St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Rallies to Beat No. 6/5 Denver, 4-3

Saturday, December 13

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

8-10-0, 3-7-0

Denver

12-6-1, 8-2-0

Denver

St. Cloud St.

St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Rallies to Beat No. 6/5 Denver, 4-3

12/14/2025 12:51:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Huskies erase two-goal deficit with two goals from Gross and game winner from Hall

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (8-10-0, 3-7-0 NCHC) erased a two-goal deficit and scored three consecutive goals to beat No. 6/5 Denver (12-6-1, 8-2-0), 4-3, on Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. Junior forward Tyson Gross (Calgary, Alberta) scored back-to-back goals to pull the Huskies even with the Pioneers before junior forward Barrett Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) netted the game-winning goal to lift the Huskies to its second top-10 ranked win of the season.

The Huskies took a 1-0 lead when senior defenseman Max Smolinski (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) scored the team's second-fastest goal of the season at 2:33 of the opening period. The senior transfer took a pass from his defensive pair senior defenseman Cooper Wylie (Stillwater, Minn.) and made his way through the defense before firing a wrister from just inside the right dot that found the back of the net. However, Denver took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after scoring two goals in the span of 2:36, including the second coming on the power play.

The Pioneers then extended its lead to 3-1 when Reid Varkonyi scored his first goal of the season at 15:13 of the second period. The Huskies then began their comeback with time running out in the middle frame when Gross scored his first of back-to-back goals with just 14 seconds left on the clock. Sophomore forward Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn.) carried the puck over the blue line on a zone entry and saucered a pass towards the net to Smolinski, who then found Gross alone in the slot to beat the Pioneer goaltender.

The Huskies then tied the game while on a five-minute major power play when Gross scored his second goal of the night at the 11:48 mark of the final period. Junior forward Verner Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) worked the puck to the right dot before moving it to Hall at the goal line and then finally to Gross on the backside for a one-timer into the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3. SCSU struck again right after Denver returned to full strength, executing a rush play for the lead. Burnevik was streaking down the right side and backhanded a pass to Hall in the high slot, who didn't have anyone near him. Hall waited patiently for the defense to make its move before beating the goalie to the blocker side with a wrist shot for the game-winning score.

TOP HUSKIES

Gross recorded his third career two-goal game and has now scored in five of the last six games.
Hall scored the game-winning goal and earned the first star of the game.
Sophomore goaltender Patriks Berzins (Talsi, Latvia) made 24 saves and earned the win in net for the Huskies.

NOTES

With the win, SCSU moves to 54-62-7 all-time against Denver and 25-25-4 against the Pioneers in St. Cloud.
On the season, SCSU moves to 8-1-0 when scoring first, 5-3-0 when outshooting its opponent, 1-7-0 when trailing after the first period, 1-8-0 when trailing after two periods and 2-6-0 in one-goal games.
The Huskies win over Denver was the Pioneers first loss in regulation in conference play this season.
SCSU overcame a two-goal deficit and won for the first time since winning 3-2 in overtime over Minnesota Duluth on March 7, 2025. The last time SCSU overcame a two-goal deficit and won in regulation was Dec. 3, 2022, when the Huskies trailed North Dakota 3-0 before winning 6-3.
Gross scored twice in a game for the third time in his career, matching his performances from back-to-back games against Omaha (Dec. 6-7, 2024). He has scored a goal in five of the last six games while setting a new career-best with his 10^th goal of the season. The Husky captain also extends his point streak to six games, registering a point in every game since Nov. 21.
Gross continues his remarkable stretch of success in the faceoff dot, going 16-13 to mark the sixth consecutive game and ninth time this season he has won 15+ faceoffs. He continues to lead the NCAA in faceoff wins, totaling 245 with a 62.0 percent success rate (261-160).
Smolinski scored his third goal of the season and first goal since Oct. 24 against Alaska Anchorage. His goal at the 2:33 mark of the first period is the second-fastest goal scored by a Husky this season, trailing only Wylie's power play goal at 2:19 on Oct. 25 against UAA.
The senior transfer added an assist on Gross' goal to record his first multi-point game as a Husky and first since scoring two points against Princeton on Feb. 14, 2025 with R.P.I.
Hall netted his eighth goal of the season and first game-winning goal of 2025-26 with his third period score to lift the Huskies. His goal also matched his 2023-24 freshman total for the most in a season.
Burnevik recorded two assists to match a career-best from Oct. 12, 2024. It marks the sixth time this season and 12^th time in his career he has recorded a multi-point game.
Berzins made 24 saves in the game to earn his fifth win, marking the eighth time this season he has made 20 or more saves in the game.
Wylie, sophomore defenseman Finn Loftus (Blaine, Minn.) and Miettinen recorded single assists, their eighth, fourth and second assists of the season, respectively.

HIGHLIGHTS

PRESS CONFERENCE

UP NEXT

SCSU will have a two-week holiday break before returning to action at the Coachella Cactus Cup in Palm Springs, Calif. The Huskies will face Yale on Friday, Jan. 2 before facing either No. 14 Minnesota State or UMass Lowell on Saturday, Jan. 3.

For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Hockey, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tickets for the 2025-26 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.