No. 17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey & Omaha Meet for Key Conference Series

THE MATCHUP

No. 17 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey will look to snap a four-game losing streak when the Huskies head south to get out of the cold weather and face Omaha for a two-game conference series at Baxter Arena on Jan. 24-25. The series begins on Friday at 7:00 p.m. CT with a national broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Alex Heinert, Dave Starman and Shireen Starman on the call and will conclude on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CT on NCHC.tv. The voice of the Huskies Jim Erickson and former Husky captain Dave Reichel will grace the airwaves on the radio on KNSI (99.3 FM / 1450 AM) for the series.
The Huskies are looking to turn its season around this weekend after dropping its first four of the calendar year and eight of its last 10 dating back to Nov. 23. Omaha enters the series on a hot streak, winners for their last four and seven of their last eight.

NATIONAL POLLS / POST-SEASON OUTLOOK

In an up-and-down season, SCSU dropped two spots once again in the USCHO poll to No. 17 and three spots in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live top-20 poll to No. 17. With its 7-1 mark in the last eight games, Omaha is now receiving votes in both polls. In the PairWise Rankings, SCSU currently checks in at No. 22 while UNO is ranked at No. 38.

SERIES HISTORY

The Huskies and Mavericks will take the ice for the 51^st and 52^nd times this weekend, with the Huskies holding a 30-18-4 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. However, Omaha holds the advantage in the last 10 meetings with a 5-4-1 mark since Feb. 2022. The two teams met earlier this season with SCSU taking four of six conference points in a split, falling 4-3 in overtime on Dec. 6 before a 5-2 victory on Saturday.
Sophomore forward Tyson Gross provided the offensive spark for the Huskies in the series, scoring four goals and five points en route to NCHC Forward of the Week honors. The series was also the first SCSU played without its starting goaltender Isak Posch, who sustained an injury before the start of that series. Redshirt sophomore goaltender James Gray made the start in the Friday contest with fifth-year goaltender Gavin Enright made the Saturday start, earning 27 saves in the 5-2 victory.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES

SCSU played better last weekend but still had the same result, falling 6-3 and 5-3 at the hands of No. 13 Arizona State. The Huskies had more shots on goal and held a 3-1 lead in Friday's game, but four-minute stretches in both games led to the setbacks. On Friday, the Sun Devils quickly erased SCSU's lead with three goals in a 3:32 stretch to grab momentum and never look back, as five unanswered goals made the final score 6-3. On Saturday, the Huskies committed its first major penalty of the season in a 1-1 game early in the third period, and ASU responded with three power play goals during the major to take a 4-1 lead. The Huskies fought back and cut the deficit to 4-3 with 3:03 left in the game, but an empty net goal from ASU capped the scoring at 5-3. Freshman forward Gavyn Thoreson played arguably the best series of his young collegiate career, scoring goals in both contests, while junior forward Grant Ahcan had a pair of assists in Saturday's game.

NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 6-3 loss vs. Arizona State (1-17-25)
- SCSU won 66.1 percent of faceoffs, going 39-20.
- Senior forward Mason Salquist netted his third goal of the season and 16th of this career.
- Freshman forward Gavyn Thoreson scored his second goal of the season, recording his first point since Nov. 1 (assist vs. Boston College) and first goal since Oct. 19 (Michigan).
- Junior forward Adam Ingram scored his second goal of the season and 20th of his career in the second period.
- Freshman forward Austin Burnevik had the primary assist on Ingram's goal, his ninth assist of the season to extend his team-lead to 18 points.
- Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen recorded an assist for his ninth assist of the season while going 72.2 percent (13-5) in the faeoff dot to move to 58.6 percent (181-128) on the season.
- Senior forward Nick Portz recorded his first assist of the season and first point since scoring two goals against Augustana on Oct. 25.
- Senior defenseman Karl Falk recorded his third assist on the season, setting a new single season high.
- Sophomore forward Jack Reimann shifted over to center and set a new career-high with seven faceoff wins.
GAME 2 - 5-3 loss vs. Arizona State (1-18-25)
- With the loss, SCSU moves to 3-2-0 all-time against Arizona State and 2-2-0 in St. Cloud.
- The Huskies move to 2-9-0 when its opponent scores first and 0-6-0 when trailing after two periods.
- Junior forward Grant Ahcan's two assists marked his first career two-assist game and third career two-point game.
- Freshman forward Gavyn Thoreson scored for the second consecutive game, marking the first time in his career he has had a two-game goal streak.
- Sophomore forward Tyson Gross scored his eighth goal of the season to set a new career-best for goals in a season, surpassing his mark of seven from his freshman campaign. In his last nine games, Gross has scored six goals and four assists for 10 points.
- Sophomore forward Daimon Gardner recorded his fourth goal of the season and now has seven points, surpassing his freshman campaign of scoring six points last season.
- Freshman forward Austin Burnevik notched his 10th assist of the season and now has a team-high 19 points.
- Senior forward Mason Salquist recorded his third assist of the season and won 10 faceoffs, marking 9+ faceoff wins in nine consecutive games.
- Freshman defenseman Colin Ralph and junior defenseman Josh Zinger each had an assist in the game.

INGRAM'S SUCCESS AGAINST OMAHA

Junior forward Adam Ingram has enjoyed playing against Omaha over his career, averaging 1.13 points per game (4g, 5a) in eight career games against the Mavericks. Ingram had a historic performance in his first-ever game against UNO, scoring two goals and three assists for five points at Baxter on Feb. 24, 2023. His five-point game was second-every by a Husky freshman and the first in 21 seasons, as he joined Sandy Gasseau who socred six points against Western Ontario on Jan. 19, 1992. He is just one of 14 skaters in program history to score 5+ points in a game.
Ingram also netted two goals in a 7-6 OT loss to Omaha on Jan. 26, 2024, and recorded two assists earlier this season on Dec. 7. His two assists helped snap a 10-game scoreless streak to start the season for the Huskies leading-point scorer in 2023-24.

SCSU'S HOBEY NOMINEES

St. Cloud State freshman forward Austin Burnevik, sophomore forward Barrett Hall, and sophomore goaltender Isak Posch were all nominted for the Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to college hockey's top player.
Burnevik is off to a scorching start to his collegiate campaign, as the freshman leads the Huskies in goals (nine), points (19) and power play goals (four) while ranking second in assists (10). The Ham Lake native leads all NCHC freshmen in goals and points while ranking fourth and eighth nationally among NCAA freshmen in those categories, respectively. His nine goals through 20 games are already the most by a Husky freshman since 2020-21 NCHC Rookie of the Year Veeti Miettinen netted 11 goals. He has twice been named the NCHC Rookie of the Week this season, winning the award after a three-goal, five-point weekend against Bemidji State (Oct. 11-12) and a three-goal performance against Miami (Nov. 8-9).
Hall has been the Huskies' leading assist-man throughout his sophomore campaign, leading the team in assists and ranking 13th in the NCHC with 12 helpers. He's recorded in assist in nine of 22 games this season, two assists in three contests and ranks third on the team in power play scoring with five points (1g/4a). With four goals and 12 assists in 22 games this season, Hall has already matched his offensive output, 16 points, from his freshman campaign.
Prior to his injury (announced on Dec. 7), Posch had quickly established himself as one of the best goaltenders in the NCAA and earned the top mark of NCHC Goaltender of the Month in October. Posch started all 13 games for the Huskies leading up to his injury, producing a mark of 9-4-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and .938 save percentage, all ranking in the nation's top-10 at the time of his last appearance. He was named to the Mike Richter Award watch list on Jan. 15, an award annually given to the nation's top goaltender. Posch made season-best 34 saves twice, first in a 1-0 shutout of St. Thomas (Oct. 6) to open the season and second at Colorado College (Nov. 23). He earned his second shutout of the season in a 24-save, 4-0 win over No. 10/9 Michigan (Oct. 19), earning NCHC weekly honors after each of those three performances.

PENALTY KILL MACHINE

Despite a rough stretch in its last time out, St. Cloud State has produced an impressive 84.3 percent mark on the penalty kill this season, stopping 59 of 70 power play chances for its opponents this season. SCSU's PK mark is currently tracking near a season program record, which is 87.3 percent set in 2007-08
The PK mark ranks fourth in the NCHC and 10th in the NCAA, and was top-five for much of the season before surrendering five power play goals to the Sun Devils in its last time out.
The Huskies are 7-5-0 on the season when holding its opponent scoreless on the power play.
Junior forward Grant Ahcan has scored both shorthanded goals for the Huskies this season, netting goals against Miami on Nov. 8 and at North Dakota on Dec. 14. His multiple shorthanded goals this season gives SCSU four consecutive seasons with at least one player with multiple shorties dating back to the 2021-22 season.

NEXT MAN UP

In what has become potentially the best story in college hockey, fifth-year senior goaltender Gavin Enright has made the most of his opportunity as SCSU's starting goaltender over the past eight games.
Head Coach Brett Larson announced on Dec. 7 that starting goaltender sophomore Isak Posch will be out 10-12 weeks with a lower body injury sustained prior to SCSU's series against Omaha (Dec. 6). The three-time NCHC Goaltender of the Week and potential Hobey Baker candidate had started every game in net leading up to that point, posting a 9-4-0 mark with a 1.68 goals-against-average, .938 save percentage and two shutouts. Each mark ranked near the top of the NCAA when the injury occurred.
Enright, who had stepped away from hockey and returned when SCSU was in need of a third goalie late in summer, has started the last eight games and was named the NCHC's Goaltender of the Month in December for his performance. Enright has posted a mark of 2-6-0 with a 3.04 goals-against average and .899 save percentage since taking the reins as SCSU's starting goalie.
Enright earned the NCHC monthly honor in Decemeber after going 2-2-0 in four consecutive starts with a 2.25 goals-against average and .929 save percentage while leading the NCHC in December in saves with 118.
In December, Enright earned wins over Omaha (5-2, 27 saves, 2 GA) on Dec. 7 and St. Thomas (2-1, 28 saves, 1 GA) on Dec. 29. He allowed two or fewer goals in three of the four starts and made 25 or more saves in each contest, including a season-best 34 against North Dakota on Dec. 14. The fifth-year senior helped SCSU go 91.7 percent (11-of-12) on the penalty kill while between the pipes, helping contribute to SCSU's fourth-ranked penalty kill in the NCAA (90.7 percent, 48-of-53).
Enright is the sixth Husky to earn the eighth NCHC Goaltender of the Month honor, following Charlie Lindgren (Oct. 2015), David Hrenak (Feb. 2019, Feb. 2020, Oct. 2021), Dominic Basse (Oct. 2022), Jaxon Castor (March 2023) and Posch (Oct. 2024). This second time in NCHC history two netminders from the same team won a Goaltender of the Month honor in the same season, with the other occurrence also being two Huskies (Basse and Castor in 2022-23).

FACEOFF SUCCESS

St. Cloud State's centers have faired 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 fifth in NCAA) in the dot (717-596), with each of its top-three faceoff specialist's marks above 57 percent.
Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen has produced a 58.3 percent mark in the circle (187-134). 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.
Senior forward Mason Salquist has won 10 or more faceoffs in a team-leading 14 games this season and has 10+ wins in eight of the last nine games. He is currently 57.8 percent (222-162) in the circle and a season-best 15 faceoff wins vs. Augustana (Oct. 26) and vs. Omaha (Dec. 7).
Sophomore forward Tyson Gross checks in at 57.7 percent in the circle this season (207-152). Gross has won 10 or more faceoffs in 10 games this season, including a season-best 19 wins (19-4) against St. Thomas on Dec. 29.