No. 10 Huskies Return to NCHC Play with Road Trip to Minnesota Duluth

Friday, January 10

Amsoil Arena | Duluth, Minn.

7:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Minnesota Duluth

No. 10 Huskies Return to NCHC Play with Road Trip to Minnesota Duluth

1/9/2025 1:58:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Huskies open 2025 with road series on Jan. 10-11 in Duluth

THE MATCHUP

Back for its first conference series in nearly a month, No. 10 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey opens the second half of the season with an NCHC road trip to AMSOIL Arena in Duluth to face rival Minnesota Duluth. The series begins on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m. CT and will finish up on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT. The series will be broadcast on Fox 9 + and live streamed on NCHC.tv with radio coverage on KNSI with the voice of the Huskies, Jim Erickson on the call. SCSU has played just once in the last 26 days, earning a 2-1 win over St. Thomas on Dec. 29. Minnesota Duluth last played last weekend, as the hosted Alaska Fairbanks (Jan. 3-4), with both games going to overtime and the Bulldogs earning a shootout win in a tie (2-2) on Friday before a UAF overtime win (2-1) on Saturday.

GOING POLLING

In an up-and-down season, SCSU moved back up a couple spots to No. 10 in both the USCHO poll and USA Hockey / The Rink Live top-20 polls. SCSU is still tracking above its position at the beginning of the season where it ranked No. 16 in both polls. UMD is not currently ranked in either top-20 poll.

SERIES HISTORY

SCSU and UMD will renew its rivalry with its first meeting of the 2024-25 season in Duluth, as the Huskies hold a 83-65-11 advantage in the all-time series. In the last 10 meetings, the two teams are deadlocked at 5-5-0, and UMD holds a 35-30-3 edge in games played in Duluth. Last season, both teams traded sweeps on their home ice with the Huskies winning 2-1 and 6-5 on Nov. 17-18 at the Brooks Center before a 6-5 OT and 4-2 sweep for the Bulldogs at AMSOIL Arena on March 8-9 in Duluth.
In the St. Cloud series, former Husky and current Bulldog Joe Molenaar scored the game-winning goal with less than three minutes in game one while SCSU outlasted the Bulldogs in an 11-goal marathon in game two, with junior forward Adam Ingram providing the winning goal with just under three minutes remaining in the game. In Duluth, the scoring continued with UMD erasing a two-goal, third period deficit to win 6-5 in overtime on Friday before a 4-2 win on Saturday.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES

In its last time out, the Huskies earned a 2-1 win over St. Thomas on Dec. 29, finishing a split series after beating the Tommies on the road (1-0) to open the season on Oct. 6. The Huskies were lifted to victory behind goals from junior forward Adam Ingram and sophomore forward Barrett Hall, and a strong performance in net from fifth-year senior goaltender Gavin Enright, who made 28 saves in his fourth consecutive start in net. The win closed the nonconference slate for SCSU with a 7-3-0 record, its best mark since 8-2-0 in 2023-24. The Huskies went a perfect 6-0-0 in games against CCHA opponents, beating St. Thomas, Bemidji State (4-3, 3-2 on Oct. 11-12) and Augustana (4-2, 2-1 on Oct. 25-26).

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 month. 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 four games and was named the NCHC's Goaltender of the Month in December for his performance. Enright has posted a mark of 2-2-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average and .929 save percentage while leading the NCHC in December in saves with 118.

NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 2-1 win vs. St. Thomas (12-29-24)
- With the win, the Huskies improve to 23-25-0 all-time against St. Thomas and 7-1-0 as Division-I opponents (2021-22).
- After outscoring the Tommies 21-3 in the first four meetings as D-I opponents, the last four meetings have been one-score games with SCSU outscoring UST 8-6.
- In the win, SCSU improves to 7-3-0 at home, 9-2-0 when scoring first, 8-2-0 when leading after the first period, 9-1-0 when leading after two periods and 8-4-0 in one-goal games.
- SCSU killed all three penalties it committed in the game to improve to 90.6 percent on the penalty kill (48-of-53) this season and 7-4-0 on the season when its opponent fails to score on the power play.
- The Huskies penalty kill is on pace to set a program record, sitting ahead of the 2007-08 team that was 87.3 percent (124-of-142) on the season.
- SCSU went 43-28 in the faceoff dot, including a 19-4 mark from sophomore forward Tyson Gross (and 14-7 mark from senior forward Mason Salquist.
- Sophomore forward Barrett Hall scored his fourth goal on the season, 12th of his career and first career game-winning goal. In just 18 games this season, it also marked his 16th point, equaling his marking of 16 points (8g/8a) in 33 games from his freshman campaign.
- Junior forward Adam Ingram found the back of the net for the first time this season and 19th time in his career.
- Fifth-year goaltender Gavin Enright made 28 saves to earn the victory, marking the fourth time this season and 10th time in his career he has made 25 or more saves.
- In four starts this season, Enright is 2-2-0 with a 2.25 goals-against-average and .929 save percentage.
- Gross had a career-best 19 wins in the dot and recorded his sixth assist on the season with the secondary assist on Ingram's goal. He has now scored seven points (4g/3a) in his last five games.

NCHC'S TOP NETMINDER IN DECEMBER

Fifth-year senior goaltender Gavin Enright was named NCHC Goaltender of the Month for December after stepping in for the injured Isak Posch on Dec. 7 against Omaha and has started every game since, 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).

HUSKY TRIO CAPTURES GOLD AT WORLD JUNIORS

St. Cloud State freshmen Austin Burnevik and Colin Ralph, and head coach Brett Larson all helped Team USA capture gold at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario. Burnevik and Ralph are the third and fourth Husky skaters to capture gold for the Americans and eighth and ninth to capture medals at World Juniors overall. Larson earned his second World Junior gold medal, and he is the first SCSU coach to capture gold at the event.
The past Husky gold medalists include Mike Lee (2010) and Jack Ahcan (2017), while other medalists include Mark Parrish (Silver, 1997), Will Borgen (Bronze, 2016), Ryan Poehling (Bronze, 2018; Silver, 2019) and Jack Peart (Bronze, 2023).
Through 17 games in his freshman campaign, Burnevik leads the Huskies in scoring with nine goals and 16 points and has twice been named the NCHC Rookie of the Week. His nine goals lead all NCHC freshmen and rank second nationally. Among team leaders, he leads the team in goals (nine), points (16), power play goals (four) and plus/minus (+3) while ranking third in assists (seven).
Ralph have been a stalwart on the blue line for the Huskies this season, recording one goal and three assists for four points with 18 blocks while playing in all 17 games. Ralph scored the game-winning goal in SCSU's 3-2 road win over Bemidji State on Oct. 12, while his time-on-ice per game (20:43) ranks second among all Huskies.

PENALTY KILL MACHINE

St. Cloud State has produced an impressive 90.6 percent mark on the penalty kill this season, stopping 48 of 53 power play chances for its opponents this season.
SCSU's PK mark ranks second in the NCHC and fifth in the NCAA, trailing only Boston College (97.6 percent), Western Michigan (91.5 percent), AIC (91.3 percent) and Holy Cross (91.1 percent).
The Huskies five power play goals surrendered are the third-lowest in the NCAA, trailing only Boston College (one) and Western Michigan (four).
The Huskies are 7-4-0 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 score 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.

GROSS' BREAK OUT

Sophomore freshman Tyson Gross had a breakout performance against Omaha, scoring four goals and one assist for five points while earning NCHC Forward of the Week honors.
Gross scored two goals in each game to record his first two career two-goal games, while becoming the first Husky to have back-to-back two-goal games since Kale Kossila on Dec. 11-12, 2015 (two goals, three goals).
Gross has scored points in four of his last five games, recording four goals and three assists for seven points.

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 53.9 percent mark (ranked eighth in NCAA) in the dot (584-499), with each of its top-three faceoff specialist's marks above 57 percent.
Sophomore forward Tyson Gross leads the way for the Huskies with a 57.8 percent mark in the circle this season (170-124). Gross has won 10 or more faceoffs in eight games this season, including a season-best 19 wins (19-4) against St. Thomas on Dec. 29.
Senior forward Mason Salquist has won 10 or more faceoffs in a team-leading 11 games this season and has 10+ wins in five consecutive games. He is currently 57.4 percent (183-136) in the circle and a season-best 15 faceoff wins vs. Augustana (Oct. 26) and vs. Omaha (Dec. 7).
Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen has produced a 57.2 percent mark in the circle (155-116). 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.