St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Falls to No. 3 Western Michigan to End Season

Saturday, March 15

Lawson Arena | Kalamazoo, Mich.

5:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

14-21-1

Western Michigan

28-7-1

St. Cloud St.

Western Mich.

St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Falls to No. 3 Western Michigan to End Season

3/15/2025 8:34:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

SCSU falls 6-2 in second game of NCHC Quarterfinals

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (14-21-1, 7-16-1 NCHC) fell to No. 3 Western Michigan (28-7-1, 19-4-1 NCHC), 6-2, in the second game of the NCHC Quarterfinals series on Saturday at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. The loss ends the 2024-25 season for the Huskies.

In a game filled with penalties, seven were called in the first period, including a 5-on-3 power play chance for the Broncos just seven minutes into the game. WMU converted on the two-man advantage when Alex Bump let a wrister go from the left dot for a 1-0 lead at 7:38. SCSU was able to kill off the rest of the next penalty, but the score remained 1-0 heading into the first intermission.

SCSU was able to sustain pressure at times in the second period, but were unable to find the back of the net as Western Michigan extended its lead to 2-0 when Garrett Szydlowski hammered home a rebound attempt at 17:06.

WMU continued the momentum created early in the third period, scoring on a deflection from Tim Washe just 1:32 into the period to make the score 3-0. SCSU would get a 5-on-3 chance of their own later in the period as sophomore forward Tyson Gross (Calgary, Alberta) one-timed home a shot from the slot to make the score 3-1. The momentum was short lived however, as Western Michigan responded with a three minutes later to push the lead back to three goals. Sophomore forward Verner Miettinen (Espoo, Finland) would score an extra attacker goal to make the score 4-2, but then two empty net goals from the Broncos finished the scoring at 6-2.

TOP HUSKIES

Gross his fourth power play and ninth goal overall of the season.
Miettinen scored for the second time in the series and eighth time this season.
Sophomore goaltender Isak Posch (Umea, Sweden) made 32 saves in net for the Huskies.

NOTES

With the loss, St. Cloud State moves to 25-19-5 all-time against Western Michigan and 9-10-3 in Kalamazoo.
In the loss, SCSU moves to 3-18-0 when its opponent scores first, 2-9-1 when trailing after the first period, 1-14-1 when trailing after the second period and 7-13-1 when its opponent outshoots the Huskies.
Gross scored his ninth goal of the season and 16th of his career with a third period power play tally.
Gross won 11 faceoffs, marking the 17^th time this season and 31^st time in his career he has won 10 or more faceoffs.
Miettinen netted his eighth goal of the season and 13^th assist to record 21 points on the season, giving him back-to-back seasons with 20 points to start his collegiate career.
Freshman forward Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, Minn.) recorded an assist with the primary helper on Gross' goal. He becomes the first Husky freshman in program history to finish the season leading the team in goals and points with 13 and 28, respectively.
Senior defenseman Cooper Wylie (Stillwater, Minn.) and sophomore forward Adam Ingram (West St. Paul, Manitoba) each had an assist on Miettinen's goal, their sixth helpers of the season.
Posch made 32 saves in the game, marking the seventh time this season and 13^th time in his career he has made 30 or more saves.
Senior forward Mason Salquist (Grand Forks, N.D.) went 13-11 in the faceoff dot and has now won 10 or more faceoffs in 22 of 36 games this season.

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 2024-25 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.