(Photo Prout)
St. Cloud, MN – Quick quiz: Which of these prominent college hockey programs has more NCAA appearances than St. Cloud State University and Minnesota State University, Mankato in the last decade?
- Boston University
- Boston College
- University of Minnesota
- University of Michigan
- Quinnipiac University
- Providence College
- Ohio State University
- University of Notre Dame
- University of North Dakota
- University of Minnesota-Duluth
- Denver University
Answer: Exactly one. The only team in the above-referenced list that has more NCAA appearances than either SCSU or MSU, Mankato is reigning national champion Denver University with nine. UND, UMD, and Notre Dame have matched the number of appearances of the Huskies and Mavericks with eight. Both of these teams have advanced to the national championship game in the past two seasons.
This weekend, two of college hockey’s most successful programs over the past decade meet in an early season non-conference battle not only for bragging rights in the Minnesota State University system but also for all-important Pairwise points. The two in-state rivals have been competing on the ice since the 1969-70 season with MSU holding a 64-58-13 edge. However, at the Division I level, the Huskies have dominated holding a 37-24-8 advantage. SCSU is 3-2-0 in the last five games, 6-4-0 in the last 10 games, and 13-7-0 in the last 20 games.
It’ll be homecoming weekend at St. Cloud State and there will be a lot of eyes on this early-season rivalry game.
SCSU celebrates a goal vs MSU in October of 2021 (Photo Prout)
#8 SCSU Huskies (4-0-0) vs #2 MSU Mavericks (3-1-0)
TV: FOX 9+
Live Broadcast Stream: NCHC.TV
Radio/Stream: KNSI 1450 AM/99.3 FM (St. Cloud) KVSC 88.1 FM (St. Cloud)
Where: Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN
When: Fri., Oct. 21, 7:30 PM CT /Sat., Oct. 22, 6:00 PM CT
Last Time Out
The Mavericks have had a highly successful start to the 2022-23 season splitting a home and series with the top-ranked University of Minnesota and sweeping then #4 ranked UMD by scores of 6-0 and 2-1. On Friday, the Mavs thoroughly dominated the Bulldogs in front of their home crowd outshooting them 34-16 and converting 4/7 power play opportunities. Cade Borchardt (1-2-3) had a three-point night to lead MSU. Alex Tracy picked up his first collegiate win and shutout
On Saturday, in a much closer contest, the Mavericks edged the Bulldogs 2-1 behind a two-goal performance by Sam Morton. Alex Tracy was between the pipes and improved his record to 2-0-0 stopping 15/16 shots on goal.
The Huskies had a successful road trip to Wisconsin sweeping the Badgers by scores of 5-1 and 2-1. Friday’s win saw freshman Grant Ahcan and Cooper Wylie and transfers Dylan Anhorn and Grant Cruikshank all net goals in the win. Jaxon Castor stopped 25/26 shots to improve his record to 2-0-0.
The Saturday rematch was a much closer affair with the Huskies outshooting UW 27-20. The difference was a late third-period power-play goal by senior Kyler Kupka to nail down the sweep. Kupka had a two-point game, Grant Cruikshank scored in his third consecutive game, and Dominic Basse was solid in goal turning aside 19 of 20 shots.
Jake Livingstone (Photo Prout)
Minnesota State University, Mankato Notes
Head Coach: Mike Hastings (11th season; 277-97-24 .726 )
2021-22: 38-6-0 (1st CCHA)
CCHA Preseason Ranking: 1st
What more can be said. In his 11 seasons at Minnesota State, Mike Hastings has guided his team to 7 regular season conference championships, 4 conference post-season titles, and 8 NCAA appearances advancing to the semi-finals in 2021 and the championship game in 2022.
“It’s new times here,” remarked Hastings. “We lost an anchor in Dryden McKay. We lost seven players and are bringing in seven. We’ll have a different group in different roles. Our defense has to be a wall early. We will continue to lean on that group,” remarked Hastings.
Concerning a difficult non-conference schedule to start the season Hastings said “We better turn the page early with Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Cloud State. We want to be prepared when we begin conference play. We’re excited to compete within our state. It’s a steep hill but prepares us for a difficult conference schedule.”
The losses were heavy with top-two scorers Nathan Smith and Julian Naprovnik signing pro contracts and the loss of team defensive leader Wyatt Aamodt and of course record-setting Hobey Baker Award winner Dryden McKay. Additional losses included seniors Reggie Lutz (15-13-28) and defenseman, Jack McNeely.
Extremely strong defensively, they still have a solid core of returnees including Jake Livingstone, Akito Hirose, Andy Carroll, and Bennett Zmolek. This is certainly the top group in the CCHA and one of the best in college hockey. First-year players Mason Wheeler and Campbell Cicchosz have both cracked the lineup.
At forward, lots will be expected out of CCHA preseason Player of the Year and senior Brendan Furry. Hastings commented “He’s been through a lot with injuries in junior hockey and when he came here. His talent and mentality have set him up for an outstanding senior season. He’s earned the opportunity to lead and will play all situations for us.”
An excellent group of forwards includes seniors Cade Borchardt (15-26-41), Ryan Sandelin (21-13-34), Sam Morton (9-16-25), Josh Groll (4-8-12), and Lucas Sowder (7-16-23). So, the cupboard is not bare. Juniors Ondrej Pavel (12-10-22) and David Silye (8-9-17) are effective forwards and provide further leadership.
Three first-year forwards out of the BCHL will supplement the depth at forward. Most intriguing are Luc Wilson with 5 years in junior hockey producing 72 goals and 107 assists for 179 points in 182 games and Simon Tassy who produced 66 goals and 56 assists for 122 points in 124 games over three seasons.
Goaltending is a question mark only from the standpoint that the heir apparent to Dryden McKay is Keenan Rancier (.840 GAA, .909 SV%) who had played in only two collegiate games prior to this season. However, freshman Alex Tracy started both games vs the Bulldogs and allowed one goal on 32 shots. It looks like a battle is brewing over the starting goaltender position.
(Photo Prout)
St. Cloud State University Notes
Head Coach: Brett Larson (5th season; 85-47-13 .631)
2021-22: 18-15-4 (4th NCHC)
NCHC Preseason Ranking: 4th
Much like Mankato, the Huskies saw the departure of a number of key players including Sam Hentges, Nolan Walker, and Nick Perbix who could have opted for a fifth season, and Easton Brodzinski, Kevin Fitzgerald, Luke Jaycox, and David Hrenak who exhausted their eligibility after five seasons.
So, head coach Brett Larson faced the start of another season very similar to his first recruiting class with ten first-year players that will ultimately steer the success of this program for the next four seasons.
Goaltender was the biggest positional transition for the team in 2022-23. After five seasons, David Hrenak is gone and the Huskies opened up the competition to a senior (Jaxon Castor), a junior transfer (Dominic Basse), and a first-year player (James Gray). So far, so good. Castor is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .946 SV% and Basse is 2-0-0 with a .50 GAA and .971 SV%.
Despite the departures of Seamus Donohue and Nick Perbix, the SCSU defense may be more balanced this season than it was last year. The return of fifth-year senior, Spencer Meier, a three-year captain immediately ramps up the experience and leadership at the blue line as does 5th-year senior, Brendan Bushy who has appeared in 137 games. Senior Ondrej Trejbal (27 career points in 88 games) and 22-year-old junior Brady Ziemer have only appeared in 30 games. Both are looking to prove they can be an everyday player in the lineup. The sophomore tandem of Josh Luedtke (currently injured) and Jack Peart were both outstanding as freshmen. Both are mobile, puck-moving defensemen that can play in every conceivable situation for the Huskies. The addition of Calgary native and Union College transfer Dylan Anhorn bolsters the experience and mobility back at the blue line. Anhorn has an aggressive offensive game from the backside and is a dynamic, fluid skater. He’s currently leading the team in points with 2-5-7 in 4 games. Look for these players to fill the role previously occupied by outstanding defenseman Nick Perbix.
Filling out the defensive unit are two teammates from the Waterloo Blackhawks of the USHL, Cooper Wylie and Mason Reiners. Both bring a different skill set to the blue line with Wylie a puck mover and Reiners defense first. One consistency is their size with Reiners 6’1″, 195 pounds, and Wylie 6’1″ and 190 pounds. Both will be 21 years old as the season starts.
The Huskies were awfully good on offense last season finishing 4th in the country in goals per game (3.60), 1st in power play percentage (31%), 9th in shooting percentage (11.3%), and 1st in short-handed goals (10). However, they’ve lost some heavy timber on offense with the departure of five of their top ten points producers and 44% of their goal-scoring.
The line of upperclassmen including preseason all-conference forward Jami Krannila, Zach Okabe, and Veeti Miettinen should remain intact and they’ll have tremendous pressure on them to lead the team in scoring after producing 36 goals and 81 points last season. So far this line leads the squad in points with 12.
Fifth-year senior transfer from the Gophers, Grant Cruikshank will be joining his third team in three seasons. Cruikshank possesses a strong, accurate shot and brings experience down the middle of the ice for the Huskies. He’s been placed on a line with Micah Miller and Kyler Kuka and this has been a highly effective line producing 10 points thus far. Experienced and solid defensively, they can be matched against their opponent’s top line and with the speed of Cruikshank and Miller are a breakaway threat at any time.
True first-year players, Adam Ingram, Jack Rogers, Ethan Aucoin, and Grant Ahcan will have a learning curve ahead of them in 2022-23. However, they’ve shown no signs of being intimidated by the transition to collegiate hockey. All but Ahcan are big-framed forwards who can play the physical game. Ahcan is a skilled forward who has already seen time on the penalty kill and scored a short-handed game-winning goal vs Wisconsin. Ingram has a regular spot on the power play and has a scary big-time shot.
Micah Miller (Photo Prout)
Series Prospectus
There are a lot of similarities between these two teams as they approach the 2022-23 season. Both teams are going through a transition in goal as they try to find a replacement for Dryden McKay and David Hrenak. Thus far, it appears a rotation will be in order with Keenan Rancier and Alex Tracy for MSU and Jaxon Castor and Dominic Basse for the Huskies.
Both of these squads are loaded with depth and experience at defense and it may be the strongest position on both teams. Both units have an excellent combination of size and puck mobility and both teams are effective in protecting the goaltender – part of the reason for the excellent goaltender statistics thus far.
Although both teams lost some heavy timber at forward, they seem to have filled the gaps quite well with transfers and first-year players. Make no mistake, the Mavericks still have 13 upperclassmen and the Huskies 16 with many of these players participating in the national championship game over the past two seasons.
This will be a series about eliminating mistakes. Both teams are potent on the power play and that could likely dictate the outcome of this weekend’s games as opposed to five-on-five play. The Mavericks are already battle-tested having won three consecutive games vs top-ranked University of Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. However, all three wins were on home ice and the Mavericks will have to prove they can be as successful on the road.
These two programs have proven over the past decade that they are among the elite in college hockey and this should be a gem of a series so early in the season. These teams have found a way to solidify their Pairwise ranking in the early season with key wins over quality opponents. This weekend is a key step toward a successful season for both squads.
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