St. Cloud Times — Charlie Lindgren has never done this at any level of hockey.
There has not been a St. Cloud State men’s goalie to accomplish this feat since the Huskies became an NCAA Division I program in 1988-89.
Throw in a couple gritty goals and the 12th-ranked Huskies are on a roll.
Lindgren, a junior from Lakeville, made 24 saves to record his third straight shutout and lead the Huskies to a 3-0 nonconference win over No. 14/15 Minnesota State-Mankato on Saturday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
“We can talk all we want (about other things), but Charlie Lindgren was outstanding and gave us a chance,” Huskies coach Bob Motzko said. “He’s a pretty hot goaltender and some good things are happening with him right now.”
Lindgren has stopped all 68 shots he has faced this season to help the Huskies improve to 4-0, their best start since going 9-0 in the 2001-02 season. So did Lindgren see shutouts in back-to-back games coming during practice this week?
“It wasn’t my best shootout (practice Thursday) and then my Friday on-ice warmup wasn’t that great, but none of that matters: It’s about the game,” Lindgren said. “I’m working hard to find pucks (through traffic). The defense and forwards are doing a very good job at clearing out bodies and letting me see the puck.
“It’s definitely making my job a lot easier and it’s fun out there right now.”
Sophomore forward Judd Peterson has to try to score on Lindgren in daily practice. Peterson said that there’s a few things that stick out about Lindgren in net.
“I’ve never seen a goalie like Chuck,” said Peterson, who is from Duluth and played two seasons of junior hockey in the United States Hockey League. “He’s a competitor and faces a lot of shots every night and is there to save us. We’re lucky to have him.
“He’s not giving up a lot of rebounds right now and is kind of eating everything up, which is huge for a goalie. Even when he does give up a rebound, he’s there for a save. He’s got a little swag in his game right now and let’s hope he keeps that swag.”
The Mavericks (0-4) were shut out for the third straight game, something that has not happened since they joined Division I.
Sandpaper and grit
The Huskies’ first two goals are not going to make any top 10 highlight reels. Sophomore right wing Patrick Russell scored for the second straight night at 4:20 of the first period to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. He took a shot from about the hash mark on the outside of a faceoff circle and goalie Cole Huggins got a piece of it, but it slowly slid off his leg and in.
Huggins also got a piece of the second goal, a rebound that freshman left wing Robby Jackson scored on at 16:59 of the second period for a 2-0 lead.
The goals resembled the game, which did not have a lot of flow and was physical.
“We’re built a little fancy,” Motzko said of his team’s talent level and ability to play well in transition. “If we try to play fancy, we’re going to be in trouble. Our fancy has to get sandpaper in the short and this weekend reminds them, teaches them — whatever words you want to use.
“This was a great weekend for us because we have to learn how hard it is to win and how hard you have to compete.”
OK, so what does playing with sandpaper mean?
“(Motzko) wants us to play a grittier game, tough in the corners, winning battles and he always talks about faceoffs,” said Peterson, whose team was 35-24 on faceoffs. “Teams are able to make more plays when they play fast and hard.”
Prow hurt
St. Cloud State senior defenseman Ethan Prow took a shot to the head 13 seconds into the third period. He was carrying the puck in the neutral zone and got pushed from behind by a Mavericks’ player into another Mankato player.
Bryce Gervais received a minor penalty for cross-checking and Prow stayed on the ice for several minutes before skating off on his own power, but he did not return.
“I don’t know yet,” Motzko said of Prow’s status. “He got hit pretty hard. I hope he’s fine, but I really don’t know.”
Perfect penalty kill
St. Cloud State was 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and did not give up a shot on goal to the Mavericks on their three power plays. St. Cloud State is 14-for-14 on the penalty kill this season.
Reichel honored
St. Cloud State honored former Huskies All-American Dave Reichel after the first period with a plaque presentation at center ice for 25 years as the team’s color announcer on radio. The Huskies celebrated their alumni weekend with an alumni game (18 former players participated), a family skate and a pregame gathering in the arena.
SCSU 3, MSU-MANKATO 0
First period scoring:
1. SCSU — Patrick Russell 2 (Niklas Nevalainen, Jon Lizotte) 4:20.
Russell skated up the right wing and shot from about halfway into the zone from near the boards. Goalie Cole Huggins got a piece of it with his pad, but it trickled in for a 1-0 lead.
Penalties: None.
Second period scoring:
1. SCSU — Robby Jackson 3 (Judd Peterson, Nate Widman) 16:59.
Peterson got a shot off from the wing and Jackson got a chunk of it and it got stuck in Huggins’ pads and crept across the line for a 2-0 lead.
Penalties: SCSU — Joey Benik (hooking) 1:15; SCSU — Jackson (holding) 9:32.
Third period scoring:
3. SCSU — Peterson 3 (Russell) 16:16 (en).
With the Mankato net open, Russell chipped it ahead to Peterson, who scored into the empty net from the Mankato blue line for a 3-0 lead.
Penalties: M — Bryce Gervais (cross-checking) :13; SCSU – Benik (boarding) 19:28.
Shots on goal: M — 10-7-7—24; SCSU — 8-8-8—24. Goaltenders: M — Cole Huggins (21 saves); SCSU — Charlie Lindgren (24 saves). Power-play goals, opportunities: M — 0-for-3 (0 shots); SCSU — 0-for-1 (3 shots). Penalties: M — 1 for 2 minutes; SCSU — 3 for 6 minutes. Faceoffs: SCSU 10-9. Referees: Steve Patafie and Tom Sterns. Linesmen: Jeff Schultz and Justin Hills. Marty Sundvall Memorial Three Stars of the Game sponsored by the St. Cloud Times: 1. Lindgren (SCSU), 2. Russell (SCSU), 3. Jackson (SCSU). Attendance: 4,235.
