goal, his 25th helper of the season. Anhorn's 25 assists match Jimmy Schuldt (2018-19) and Nick Perbix (2021-22) for the ninth-most by a Husky blue liner in a single season.
- Junior forward Adam Ingram recorded his 18th assist of the season to reach 50 career points, becoming the 113th Husky in D-I program history to reach that mark.
- Freshman goaltender Isak Posch made 26 saves in the victory, marking the fifth time this season he has made 25 or more saves.
GAME 2 - 6-1 loss to Western Michigan (3-16-24 in St. Cloud, Minn.)
- Freshman forward Tyson Gross continued his hot stretch of play, scoring a goal for the fourth consecutive game and the fifth time in the last six games. Over his last six games, Gross has scored five goals and three assists for eight points.
- Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn logged his 26th assist of the season and now sits in eighth place on the single season assist list for Husky defenseman.
- Fifth-year forward Kyler Kupka matched a career-best with his 15th assist, equaling his mark from 2022-23.
- Freshman goaltender Isak Posch made a season-best 34 saves in the game.
GAME 3 - 5-1 win over Western Michigan (3-17-24 in St. Cloud, Minn.)
- With the win, St. Cloud State improves to 25-15-5 all-time against Western Michigan and 15-8-2 against the Broncos in St. Cloud.
- The Huskies move to 4-1 against Western Michigan in the NCHC Tournament, 13-9 in the quarterfinals round and 21-13 in the NCHC Tournament overall.
- SCSU advances to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the seventh time in the 11-year history of the league. In each of previous six trips to the NCHC semifinals, the Huskies have advanced to the championship game. The Huskies have won NCHC Frozen Faceoff championships in 2016 and 2023.
- SCSU went 1-of-4 on the power play to improve to 23.6 percent (30-of-127) on the man advantage this season.
- The Huskies improve to 15-8-3 when scoring first, 13-3-1 when leading after two periods, 13-9-1 when scoring on the power play and 13-3-1 when its opponent fails to score on the power play.
- Senior forward Veeti Miettinen scored twice, marking the third time this season and eighth time in his career he has scored two goals in a game. The Husky senior recorded his 20th goal of the season as he becomes the 31st player in program history to reach the 20-goal mark in a single season.
- Miettinen moves to 16th in program history in career goals with 53 and 22nd on the all-time scoring list with 118 points.
- Freshman forward Tyson Gross continued his hot stretch of play over the last seven games with two assists. Over his last seven games, Gross has scored five goals and five assists for 10 points. Gross' two assists give him 13 on the season.
- Fifth-year forward Kyler Kupka recorded his 16th and 17th assists on the season to move to 31 points, the first 30-point season of his career.
- Miettinen (35 points), fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn (32 points) and Kupka (31 points) gives SCSU three 30-point scorers for the third consecutive season.
- Freshman goaltender Isak Posch reached 30+ saves for the second consecutive game and fifth time this season while lowering his GAA to 2.79 and raising his S% to .970.
- Freshman forward Barrett Hall recorded his second two-point game of the season with his seventh goal and eighth assist of the season.
- Junior defenseman Josh Luedtke had his second two-point game of the series after not recording two points in any game before this weekend. The Husky assistant captain recorded his fourth goal and 13th assist of the season.

CLUTCH VEETI

After logging his 13th career game-winning goal in a 5-2 win over Western Michigan in the NCHC Quarterfinals on March 15, senior forward Veeti Miettinen matched a program record for game-winning goals. The clutch Husky is now in a five-way tie for first place with Joe Jensen (2002-06), Ryan Lasch (2006-10), David Morley (2012-16) and Easton Brodzinski (2017-22).
Additionally, among program records, Miettinen ranks sixth in power play goals (25), 16th in career goals (53) and 22nd in career points (118).
Miettinen became the 39th member of the 100-point club earlier this season, is one of 25 Huskies to score 50+ career goals, one of 31 to record 20+ goals in a season and one of 10 to score 10+ goals in four consecutive seasons. Earlier this season, Miettinen scored in six straight games, the longest streak by a Husky since 2007.

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 (26) and points (32) while recording six goals and two game-winning goals. The Hobey Baker Award nominee leads the Huskies in assists (26) and plus/minus (+16) while his 26 assists and 32 points both rank second among NCHC blue liners and eighth nationally. His 26 assists are the eighth-most among SCSU blue liners all-time. 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). For his career, Anhorn has 24 goals and 69 assists for 93 points with five power play goals, three game-winning goals and a +33 mark on the ice.
Peart has produced three goals and 11 assists for 14 points and a career-best 49 blocks. The Minnesota Wild draft pick's 49 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 47 assists for 55 points with 113 blocks. Peart's 45 assists rank as the 15th-most of SCSU blue liners all-time.
Freshman goaltender Isak Posch was named to the All-Rookie team after producing a 2.79 goals-against-average and .904 save percentage in 12 starts and 13 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 5-5-2 in-between the pipes this season for the Huskies with a 2.79 GAA and .904 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.

NCHC INDIVIDUAL FINALISTS

In addition to fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn being named a finalist for the Offensive Defenseman of the Year, 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 145 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 (35) and goals scored (20). 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 13 career game-winning goals are a program record. For his career, Miettinen has scored 53 goals and 65 assists for 118 career points with 25 power play goals and 13 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.

ANHORN HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME

Fifth-year defenseman Dylan Anhorn is starting to heat up at the right time of the season, resulting in All-NCHC First Team honors and two NCHC Defenseman of the Week honors.
In his last 18 games, Anhorn has produced three goals and 13 assists for 16 points and a +8 mark of the ice.
Anhorn's 26 assists and 32 points both rank second in the NCHC and eighth nationally. His 26 helpers are the eighth-most by a Husky blue liner all-time.
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.

DISCIPLINED HUSKIES

St. Cloud State enters the Frozen Faceoff with 322 penalty minutes on the season, the second-fewest minutes in the NCHC and the 13th-fewest in the NCAA this season.
In its final eight games of the regular season, the Huskies have committed 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.

FRESHMAN DUO EMERGE AS TOP-LINE CENTERS

SCSU's freshman duo of centers Tyson Gross and Verner Miettinen have developed into legit top-line centers in their debut season as Huskies.
In SCSU's last seven games, Gross has produced five goals and five assists for 10 points, including an NCHC Rookie of the Week nod in SCSU's regular season series finale against Minnesota Duluth where he scored two goals and one assist for three points.
The Husky freshman scored in four consecutive games between March 8 and March 16. On the season, Gross has scored seven goals (two power play goals) and 13 assists for 20 points.
Following in your older brother's foot steps can be hard, but 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 22. Miettinen has scored four goals and 18 assists for 22 points with two power play goals and two game-winning goals.
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.
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.
Miettinen's debut campaign is right up there with the best all-time in program history as his 18 assists rank 16th among all Husky freshmen.

MIETTINEN TAKES NEXT STEP, REACHES 100-POINT MILESTONE

Senior forward Veeti Miettinen has taken the next step in his game, recording 20 goals and 35 points with a +5 mark on the ice this season. Miettinen leads the Huskies in goals (20) and points (35) while ranking sixth and 12th in the NCHC in those categories, respectively.
The Husky forward scored in six consecutive games between Oct. 20 and Nov. 11, the longest scoring streak by a Husky since Ryan Lasch produced the same mark in the 2007-08 season (Oct. 27 - Nov. 23, 2007).
Miettinen scored his 10th goal against Michigan on Nov. 25 to become just the ninth Husky to record four consecutive seasons with 10 or more goals. He joins Chris Scheid (1987-91), Tim Hanus (1988-92), Jeff Saterdalen (1988-92), Dave Paradise (1993-97), Jason Goulet (1995-99), Ryan Lasch (2006-10), Garrett Roe (2007-11) and Easton Brodzinski (five seasons, 2017-22) as the only Huskies to score 10+ goals in four seasons.
Miettinen has powered the Huskies power play unit through the first half of the season, scoring eight of the team's 30 goals on the man advantage. The Husky senior's six power play goals ranks sixth in the NCHC and 24th nationally.
For his career, Miettinen has 53 goals and 65 assists for 118 points. His 13 career game-winning goals rank first all-time in program history, as he sits a five-way tie with Joe Jensen (2002-06), Ryan Lasch (2006-10), David Morley (2012-16) and Easton Brodzinski (2017-22).

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 13-3-1 on the season when leading after two periods and 15-8-3 when scoring first.
Additionally, the Huskies are 13-9-1 when scoring on the power play, 13-3-1 when its opponent fails to score on the power play and 11-9-3 when out-shooting its opponent.
The Huskies have also a slight edge in one goal games, recording a mark on 6-5-0 in one goal contests.

No. 17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinal Game Against No. 3 Denver

No. 17 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 3 DENVER

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Dominic Basse

Tyson Gross

Barrett Hall

Adam Ingram

Kyler Kupka

Josh Luedtke

Veeti Miettinen

Verner Miettinen

Jack Peart

Isak Posch

Jack Rogers

Mason Salquist

Saint Cloud State University Athletics

No. 17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Set for NCHC Frozen Faceoff Semifinal Game Against No. 3 Denver

No. 17 ST. CLOUD STATE vs. No. 3 DENVER

OPPONENT

LOCATION

DAY

TIME (CT)

TV / STREAM

RADIO

STATS

GAME NOTES

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dylan Anhorn

Dominic Basse

Tyson Gross

Barrett Hall

Adam Ingram

Kyler Kupka

Josh Luedtke

Veeti Miettinen

Verner Miettinen

Jack Peart

Isak Posch

Jack Rogers

Mason Salquist

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