St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Gets First Win of 2026-27 in 5-3 Win over No. 12/16 Michigan Tech

Saturday, October 10

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

1-2-0

Michigan Tech

3-1-0

Team	1	2	3	F
Michigan Tech	1	1	1	3
St. Cloud St.	1	1	3	5

Box Score (PDF)Highlights

Photo by: Kayden Kircher

St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey Gets First Win of 2026-27 in 5-3 Win over No. 12/16 Michigan Tech

10/11/2026 1:39:00 AM | Men's Hockey

Box Score

Five different Huskies score to secure first win of Nick Oliver era

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Hockey (1-2-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) earned its first win of the season and first win of the Nick Oliver era with a 5-3 win over No. 12/16 Michigan (3-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) on Saturday night at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The two Huskies team traded goals back-and-forth all night before sophomore defenseman Joe Belisle (White Bear Lake, Minn.) broke a 3-3 tie at the 8:06 mark of the third period.

The win was head coach Nick Oliver's the first collegiate victory and first as SCSU head coach.

SCSU got an early power play chance with Michigan Tech's Carson Bimie was called for a hooking just 64 seconds into the game. But it would be the Michigan Tech Huskies who got on the scoreboard first, when Elias Jansson took advantage of a turnover and scored a shorthanded goal to take a 1-0 lead. SCSU responded just 28 second later while still on the power play when freshman forward Brock Souch (Edmonton, Alberta) found the back of the net for the first time in his collegiate career. Junior forward William Ahlrik (Tidaholm, Sweden) won a draw at the right dot and got the puck over to senior forward Jake Southgate (North Battleford, Saskatchewan), who was in a puck battle near the front of the net. Instead of taking a shot, Southgate passed the puck to Souch on the backside, who ripped a wrister from just inside the left dot for the goal.

The Huskies first took the lead at the 8:34 mark of the second period on junior defenseman Thor Byfuglien's (Roseau, Minn.) first goal of the season. Junior forward Gavyn Thoreson (Andover, Minn.) began the play as he carried the puck over the blue line into the zone before spinning and waiting for his linemates to join the rush. He fling a cross-ice pass to sophomore forward Noah Urness (Roseau, Minn.), who carried the puck towards the net before finding Byfuglien in the slot for a one-time rocket for the goal.

With the game tied at 2-2, Ahlrik scored just 44 seconds into the third period to give the Huskies the lead once again. Senior forward Charlie Lurie (Minnetonka, Minn.) sprung Ahlrik loose in the middle of the ice, and Ahlrik did the rest, race in-between and ahead of the defense for a breakaway score. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Michigan Tech scored just 31 seconds later to tie it at 3-3. Just under seven minutes later, Belisle's goal off a drop pass from sophomore forward Nolan Roed (White Bear Lake, Minn.) would give the Huskies the lead for good. Thoreson would then seal the victory with an empty net goal at 18:48 to cap the scoring at 5-3.

TOP HUSKIES

Ahlrik scored a goal and assist for two points, his first two points as a Husky.
Thoreson had a pair of assist and an empty net goal for three points.
Belisle scored his first career game-winning goal and second career goal overall.

NOTES

The win was Nick Oliver's the first collegiate victory and first as SCSU head coach.
With the win, St. Cloud State improves 57-28-5 all-time against Michigan Tech and 34-10-3 against the Huskies in St. Cloud. In the last 10 meetings between the two programs, SCSU is 7-3-0.
SCSU led in shots on goal (35-33) and faceoff wins (36-31).
The Huskies scored on the power play for the third consecutive game to open the season and is now 27.3 percent (3-of-11) on the man advantage this season.
SCSU killed off both Michigan Tech power plays and has now killed seven consecutive penalties over the last two games. On the season, SCSU is now 91.7 percent (11-of-12) on the kill this season.
Ahlrik scored a goal and assist for two points while going 13-13 in the faceoff dot.
Thoreson tied a career-high for points in a game with three after scoring a goal with two assists.
Souch scored his first collegiate goal and point with his first period power play tally.
Belisle netted his first career game-winning goal and second goal overall.
Byfuglien scored his first goal of the season and third of his career.
Junior goaltender Patriks Berzins (Talsi, Latvia) made 30 saves to earn the victory.
Freshman Adam Vigfusson (Gimli, Manitoba) made his collegiate and SCSU debut in the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

UP NEXT

SCSU and will head out east for its next series, heading to face No. 11 Boston College on Thursday, Oct. 15 and Saturday, Oct. 17.

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 2026-27 season are available at www.scsutickets.com, downloading the St. Cloud State Huskies app or by calling 1-877-SCSUTIX / 320-308-2137.