By Drew Steele / @wooitsdrew / sports@kvsc.org / Photo by SCSU Athletics

The men’s hockey team hosted UMD over the weekend for the first series of the second half of the season. The stakes could not have been higher for the series as the winner of the series would take sole possession of first place in the NCHC.

On Saturday, SCSU was able to strike three times on the power play. While on five on five play, though, the Huskies were unable to match UMD as the Bulldogs came away with a 4-3 victory over SCSU.

On Sunday, the Huskies would bounce back from what head coach Brett Larson called a “soft” performance the day prior. The Huskies would score on the power play once and finally found the goals on even strength as well winning 3-1.

The weekend’s performance for SCSU propelled the Huskies into sole possession of first place in the NCHC with 22. A split also allowed the Huskies to earn nine more points in the USCHO.com poll and stay at the number six in the country.

Veeti Miettinen earned NCHC Forward of the Week due to his performance over the weekend. Miettinen scored three goals and assisted on two goals. This was Miettinen’s second consecutive week earning a NCHC accolade after earning Rookie of the Week before break.

Nick Perbix received NCHC Defenseman of the Week for the second straight time it was awarded. Perbix had three assists during Saturday’s loss.

The Huskies will travel up to Duluth to once again face the Bulldogs this weekend.