Feb 1, 2025

Huskies Sputter Against Fighting Hawks

After snapping their six-game losing streak the night previous with a tie, St. Cloud State Men’s Hockey looked to get back into the win column when they too on North Dakota at the Brooks Center on Saturday night.

Building on the momentum from their late comeback the previous day, the Huskies once again lit the lamp first, with Freshman forward Austin Burnevik beating Fighting Hawks netminder Hobie Hedquist to give SCSU the 1-0 lead. The slow start from North Dakota wouldn’t last though, as the man responsible for the SCSU powerplay, Caleb MacDonald, made up for the mistake when he beat Huskies goaltender James Gray with a little over 5 minutes in the period, tying the game at one. UND would continue to push as the time in the period wained, but eleven saves from Gray through the first 20 kept the game tied at one heading into the second period.

Bill Prout (CenterIceView)

In the second, the bottom would fall out for SCSU. After what looked initially to be Gavyn Thoreson drawing a penalty, a call on the freshman forward resulted in a goal from Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Jayden Perron giving UND the 2-1 lead. The bleeding would worsen, as some unpopular calls from the referees would see tempers flair, with UND junior forward Owen McLaughlin using the momentum to make it 3-1. Boos continued to rain down at the Brooks Center, but it would fall on deaf ears, as North Dakota would score once again, making it 4-1, via a goal from Dylan James. Another set of penalties from Caleb MacDonald and Dylan James late would allow the Huskies to carry a 5-on-3 into the 3rd period, but the damage looked like it was already done, as some Huskies fans headed for exits.

Despite an early push early in the third from the Huskies, it seemed those fans who’d left the building early made the right choice. Cade Littler would beat James Gray on the first UND shot of the period to make it 5-1. Josh Zinger would pull one back for the Huskies with six minutes left to go, but Own McLaughlin would score on a empty net to push the game to 6-2, where the game would go final. So despite the Huskies outshooting the Fighting Hawks 35-24 on the night and winning the faceoff dot, St. Cloud State pushed their winless streak to eight games, and further solidified themselves in the eighth place in the NCHC standings. After the game wrapped up, Huskies Head Coach Brett Larson said that he’s “sounding like a broken record as this point,” and that it he would like to see his team finally “celebrate after a win.”

Up Next: St. Cloud State will continue the second half of conference play when they travel to Kalamazoo to take on one of the NCHC’s best teams, the Western Michigan Broncos. You can find those games online at kvsc.org, or on the main airways 88.1 FM KVSC. Game one is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. while game two is slated for 5:00, with Carl Goenner and Joey Hudson on the call.

Thank You Underwriters

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