Men’s Huskies Hockey celebrates the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship March 20 in Minneapolis.
The most wins in NCAA Division I college hockey. Three trophies. A No. 2 national tournament seed.
Men’s Huskies Hockey (31-8-1) enters the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship as the top seed in the four-team West Regional, playing No. 4 seed Ferris State University 2 p.m. CT March 26 at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul. The game is televised on ESPNNews.
West Regional Links
Four regional champions advance to the Frozen Four, April 7 and April 9 in Tampa, Florida.
The #4/5 St. Cloud State men’s hockey team earned its place on the national stage partly through its first NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship, sealed with 3-1 victory over #16 University of Minnesota Duluth before an audience of 11,643 March 19 at Target Center, Minneapolis.
St. Cloud State finished the Frozen Faceoff 4-0, including a pair of March 11-12 wins over Western Michigan University and a 4-2 win March 18 against #6 Denver University.
Frosh forward Mikey Eyssimont (Littleton, Colorado) scored scored twice in the title game and was named most valuable player for the tournament.
Frozen Faceoff Links
Patrick Russell (Birkerod, Denmark) rounded out the St. Cloud State scoring with his 20th goal of the season. The sophomore forward epitomizes the long-bench philosophy of Coach Bob Motzko ’89: Russell is one of 10 players with 10 or more goals this season. Half the 24-man roster recorded 20 or more points (goals and assists, combined).
St. Cloud State finishes the regular season ranked second nationally in team offense, averaging 4.28 goals per game. Yet, it was defense that made the difference against University of Denver and Minnesota-Duluth.
Friday the Huskies held scoreless the vaunted “Pacific Rim” line of Trevor Moore, Danton Heinen and Dylan Gambrell. Ditto Saturday: Duluth’s top line of Alex Iafallo, Dominic Toninato and Adam Johnson did not score.
In a post-game interview on 99.9 More FM, senior assistant coach Mike Gibbons credited team defense, noting, in particular, the work of NCHC Second Team forward and senior Kalle Kossila (Kauniainen, Finland) and sophomore defenseman and alternate captain Nathan Widman (Naperville, Illinois).
Senior Ethan Prow (Sauk Rapids) and junior netminder Charlie Lindgren (Lakeville) join Eyssimont on the NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team. A Hobey Baker Top 10 nominee, Prow won three awards at the NCHC banquet, including conference player of the year. Lindgren, a finalist for the nation’s most prestigious goaltending award, gave up just three goals on a combined 50 shots, Friday and Saturday.
Lauded by coaches as a smart and steady group of young men, the Huskies started the season winning the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska. Mid-season they won the North Star College Cup in St. Paul.
This is will be the third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance for St. Cloud State. Two wins to Tampa. Four wins to the White House.
