St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts No. 5/6 North Dakota for Key NCHC Series

Friday, December 5

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

North Dakota

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Photo by: Jason Soria

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts No. 5/6 North Dakota for Key NCHC Series

12/4/2025 2:03:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Game Notes

Huskies and Fighting Hawks meet at The Herb on Friday and Saturday

THE MATCHUP

After a bye week over the Thanksgiving holiday, St. Cloud State Men's Hockey returns home for the first time in over a month when the Huskies host No. 5/6 North Dakota this weekend at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The series begins on Friday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 p.m. CT and concludes on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 6:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on The CW and NCHC.tv with the voice of the Huskies Jim Erickson and former captain Geno Parrish on the call. On the radio, Nick Maxson and Dave Reichel will have the call on KNSI (99.3 FM / 1450 AM). SCSU snapped a four-game winning streak with a split on the road at Miami in its last time out, falling 6-5 in overtime on Nov. 21 before a 4-2 win in the series finale on Nov. 22. The Fighting Hawks come to town winners in six of its last seven games dating back to Nov. 1.

NATIONAL POLLS / POST-SEASON OUTLOOK

SCSU has yet to crack the top-20 in either the USCHO or USA Hockey polls this season, but are receiving votes in both polls, while UND checks in at No. 5 in the USCHO poll and No. 6 in the USA Today poll.
With Thanksgiving in the past, focus begins to shift to the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI), which replaces the Pairwise and is the official system for selecting and seeding teams for the NCAA Tournament. In the current NPI, North Dakota checks in at No. 7 with a 9-3-2 NPI record while SCSU checks in at No. 14 with a 7-4-3 NPI record.

SERIES HISTORY

This weekend's series will be the 153^rd and 154^th all-time meetings between the Huskies and Fighting Hawks, with all but one series happening since the 1989-90 season. The Fighting Hawks lead the overall series, 84-49-19 and have a 32-26-10 advantage in games played in St. Cloud. The Huskies have not won against UND in the last six contests, while six of the last nine meetings have gone to overtime. UND holds a 5-2-3 advantage in the last 10 games.
In its last series, The Fighting Hawks took five of six conference points in a Jan. 31-Feb. 1 series at the Brooks Center, winning a shootout in a 3-3 tie on Friday before a 6-2 win on Saturday. SCSU erased a two-goal deficit in the Friday contest with third period goals from junior forwards Tyson Gross and Barrett Hall.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES

SCSU earned four of six points in a road series against Miami, falling 6-5 in overtime on Nov. 21 before a 4-2 on Nov. 22. On Friday, the Huskies came back from two-goal deficits twice, but could never gain the lead in an 11-goal thrillers. SCSU trailed 5-3 with 5:31 left in the third period before scoring twice in the span of 100 seconds on goals from junior forward Tyson Gross and sophomore forward Gavyn Thoreson, but gave up a goal 1:10 into the extra frame in the setback. On Saturday, SCSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on to earn the victory, with senior forward Grant Ahcan finding the back of the net twice while sophomore goaltender Patriks Berzins made a career-best 35 saves.

TERRIFIC TRIO

If you don't know them, get to know them. Sophomore forward Austin Burnevik, junior forward Tyson Gross and junior forward Barrett Hall have each jumped out to hot starts to the 2025-26 campaign and are scoring more than a point per game. Gross and Burnevik each began the year by scoring in the first nine games of the season and currently rank in the top-25 in the nation in scoring with Gross ranking 19th with 18 points (6-12-18) and Burnevik ranking 25th at 17 points (11-6-17).
Burnevik's six power play goals and three game-winning goals both rank third in the NCAA while his 11 goals overall rank fifth. Gross has won the second-most faceoffs in the nation at 195 and ranks 18th in assists with 12. The Huskies' top centerman has won 10 or more faceoffs in 13 of 14 games and has five games of 15+ faceoff wins.
Hall has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points with four of his scores coming on the man advantage. He has scored a point in 10 of 14 games, two or more points in five games and had three assists in a 5-1 win over then-No. 3 Western Michigan on Nov. 1.

LETHAL POWER PLAY

The Huskies have been lethal on the man advantage this season, scoring 20 of its 47 goals on the man advantage with at least one power play tally in 11 of 14 games this season and six games with multiple power play goals.
SCSU's 31.3 percent success rate (20-of-64) and 20 power play goals rank second, trailing only Wisconsin (32.2 percent) and Michigan (23 ppg). The Huskies' four power play goals against Vermont on Oct. 18 were its most since scoring four against St. Thomas on Oct. 7, 2023 while sophomore forward Austin Burnevik netted two of the four power play tallies to become the first Husky to score two power play goals in the same game since Grant Cruikshank scored two at Omaha on Feb. 24, 2023.
Burnevik's six power play goals rank third in the NCAA while junior forwards Tyson Gross and Barrett Hall rank 14th with four power play goals.

NO STOPPING BURNEY

After becoming the first freshman in program history to lead the team in both goals and points in 2024-25, sophomore forward Austin Burnevik is picking up right where he left off a season ago. The rising sophomore ranks among the nation's best among goal scorers, ranking third in power play goals with six, third in game-winning goals with three and fifth in overall goals with 11.
After being held off the score sheet in the series against Minnesota Duluth, Burnevik scored SCSU's lone goal on Nov. 11 against St. Thomas and added assists in each game against Miami (Nov. 21-22) to keep his hot streak going. He's scored a point in 14 of 16 games this season.
The 2024-25 All-NCHC Rookie Team honoree opened the season with a nine-game point streak, which is the second-longest streak in the nation this season. He also scored in the last two games of last season, moving his point streak to 11 games, the longest point streak by a Husky since Jonny Brodzinski had an 13-game point streak from Dec. 12, 2012 - Feb. 2, 2012. Since 2002-03, only six Husky skaters have recorded seven point streaks of 10+ games. Burnevik is joined by Garrett Roe (14, 2007-08), Jonny Brodzinski (13, 2012-13), Drew LeBlanc (13, 2012-13), Ryan Lasch (11, 2007-08; 10, 2007-08) and Tyson Gross (10, 2025-26).
Burnevik scored a goal in five consecutive games between Oct. 18 and Nov. 1, the longest streak since Veeti Miettinen scored in six straight games between Oct. 20 – Nov. 11, 2023.

GROSS IN THE DOT

Junior forward Tyson Gross has been dominate in the faceoff circle this season, winning 195 draws this season to rank second in the NCHC and second in the NCAA. The Husky junior has won 60.2 percent (195-129) of his faceoffs this season, including
an NCAA-high 20 wins in both games of the Alaska Anchorage series. Gross went 20-2 in the dot on Friday and 20-5 on Saturday in the series sweep.
Gross has scored a point in 12 of 14 games this season, collecting six goals and team-best 12 assists for 18 points, ranking 18^th in the NCAA in assists and 25^th in points.
Gross scored a power play goal and had two assists in SCSU's 5-1 win over Western Michigan (Nov. 1) to extend his point streak to 10 consecutive games dating back to March 15, 2025. His 10-game point streak is the just the seventh streak of 10+ games in program history since 2002-03.
Gross' three points match a career-high, the third time he has reached that mark after also reaching that mark against Omaha on Dec. 7, 2024 and against Colorado College on Feb. 21, 2025.

SCORE FIRST, SCORE ONCE MORE

A key emphasis for the Huskies this season was to score one more goal per game than last season when SCSU averaged 2.19 goals per game. Through 14 games this season, the Huskies are well on their way to accomplishing their goal in 2025-26, scoring 3.36 goals per game (47 goals overall).
SCSU scored five goals in four consecutive games between Oct. 24 and Nov. 1, marking its first streak of four consecutive games with five or more goals since Nov. 19 – Dec. 9, 2022, when the Huskies scored five, seven, six and seven goals.
SCSU's 3.36 goals per game ranks 18th in the NCAA.
Additionally, SCSU is 7-1-0 when scoring first, 7-0-0 when leading after one period and 7-1-0 when leading after two periods.

NEVER COLD IN NET FOR BRRR-ZINS

Sophomore goaltender Patriks Berzins has been solid in his six starts in net for the Huskies, posting a 4-2-0 record with a 2.04 goals-against-average and .939 save percentage. Berzins has only allowed 12 goals all season, with only six coming even strength.
Berzins leads the NCHC and ranks fourth in the NCAA in save percentage at .939, while his 2.04 GAA ranks fourth in the NCHC and 21st nationally.
Berzins made 32 saves and helped lift the Huskies to a 5-1 victory over No. 3 Western Michigan on Nov. 1, the Huskies first victory over a top-three ranked opponent since Jan. 7, 2023 when SCSU beat No. 3/1 Minnesota, 3-0 in St. Cloud.
Berzins made a career-best 35 saves in a 4-2 win on the road at Miami on Nov. 22.

NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 6-5 OT loss at Miami (11-21-25)
- On the season, SCSU moves to 0-6-0 when its opponent scores first, 0-5-0 when trailing after the first period, 0-6-0 when trailing after two periods and 1-5-0 when its opponent outshoots them.
- Sophomore forward Gavyn Thoreson recorded his first career game with two goals, scoring his eighth and ninth career goals.
- With a goal and assist, junior forward Barrett Hall had his fifth game this season and 13th career game with 2+ points. His second period score was his fifth goal and, his third period assist was his 10th, giving him 15 points this season.
- Senior forward Grant Ahcan scored his first goal of the season and his first goal since Jan. 24, 2025, at Omaha.
- Junior forward Tyson Gross netted his fifth goal of the season and 16th point with his third period extra attacker score.
- Gross continued his extremely impressive work in the dot, winning 18 faceoffs (18-16), already the fourth time this season he has won 15+ faceoffs. The Husky captain has won 10+ faceoffs in 12 of 13 games this season.
- Sophomore forward Austin Burnevik kept pace with Gross on the team-lead for scoring, netting his 16th point of the season with a secondary assist on Gross' goal.
- Senior defenseman Mason Reiners matched a career high with four blocks, the second time this season and fifth time in his career he reached that mark.
- Freshman goaltender Yan Shostak made 28 saves in the game, marking the fifth time this season he has made 25+ saves.
- Redshirt senior forward Ryan Rosborough matched a season- and career-best with a +3 mark on the ice.
GAME 2 - 4-2 win at Miami (11-22-25)
- With the win, SCSU is now 37-18-6 all-time against Miami and 12-11-3 against the RedHawks in Oxford.
- On the season, SCSU improves to 7-1-0 when scoring first, 7-0-0 when leading after the first period, 7-1-0 when leading after two periods and 7-4-0 when scoring on the power play.
- SCSU went 2-of-5 on the power play to improve to 31.3 (20-of-64) percent on the man advantage this season. The Huskies have scored a power play goal in 11 of 14 games this season.
- Senior forward Grant Ahcan scored twice for his second career multi-goal game while recording the time in his career he has scored goals in back-to-back games.
- Junior forward Tyson Gross scored a goal and an assist for two points; the fifth time this season and 16th time in his career he's scored 2+ points in a game. The Husky captain found the back of the net for the sixth time this season while adding his 12th helper for his team-leading 18 points. The goal was his fourth power play goal of the season.
- Gross continued his extremely impressive work in the dot, winning 19 faceoffs (19-9), already the fifth time this season he has won 15+ faceoffs. The Husky captain has won 10+ faceoffs in 13 of 14 games this season.
- Junior forward Barrett Hall scored his sixth goal of the season, fourth on the power play and 16th point with his second period score.
- Sophomore goaltender Patriks Berzins' 35 saves set a new career-best, surpassing his previous best he set three other times, including in his most recent start against St. Thomas on Nov. 11. He allowed two or fewer goals for the fourth time in six starts this season.
- Senior defenseman Max Smolinski matched a career-best with five blocks, matching his mark against Clarkson on Jan. 13, 2024.