No. 20/19 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts Miami at the Brooks Center

Friday, January 30

St. Cloud, Minn.

7:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

Miami

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Photo by: Kayden Kircher

No. 20/19 St. Cloud State Men's Hockey Hosts Miami at the Brooks Center

1/29/2026 3:53:00 PM | Men's Hockey

Game Notes

Friday will serve as Fan Appreciation Night, Saturday will be Senior Night

THE MATCHUP

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey returns home to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center for the penultimate time in the regular season when the Huskies host Miami for an NCHC series on Jan. 30-31. The series begins on Friday at 7:00 p.m. CT and concludes on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT with the voice of the Huskies Jim Erickson, Geno Parrish and Zach Rudeen on the call on The CW and NCHC.tv. On the radio, Husky Productions alum Nick Maxson and Dave Reichel will have the call over the airwaves on KNSI (1450 AM / 99.3 FM).
The Huskies are coming off its fourth consecutive conference series split, and sixth in eight NCHC series overall last weekend when SCSU erased a two-goal deficit to beat No. 9 Denver, 4-2, on Friday before a 6-0 setback to the Pioneers on Saturday. Miami was on a bye last weekend, and most recently swept Omaha in its home barn, winning 3-0 and 6-2 over the Mavericks on Jan. 16-17 while freshman David Deputy was named the NCHC Rookie of the Week. SCSU has played eight games since the Holiday break, posting a 5-3-0 mark while the RedHawks have played just four times, earning a 3-1-0 record.

NATIONAL POLLS / POST-SEASON OUTLOOK

After its fourth win over a top-10 ranked opponent last weekend, SCSU earned its first top-20 ranking of the season, returning to the top-20 polls for the first time since Jan. 20, 2025. SCSU checks in at No. 20 in the USCHO poll and No. 19 in the USA Hockey Poll, while Miami is receiving votes in both polls.
With the end of the season quickly approaching, all eyes have shifted 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, SCSU remained steady at No. 17 (13-13-0, 0-3 OT) and is in striking distance of an at-large postseason bid with a strong second half. Miami has some work to do in the final five weeks of the season and is currently ranked No. 25 (14-8-2, 3-0 OT).

SERIES HISTORY

After a 1-8-2 start to the series, the Huskies are 36-10-4 in the last 50 meetings with the RedHawks since Dec. 30, 2010. Overall, SCSU leads the all-time series, 37-18-6, which dates back to the 1987-88 season. The Huskies are 7-1-2 in the last 10 meetings between the two programs which includes six consecutive Husky wins from Nov. 3, 2023 to Nov. 9, 2024. Earlier this season, the two split a series in Oxford with the RedHawks winning an 11-goal thriller in overtime, 6-5, on Nov. 21 before the Huskies came back and won 4-2 on Nov. 22. In Saturday's victory, 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.

LEAGUE PLAY LEADERS

SCSU's big three - junior forwards Tyson Gross and Barrett Hall and sophomore forward Austin Burnevik have only elevated their production in conference play, ranking among the league's leaders in several offensive categories. Gross is making his bid for an All-NCHC First Team selection and currently leads the NCHC in goals (12) and faceoff wins (389) while ranking seconds in points (19) and fourth in faceoff percentage (.584). Burnevik ranks fifth in assists (11) and ninth in points (15) while Hall ranks third in game-winning goals (two), seventh in points (16) and 10th in goals (seven). Additionally, senior defenseman Max Smolinski ranks seventh in assists (10) and sophomore forward Gavyn Thoreson ranks 10th in goals (seven).

SENIOR NIGHT

Saturday night will serve as Senior Night for the Huskies, with the program honoring nine seniors for their contributions to the program. The program will recognize forward Grant Ahcan, forward Ethan AuCoin, goaltender James Gray, forward Adam Ingram, defenseman Mason Reiners, forward Jack Rogers, defenseman Max Smolinski, defenseman Cooper Wylie, and defenseman Josh Zinger. In a rare occurrence in today's era of college athletics, all seven seniors who joined the program ahead of the 2022-23 season have remained intact for all four seasons at SCSU, with Zinger and Smolinski joining the team through the transfer portal over the past two seasons.

TERRIFIC TRIO

Junior forward Tyson Gross (32 points / 1.23 ppg), sophomore forward Austin Burnevik (29 points / 1.12 ppg) and junior forward Barrett Hall (25 points / 0.96 ppg) have led the way offensively for the Huskies through 26 games, all averaging more than or nearly a point per game.
SCSU has not had three players average 1.00+ ppg over a full season since 2018-19 when Patrick Newell (1.17 ppg), Blake Lizotte (1.08 ppg) and Robby Jackson (1.05 ppg) all reached the mark. Gross' current mark of 1.29 ppg is the best mark by a Husky since Kale Kossila posted 1.32 points per game in 2015-16 (54 points in 41 games).
In 38 seasons of Division-I hockey, SCSU has had three or more players average 1.00+ ppg in 14 seasons and just four times since 2003-04.

GROSS ALL AROUND

Junior forward Tyson Gross has been dominate in the faceoff circle this season and is quickly shooting up the nation's leaders with his offensive production. He has won an NCAA-best 366 draws this season and ranks fourth with a 61.5 percent (366-229) success rate among those with 100+ attempts. He also won an NCAA-high 20 draws in both games of the Alaska Anchorage series (Oct. 24-25).
The Husky junior has won 10+ faceoffs in 24 of 26 games this season and 15+ faceoff wins in 12 games.
Gross has scored a point in 21 of 26 games this season, collecting 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points, ranking ninth nationally in points, 14th in goals and 19^th in assists. He is the only play in the nation to have multiple streaks of 8+ games with a point, owning a nine-game streak to start the season and eight-game streak from Nov. 21 to Jan. 3. His streak to begin the season extended to 10 games dating back to March 15, 2025, as he became just the seventh Husky since 2002-03 to record a point streak of 10+ games.
The Husky junior captain is currently producing 1.23 points per game, the best mark in program history since Kale Kossila scored 1.32 points per game (54p/41g) in 2015-16. Gross' current mark would rank ninth all-time in program history if the season were to end today.
When he scored his 20^th point with an assist against North Dakota on Dec. 6, Gross became the 23rd player in program history to begin their SCSU career with three consecutive 20-point seasons.

NETS CLOSED

Ever since being pulled from a start on Dec. 12, freshman goaltender Yan Shostak has flipped a switch and played lights out between the net for the Huskies. In his last four starts, Shostak has posted a 3-1-0 mark with a 1.76 goals-against-average and .944 save percentage while earning NCHC Goaltender of the Week honors following his performance against Minnesota Duluth.
In a Jan. 16 6-0 shutout win over UMD, Shostak made a career-high 42 saves, the most saves by a Husky goaltender in a shutout since Jeff Smith had 42 in a 4-0 win over Minnesota State on Oct. 7, 2017. The 6-0 win was SCSU's first shutout win over UMD since a 2-0 win at Duluth on March 5, 2022, and its largest margin of victory against the Bulldogs since an 8-2 win in Duluth on Feb. 11, 2011.
The 2024-25 USHL Goaltender of the Year has had an up-and-down freshman campaign, but is most recent solid stretch of play has his record to 6-8-0 with a 2.86 GAA, .901 S% and two shutouts.

STATEMENT WINS

St. Cloud State is 4-9-0 against ranked teams this season, but its four wins have been statement wins that have come against top-10 ranked opponents and will look real good on its resume once postseason play comes around.
First, SCSU beat the defending National Champions and then-No. 3 Western Michigan, 5-1, on Nov. 1 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Broncos. The win was SCSU's first over a top-three ranked opponent since Jan. 7, 2023 when the Huskies beat No. 3/1 Minnesota, 3-0, in St. Cloud.
SCSU then erased a two-goal deficit to beat No. 6/5 Denver, 4-3, on Dec. 13. The Huskies win was the Pioneers first loss in regulation in conference play this season. The Huskies 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.
SCSU beat then-No. 6 Minnesota Duluth with a 6-0 shutout on Jan. 16. The 6-0 win is SCSU's first shutout win over UMD since a 2-0 win at Duluth on March 5, 2022, and its largest margin of victory against the Bulldogs since an 8-2 win in Duluth on Feb. 11, 2011.
Finally, SCSU beat then-No. 9 Denver, erasing its second two-goal deficit of the season in a 4-2 road win over the Pioneers on Jan. 23.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST SERIES

SCSU earned a split against then-No. 9 Denver last weekend on the road at Magness Arena. The Huskies earned a 4-2 win on Friday before dropping a 6-0 contest on Saturday.
On Friday, the Huskies fell behind 2-0 but responded with four consecutive goals in a 4-2 victory. Three Huskies had two points on the night, led by sophomore forward Gavyn Thoreson, who had the primary assist on the game-tying goal before scoring the game-winning goal 66 seconds into the third period. Freshman goaltender Yan Shostak was sharp in net once again, stopping 31-of-33 shots to earn his third victory in his fourth consecutive start between the pipes.
SCSU gave up two goals in each period on Saturday, falling 6-0 to the Pioneers.

NOTES FROM LAST SERIES:

GAME 1 - 4-2 win at Denver (1-30-26)
- The Huskies move to 4-5-0 on the road, 2-10-0 when its opponent scores first, 2-9-0 when trailing after first period, 2-0-0 when tied after two periods
- The win is the second two-goal comeback of the season for the Huskies, with the other coming on Dec. 13 against the same Pioneers, a 4-3 win at the Brooks Center.
- Sophomore forward Gavyn Thoreson recorded his seventh goal of the season and fifth assist for his second multi-point game of the season. The goal was his first career game-winning score.
- Junior forward Tyson Gross netted his 14th goal of the season and 30th goal of his career. He becomes the 65th player in program history to reach the 30 career goal mark.
- Junior forward Verner Miettinen scored for the second straight game to extend his point streak to three games with five points (2-3—5) in that stretch.
- Freshman goaltender Yan Shostak made 31 saves in net, his third-highest mark this season while lowering his GAA to 2.86 and raising his save percentage to .901.
- Junior forward Barrett Hall recorded two assists for his eighth multi-point game of the season and first since two points against Denver on Dec. 13. His two points move him back to averaging a point per game this season with 25 points in 25 games.
- Sophomore forward Austin Burnevik extended his point streak to five consecutive games with his 14th helper of the season in the second period while adding his team-leading 15th goal of the season on an empty net goal.
- His two points give him 29 on the season, surpassing his freshman season total of 28.
- Senior defenseman Max Smolinski and sophomore defenseman Finn Loftus continued their production on the blue line, recording their 12th and ninth assists, respectively.
GAME 2 - 6-0 loss at Denver (1-31-26)
- With the loss, SCSU moves to 55-63-7 all-time against Denver and 27-36-3 all-time against the Pioneers in Denver.
- The Huskies move to 4-6-0 on the road, 4-9-0 against ranked teams, 2-11-0 when its opponent scores first, 2-10-0 when trailing after two periods and 1-11-0 when trailing after two periods.
- Junior forward Tyson Gross won 12 draws, marking the 24th time in 26 games he has won 10+ faceoffs in a game.
- Redshirt junior goaltender James Gray came into the game in the second period and stopped 11-of-13 shots on goal.
- Gray saw action for the first time since playing the third period against Western Michigan on March 14, 2025.